Although currently it is not a good time to get into debt due to the high level at which interest rates have reached and consequently the usury limit, which most of the Credit cardsThere are a few options to deal with this situation.
Payments aimed at specific purchases that some banks allow, constitute one of the novelties for customers who use their plastics.
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Thus, the client can choose a higher payment towards a specific purchase to try to make it pay off before the agreed time.
The portfolio sale Whoever charges less is useful at this time, since it is feasible to change a debt with interest of more than 40% for another at 20%, which although it is not a bargain, is at least half of the original.
There is also the well-known formula buy within a month and even twoas some entities are already allowing, without paying interest, not even a management fee.
Another piece of advice, as Camilo Quiñones, from the fintech Resolve your Debt, says, is to pay off the largest and most expensive credit first, as this is the best way to begin to see a decrease in payment agreements that will be pending.
“The most expensive loan is directly related to the highest interest rate. By liquidating the one that takes most of the income, it will be possible to reduce the total amount that is paid for interest ”, he assures.
You have to remember that the Bank of the Republic it began normalizing its monetary policy in September 2021 and has raised its intervention rate from 1.75% to 12% and is expected to raise it again on January 27, given the data of 13.12% with the which closed inflation in 2022, a figure that no one estimated.
And in this sense, this transmission has been given to the market both for placements (credits) and deposits (savings and CDT).
Likewise, the current bank interest (ibc), which is calculated and certified by the Financial Superintendence, has risen significantly, and the usury rate, which represents the maximum value of remunerative or default interest that an organization can charge economic agents. and it is built as 1.5 times the ibc, in January it is 43.26% for the modality of consumer and ordinary credit.
With this change, the increase in the rate is 180 basis points compared to the previous period, since in December it was 41.46%.
Quiñones also recommends doing a good budget for basic income and expenses such as the market, education and housing. “These three points could reach the salary and have some savings left,” she says.
He points out that “it is not about promoting people not to get into debt, but about tightening their belts and trying to lower their indebtedness. Now, if the person is heavily indebted, he can request advice from the fintech ”.
Review your accounts and credit card limits so as not to borrow more than necessary in this time when so many expenses come together.
credit risk
For David Pérez-Reyna, a professor at the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes, a deterioration in the portfolio could be possible, but he does not believe «it is a serious problem for the banking sector, because it is generally well capitalized.»
Andrés Giraldo, professor of economics at the Universidad de los Andes, said that at this time there is more uncertainty with variable rate loans than fixed rate ones.
«The portfolio was already high and beyond a credit risk that leads people to be prudent when it comes to borrowing because the Issuer makes the credit that implies the expansion of consumer spending and investment more expensive because the bank seeks a soft landing of the economy,» he said.
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