For the first half of 2023, the maximum limits that can be charged for credits in the country will increase
The Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) today published the new maximum annual interest rates for credit operations in colones, US dollars and other currencies that will apply for the first half of this 2023.
The Central announced it in a press release the maximum interest rate for all types of credit will be from 35.51% in colones and 28.71% in dollars. With regard to the maximum tariffs in force for the second half of 2022, usury rate for colones loans increased by 2.1 percentage points (pp)while for that of dollars increased by 0.99 pp.
For the microcredits (less than 693 thousand colones), the maximum interest rate will be 50.16% in colones and 40.7% in dollars. As regards the previous fixes, the rate for microcredits in colones increased by 2.93 pps while that in dollars increased by 1.38 pps
Given D+: Not all credit cards are considered microloans, regardless of their limit, for which the maximum limit of 35.51% in colones and 27.72% in dollars is in force.
Finally, credits in other currencies will have a maximum interest rate of 6.34%, also 0.66 pp higher than the 5.66% in force in the second half of 2022.
To calculate these interest rates, the BCCR used the simple average of the monthly lending interest rates negotiated for the preceding twelve months, in this case, for the period January to December 2022.
The interest rate for each month corresponds to the weighted average of the lending interest rates for all new credit transactions made during the respective month. The weighting is done according to the corresponding transaction amount.
The results published on this occasion present increases of between 66 and 293 basis points compared to what was communicated last July, in line with the trend observed in interest rates in 2022.
Charging an interest rate higher than those established by the BCCR will be considered usury. pursuant to article 243 of the penal code.
