The “credit agreement” leaves good feelings

Among the good news for the country brought about by the agreement between the National Government and the financial sector to provide credit to sectors of the economy that need a boost, perhaps the most important is its political impact: the ability still alive. a different country based on dialogue and not conflict. It is a lesson that the administration of Gustavo Petro has been able to learn time and time again, finding that people are willing to work with the Casa de Nariño, despite between -deep ideological differences, but that the same president tends to send him away from time to time with his hostile actions and their stigmatizing speeches. In what is perhaps an integral part of what he has achieved in the economy, the Government is removing the risk from forced investments and encouraging consultation.

The agreement was unexpected given the tone of the national debate. The country was in the middle of a strong discussion about the option proposed by the Government for emergency investments. On the one hand, a section of the opposition, accustomed to the lack of nuances and using dishonest arguments, said that it was about elimination and basically a dictatorship. It was not like that. But, on the other hand, the Government argued that its intervention in the private credit market was with a high dose of hostility, without considering more the autonomy of the financial sector and with the basic idea to the Casa de Nariño knows better than the private sector. how to invest the money. It was, in short, one more opportunity to polarize, radicalize and play with the confidence of investors.

In this context, the agreement between the financial sector and the Government offers a significant difference. They went from being obvious enemies to working together. It was not easy: it took 19 long meetings to find a common language and define a roadmap. However, the result is positive. This is $ 55 billion in loans that go to sectors that need the effort to reactivate and do not necessarily have easy access to the banking system. If we add to that the loans for traditional sectors that are already programmed, such as manufacturing, business and housing, in total we are talking about $249 billion in short-term loans. That is to say, it is a major natural effort to chain the economy, very necessary after years of slowness.

The Government can boast, for example, that the popular economy sector will go from receiving $700,000 million in loans to approximately $4.1 trillion. The agriculture sector will go from $26.1 billion to $32.1 billion and tourism from $6.8 billion to $8.4 billion, two key sectors for the diversification proposal of the Petro administration. The most surprising thing about the deal is this: it’s a good economic idea. Using the financial sector, with its regulations, auditability and liquidity, to boost Colombia’s credit can help stimulate investment. Jonathan Malagón, president of Asobancaria, is right when he says “They are sectors that are able to turn investments into growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, therefore, into employment. “It is expected that it is so.

Therefore, with a good determination of the country’s needs and a willingness to establish beneficial relations with the private sector, Petro’s government has just won an important victory. If this comes, as expected, with a rate reduction by the Bank of the Republic, there are positive winds for the Colombian economy. All this without the need for Twitter conflicts.

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