The National Guarantees Fund (FNG), a key piece to support business credit in Colombia, will again have Javier Andrés Cuéllar as president again, although this time in charge. This was ordered by the Ministry of Finance through decree, while defining who will hold the property in ownership after the exit of Piedad Muñoz.
It should be noted that this designation, although surprise, is not a vacuum leap, since Cuéllar knows in depth the functioning of the fund, since between 2023 and 2025 it was its president, leading the expansion of credit guarantees at a time of marked economic uncertainty.
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Now, from his current role as a public credit director in Minhacienda, he must combine both responsibilities to keep the operation underway of an entity that supports thousands of small and medium enterprises in the country.
A return with accumulated experience
Born in Ibagué in 1985, Cuéllar is professional in finance and international relations of the Externado University of Colombia. His academic training includes a master’s degree in public administration at the London School of Economics and another in business administration at the Hult International Business School.
Treasury
Private archive
His career in the public sector has been marked by the link with the FNG, Since since 2018 he was a delegate of the Ministry of Finance on the Board of Directors of the Fund, a role in which he remained during the administrations of ministers such as Mauricio Cárdenas, Alberto Carrasquilla and José Manuel Restrepo.
In 2021 he assumed as president of the Board of Directors of the Fund and a year later went on to occupy the vice presidency of risks of the entity. Finally, in 2023 he was appointed president of the FNG by then Minister José Antonio Ocampo, a position he held until the beginning of 2025.
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Way in the private sector
Before his responsibilities in the public sector, Cuéllar worked in the international financial sector. Between 2013 and 2016 he was linked to State Street Bank and Trust Company, in the United States, first as a business analyst and then as an assistant vice president.
His passage to the Ministry of Finance occurred in March 2025, when Germán Ávila assumed as head of the portfolio. At that time, Cuéllar replaced José Roberto Acosta in the Public Credit Directorate, in the midst of the shame that followed Diego Guevara’s departure. From there he has been leading public debt management, in a specially challenging year for national finances.
The fiscal deficit is the great challenge to overcome from the national government.
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Likewise, the return to the National Guarantees Fund as a person in charge It coincides with a key moment in which the entity plays a central role in the revitalization of business credit, especially for MSMEs that require support in their operations; Therefore, ensuring the continuity of guarantees programs and sustaining the confidence of banks and businessmen will be a fundamental part of their work.
In addition, its double role in Minhacienda and in the background places it as a strategic bridge between fiscal policy and access to private credit, a key point to sustain economic activity amid the uncertainty that public finances are going through.
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Although the commission is temporary, the presence of Cuéllar sends a sign of stability to the market and the financial system; while the Ministry of Finance seeks with this designation to ensure that there are no gaps in the management of the fund and that The institutional strengthening line it has had in recent years is maintained.
For now, the truth is that the Tolimense economist returns to a scenario that he knows by heart, with the task of ensuring that the National Guarantees Fund remains a support engine for business credit in the country.
Daniel Hernández Naranjo
Portfolio journalist
