The Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) carries out a series of actions aimed at contributing to improving decision-making by citizens when accessing credit products.
In recent months, the BCU has made contributions in the framework of the discussion of the bills being studied by the Legislative Branch on consumer credit.
The data of the Clearing of reports presented in the Finance Commission of Deputies detail that 35% –some 980 thousand people – of those who are in the database with their credit history have a negative report when registering a default in the payment of their debts. Furthermore, the lower the income of individuals, the higher the concentration of total debt.
The Executive Power marked as one of its priorities for this legislative year the usury bill, which aims to regulate and limit the interest charged for access to credit. This is an initiative under study by the Finance Commission of Deputies. Legislators are thus working to unify two similar texts: one presented by Cabildo Abierto and the other by Daniel Peña (Partido de la Gente). In parallel, the commission is analyzing another bill in which the Frente Amplio member Felipe Carballo raises a “second opportunity” for people who, with debts for loans contracted, are entered into the Clearing of reports.
In this area, both the Board of Directors and the technical services have contributed to the discussion of the issue by sending the information required by the legislators and appearing before the various parliamentary commissions that study these initiatives. Additionally, The BCU began a public communication campaign aimed at strengthening the conceptual aspects and criteria of individuals and families when opting for credit products available in the market. The audiovisual content distributed through social networks presents relevant concepts that guide decision-making when choosing the most appropriate products for the situation of each person or family.
In the campaign on #QualityCredits, it focuses on the criteria that, based on the available information, the Central Bank suggests considering before taking out a loan:
- Personal or family budget
- The interest rate
- The maximum interest rate cap
- The “credit footprint”, which is built from the rating that the institutions give each user according to their payment behavior.
