More than 226,000 people lost access to credit in the financial system between May and December 2021, after the application of the Law that Protects Consumers of Financial Services from Usury, said Jorge Delgado, president of the Association of Financial Institutions of Microfinance of Peru (Asomif), based on the report of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR).
“This report reaffirms what was said from the beginning, that this was going to harm the vast majority of Peruvians”, commented the representative of Asomif in RPP.
He indicated that this rule, which came into force in May 2021, encourages Peruvian entrepreneurs to go for informal loans.
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“Instead of protecting them from these organizations, they have exposed them to informality because they charge rates of 20% to 800%“, held.
He added that there are reports about Colombians and Venezuelans who kill each other for having a sector in the market. “We have to imagine if these people attack each other, then what will happen to those who acquire the loans”, he alerted.
In this sense, Delgado requested a meeting between the Presidency of Congress, the Executive, the Ministry of Economy and the Congressional Economy Commission, so that they act responsibly and this law can be repealed.
“This situation must be corrected taking into account what is happening with this BCR report and the consequences that low-income Peruvians have been experiencing.“, I note.
It should be noted that since May 2021, financial entities are required to respect a maximum interest rate set by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR). This cap on collections is also in force for municipal and rural savings banks and the rest of the companies in the financial system due to the law approved in Congress that protects consumers from usury.
For the period between May and October 2022, the maximum interest rate is 83.70% for national currency and 67.36% in foreign currency, as reported by the BCR in April.
