February 01, 2021 – 11:30 pm
Newsroom of El País
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Banks in the country disbursed $ 11.8 trillion in loans for national companies, loans backed with the Government’s guarantee lines, according to data as of January 13, 2021.
These monies have been distributed in 476,994 credits that have allowed liquidity to the organizations, however, the perception among entrepreneurs continues that the cost that has had to be paid is high.
José Torres, manager of the Valle del Cauca company Paternit, commented that when the country was in full quarantine he took out a Bancoldex loan with an annual rate above 12%, a figure that he considers high for the time in which it was lived.
“When the economy was reactivated – we took other loans for payroll and I also consider that they are very expensive with about 2% per month. That for a company is high, suddenly not so much for the credit of a natural person ”.
According to this businessman, a 90% line guaranteed by the Government, which means that the State responds if the obligation is not fulfilled, it should not have such a high rate.
“I do not think that what the banks did can be called relief, it was a help to have resources, but in reality they did a good business, they have not been affected, they continue as if we were not in any economic emergency,” said the businessman.
On the subject, María Andrea Cardona, manager of K-Listo, assured that the company has had access to credit with special rates due to the Covid contingency, however, she considers that the problem has been generated with the relief that was given for the credits that companies were already paying.
“I think that the banks did not give clarity on the issue to entrepreneurs or individuals and the financial cost actually increased instead of freezing. And when the relief ended, we had to assume this high cost, “he said.
This is because many companies refinanced the loans they had, the payment term was extended, but the interest rate changed.
According to Yitcy Becerra, director of Acopi, a union that groups the Mipymes del Valle, some businessmen have reported that a debt of $ 58 million ended in $ 71 million due to the interest issue.
“The relief was given in terms of time for companies to pay fees, but loans have become more expensive,” he said.
According to Acopi, medium-sized companies have had easier access to credit lines, while small and micro companies not so much and it is the latter that must access more onerous loans.
But according to data from the Financial Superintendence, the cost of ordinary credit for companies has been reduced. While the rate was at 14.66% for March 2020, it is now at 12.46%.
However, for micro-enterprises it has increased. It went from 35.75% to 38.12%, in the same period.
“Since last year we have said that access to credit for MSMEs is negligible, according to the Financial Superintendency report, 24% of all the resources that the Government guarantees are for this group of companies,” said Yitcy Becerra.
Even so, according to a report from the Superfinanciera, microenterprises have received loans for $ 4 billion in 433,153 operations.
The entity also reported that interest rates respond to the behavior of various factors such as: the credit risk of the operations to be financed; market liquidity and the bank’s business strategy.
The outlook for 2021 should be good because the Issuer’s interest rate remains low at 1.75%. However, for this month of February the usury rate in the country rose 33 basis points and went from 25.98% in January to 26.31%, in the second month of the year for the consumer and ordinary credit modality. For microcredit it continues at 56.68%. Usury is the highest rate at which financial entities can charge a loan.
In Valle del Cauca, loans for $ 1.2 billion have been disbursed, with the support of the Nation. In total, 54,660 operations have been carried out.
Also read: This is how unemployment was in Cali during 2020
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