Since January 2022, the usury rate has not reached the level at which it was in this last month of 2024, 26.39% effective annually, a figure that, although, has registered a significant decrease, it is still not the lowest in the last four years.
This is because in October 2021 the figure dropped to 25.62%, at a time when, after the strongest part of the pandemic, low interest rates were one of the main components to prevent the economy from continuing to fall. , but after the accumulation of savings they promoted strong consumption that increased inflation at levels of up to 13.25% in January 2023, mainly motivated by the food and non-alcoholic beverage divisions, and restaurants and hotels.
Regarding the usury rate, we must remember that in April 2023 this It reached 47.09%, a level not seen in more than 20 years.
(Read here: The issues that will mark the economic agenda in December)
Since that moment, 20 months have passed in which it has registered decreases. There is a 20.7 percentage point drop, 2,070 basis points.
Correspondingly, the Current Bank Interest, certified by the Financial Superintendence, has decreased since that month, 13.8 percentage points, or 1,380 pointbasic syou.
usury rates
The decrease for this month, of 1.51 percentage points, is the seventh largest drop in the last 20 months and analysts estimate that it will continue to fall, amid the less restrictive monetary policy of the Bank of the Republic that will probably end in year with a new decline and that will continue in part of 2025, until achieving a variation in the inflation rate of 3%, which is the long-term goal.
(See here: Dollar in Colombia: year-end closing projections. Will it drop below 4,400?)
It must be remembered that on May 2, 2023, the Colombian central bank raised its rate to 13.25%, the highest level since 1999, and on December 20, 2023 it began to be lowered and is currently 9.75%a decrease of 3.75 percentage points, 375 basis points.
Shopping, cheaper
Analysts consider that the lowering of the usury rate for the last month of the year, in which there is greater consumption, could generate a purchasing impulse, but it must be taken into account that 12 of the 30 banks recorded losses at the end of the third quarter , so caution during this season is important to prevent the quality of the portfolio from deteriorating again, at a time when it was slowly beginning to recover.
The Financial Superintendency in resolution (2394) that establishes the current bank interest (IBC) for consumer and ordinary credits for December 2024, also defined the certifications of the modalities of larger productive credit, rural productive credit, productive credit urban, rural productive popular credit and urban productive popular credit.
According to the document, The IBC for the month of December 2024 will be 17.59% annual cash for the consumer and ordinary credit modality.
usury rate
Regarding the current bank interest for the largest productive credit modality, it remained at 27.21% EA The certified rate for this credit will apply for the period between December 1 and December 31, 2024.
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For the rural productive credit modality it corresponds to 17.66% E.A and will apply for the period between December 1st and December 31st. Likewise, the urban productive credit modality corresponds to 35.95%, it will also go until this date.
The certification of the current bank interest for the rural productive popular credit modality will be 52.30% EA and the IBC certification for the urban productive popular credit modality corresponds to 58.89% EA, They will also be valid until December 31, 2024.
HOLMAN RODRÍGUEZ MARTÍNEZ
Portfolio Journalist
