In El Salvador, it was announced that as of September 2, the interest rate for the purchase of recovered homes will be reduced from 6% to 3%, while for homes of up to $25,000 the rate will be 4% for loans granted by the Social Fund for Housing.
The new conditions will apply to the formal sector, for new housing with a price of up to $25,000 dollars, which will offer an interest rate of 4% and zero premium, informed the Salvadoran government.
The builders' guild in El Salvador is preparing a law proposal, which provides for the approval of preferential interest rates on loans for home purchases.
The proposal to be presented by the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction Industry (CASALCO) will be applicable for bank loans to low- and middle-income families who purchase their first home.
The issuance of Pension Investment Certificates at a rate of 3% means a charge to future income of contributors in the Salvadoran AFP.
The refusal by the Ministry of Finance to release the documents that justify the decision to pay a fee of 3% on the savings of the AFP entering the 'Fideicomiso de Obligaciones Previsionales' (FOP), was declared illegal by the Institute for Access to Public Information (IAIP), which stated that financial secrecy does not apply to the FOP and the criteria that supported the decision must be revealed.
A request has been made that the interest rate paid by the government for using funds from the Pension Trust Bond rise from 1.3% to 7.5%.
Elsalvador.com reports that "... The leaders of the Committee requested yesterday that a new article specifically state that pension funds earn the passive base interest rate used for investments of 180 days and published by the Central Bank plus 3.5% ..
The Social Housing Fund wants to revive the housing market by reducing interest rates for the purchase of new or used homes by 5.5%.
In the case of loans to public institutions for the purchase of new houses, the rates will drop from 6.05% to 5.50%, while for private loans for new houses, the rate will be reduced from 8.5% to 8 % for amounts ranging between $31,000 and $125,000.
A bill on preferential interest rates suggested by the industry would reduce the cost of a home loan by up to 50% and boost construction in the country.
In order for the construction sector to recover from a 2013 that ended with a negative number it is necessary to reduce interest rates on mortgage loans so that more people are able to buy a home, therefore the business sector is recommending a proposal for a law on preferential interest, which was proposed more than six years ago.
The interest rate that the Government of El Salvado pays for money from the Pension Funds is not more than 1.3%, while international investors are paid more than 7%.
Ricardo Soriano, Chairman of the Committee for the Defense of Workers Pension Fund of El Salvador (Comtradefop) reported that since the year 2006, the State has forced the Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) to invest the money belonging to Salvadoran workers in Pension Certificates, initially 30% and the 45% in 2012, money which has suffered a loss greater than $938 million each year.
Up to June banks had only provided financing for housing projects worth $14.36 million, while in the same period last year it had already reached $32 million.
"The new housing projects can be counted on the fingers of one hand," said the executive director of the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction Industry (Casalco), Ismael Nolasco, adding that the drop is a reflection of an industry that is not investing in large housing projects because it has seen any demand.
Access to credit could get more expensive due to liquidity constraints and a higher country risk.
According to the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), last June returns on savings invested for 180 days was 3.44% while in the same period of 2012 the figure stood at 2.49%. In addition, interest rates on loans for over a year are 9.75% and in June 2012 they were 8.50%.
Authorities announced possible reforms to the rule that allows banks to freely determine interest rates, fees and surcharges.
In the context of recent research on the general rise in interest rates charged by banks, Antonio Echeverría, MP in the ruling Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) party, said that "with new wording" of Article 64 of the Banking Act, interest rates could be lowered.
During the VIII Petrocaribe Summit it was reported that the rate of interest on oil bills will be changed, increasing from between 2% to 4%.
The Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti, explained that Venezuela has modified the interest payment according to oil and oil supplies for more than a dozen Latin American countries. Guatemala's concern is so great that it no longer considers the agreement attractive and could move away from it.
Banks in El Salvador, barred by law from charging management fees, offset their lower revenues by raising interest rates.
According to the president of the Salvadoran Banking Association (Abansa) Armando Arias, "commission (for administration) has been transferred to interest rates." "What they (the banks) have probably done is to take (for example) the $8 which was previously charged as commission and move it across to the nominal interest rate," said the head of Abansa.
The Superintendency of Competition has started an investigation into the recent increase in lending interest rates of some Salvadoran banks.
From a press release from the Superintendencia de Competencia (SC) of El Salvador:
The Superintendency of Competition is investigating whether the recent rise in interest rates for loans from certain banks could respond to an alleged agreement between competitors to "compensate" for the elimination of charging an administration fee. The Superintendent will be requesting information from affected consumers.
The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador has announced in a statement the entry into force of the usury law on February 24.
A statement from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador reads:
The usury law, which aims to "prohibit, prevent and punish usurious practices, in order to protect the rights of ownership and possession of the people", entered into force on 24 February this year, informed the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador.
The Social Housing Fund (Fondo Social para la Vivienda) in El Salvador will keep the interest rate for social housing construction at 6%.
Francisco Guevara, president of the Social Housing Fund (FSV by its initials in Spanish), explained that this was because the housing supply was less than expected due to red tape delays.
"Some housing projects suffered from lack of technical documents which were in the process of being drawn up, or awaiting inscription in the National Registry. This halted three projects", said Guevara.