Política de la tasa de usura en el mercado financiero en Colombia: implicaciones, efectos y recomendaciones

Abstract

Financial inclusion is essential for economic growth and poverty reduction, particularly in developing countries. In Colombia, access to formal credit is crucial, as informal market interest rates can be up to nine times higher. The usury rate policy, defined as 1.5 times the Current Banking Interest Rate (IBC), is a key regulatory mechanism aimed at protecting consumers and limiting market power. Since 2015, its calculation has evolved, with significant methodological changes in 2023 and 2024 affecting different credit categories. These adjustments led to an approximate five-percentage-point reduction in interest rates for consumer and commercial loans and altered the weighting of products in the IBC calculation.

While these changes facilitated differentiation by risk profile and improved access for certain productive loans, they also generated distortions, particularly in rural credit markets. A macroeconomic analysis shows that a one-percentage-point decrease in the usury rate led to a 1.9%–3.5% reduction in consumer loan portfolios, with a total contraction of 9% (COP 18 trillion) between September 2023 and November 2024. This restricted access to credit, especially for high-risk individuals, reducing formal loans by 1.23 to 2.22 million. These findings highlight the trade-off between consumer protection and financial inclusion, raising policy challenges for sustainable credit access.