Central Reserve Bank: Credit in Peru, Most Dynamic Among World’s Major Economies

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Credit to companies in Peru expanded 22.3% year-on-year in November 2020, making it the most dynamic among the world’s main economies, according to information recently released by the country’s Central Reserve Bank (BCR).

The lending entity explained that this type of credit expanded 22.3% last November, if compared to the same month in 2019, due to disbursements of new loans from the Reactiva Peru Program.

Reactiva Peru enables the economic system to remain operational by preventing the payment chain from breaking in times of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This variation is explained by higher loans in domestic currency (42.5% in annual terms), which was partially offset by an 11.5% decrease in U.S. dollar loans.

“The inter-annual growth rate of credit to companies (22.3%) was one of the highest at the international level due to the Reactiva Peru Program,” the BCR indicated.

Compared with developed and other emerging countries, this variation is above those registered in the United States (14.3%), France (11.4%), Russia (7.4%), and Germany (6.2%).

Likewise, credit expansion in Peru is higher than the rates observed in Latin American countries such as Brazil (22.1%), Chile (7.2%), Colombia (4.4%), Costa Rica (3.8%), and Mexico (3.5%).

Credit to individuals

For its part, the sum of loans to individuals increased in November for the second consecutive month —since the pandemic began in Peru— recording a growth of 0.5% compared to the previous month. However, a year-on-year decrease of 2.5% was registered.

Moreover, mortgage credit experienced a small increase of 0.9% in November (in relation to the previous month), thus accumulating four months of positive variation.

Additionally, it registered a growth of 3.1% compared to the same month in 2019, while consumer credit rose merely by 0.25 (-6.2% in the last 12 months).

Aggregate growth

On a consolidated basis, credit to the private sector —which includes loans granted by banks, financial, municipal and rural savings banks, as well as cooperatives— expanded 12.4% in November compared to the same period in the previous year.