The Banking system warns of the rising cost of credit by 0.5% tax

César Robalino, President of the Association of Private Banks of Ecuador (ABPE for its Spanish acronym), said that the new measure under which is established the payment of the 0.5% for loans will result in “more expensive credit for the clients in general”.

The payment of such amount would apply to all credits, including the ones made ​​through credit cards, financing, portfolio purchase, discount of bills and repurchase agreements with the private financial sector, controlled by the Superintendency of Banks.

Robalino indicated that although the cost of the credits has increased, this will not affect the current rate of credit growth, which has slowed. However, he said, they would have to wait to see the behavior of the market.

Marcos Lopez, Former member of the board of the Central Bank, said that the return of the contribution to Solca, seeks to alleviate the weight of several expenses in the state budget, which has a growing need to cover the expenditure of the central government.