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One of the most important things when taking a credit is to know the interest rate. In short, it is the price to be paid for the amount of money that is requested from the lender. It should be taken into account that it is capped by law 18,212 and, if it exceeds the maximum percentage, it is considered usury.
Now, how is the cap calculated? At average interest rates —They are published on central bank (BCU) – add the interest caps of Law 18,212, which for credits less than 2 million Indexed Units (UI) —about $ 10,096,000— is 55% and for credits 2 million UI or more is 90%.
The BCU publishes the maximum limits for different types of credits on its website. There are for companies, and the difference between large, medium, small and micro. It also reports on loans to families, and distinguishes between consumption (with and without authorization of salary discount and by payment term) and housing.
For example, a consumer loan —without legal authorization to deduct assets— of $ 20,000 to be paid in two years may have a maximum rate of 138.91%. However, if there is legal authorization to discount assets, the maximum rate that can be set for the same loan drops to 48.98%.
On the other hand, if it is a consumer loan for $ 100,000 to be paid in two years —without legal authorization to deduct assets— the maximum rate they can charge is 97.8%. But, if assets can be discounted, the cap rate is 44.52%.
There is also what is the ceiling for consumer loans in Dollars less than 2 million IU. If they are for up to 366 days the rate is 9.9% and, if they are for 367 days or more, the maximum is 12.96%.
The home loans In UI they also have their limits: with authorization of discount is 8.4% and without authorization of discount 8.87%.
To do
Control at financial intermediation companies and the other natural and legal persons that regularly carry out credit operations is in charge of the BCU. For his part, Consumer Defense Area “It will have jurisdiction with regard to commercial credit granted by providers of non-financial goods and services within the framework of consumer relations and in the rest of the cases in general”, indicates the law 18,212.
It may happen that a person realizes that he took out a loan with usurious interest after he signed all the papers and paid several installments. However, it does not mean that nothing can be done about it. In this case, it is appropriate to go, “firstly, to the entity granting the loan to raise the situation and, eventually, if their situation is not addressed, make the corresponding claim,” the BCU explained to El País through your area of communication.
“Likewise, if the grantor of the loan is an entity supervised by the BCU or, where appropriate, a natural or legal person that regularly carries out credit operations; the user can report the situation directly to the Superintendency of Financial Services (of the BCU), in the User Service Unit through the available channels that are published on the institutional website ”, he added.
Now, how does the BCU proceed? “When a user complains, the corresponding investigation is started that implies, among other aspects, making the pertinent consultations to the entity involved in order to determine whether, in the case, there was or was not the collection of usurious interest”, commented.
If it detects that there was a collection of usurious interest, the BCU “has legal competence to instruct the return of the amount charged in excess, not only from the affected client but also from the portfolio of clients who were affected (in case of having more than one) ”, They added from the communication area.
Furthermore, if it detects that an “institution has charged or promises to collect usurious interest, it is instructed to immediately suspend the practice”, apart from returning the money, as already stated.
The BCU can apply sanctions of different magnitude, since it depends on the “seriousness of the offense, the attitude adopted in the face of the return instruction, the recidivism, among other aspects”. The measures “can range from warning to fines without prejudice to civil and criminal penalties that may correspond,” they said.
Law 18,212 establishes that criminal usury is when a “credit operation, taking advantage of the need, lightness or inexperience of a person, makes him give or promise, for himself or for others, usurious interests.”
In those cases, the Central Bank, as explained, “can give an account to the justice of the antecedents.” The legislation says that the punishment can range from six months to four years in prison.
What is the default ceiling that lenders can charge?
The cost of defaulting on credit payments
Law 18,212 also establishes the ceilings for default interest, which are intended to “sanction non-compliance with the agreed term for the payment of the loan repayment”, which is indicated on the BCU Financial User portal.
The legislation establishes that they must be agreed in clear and precise terms. In addition, it says that, in installment credit operations, “they may only be applied on the amount of overdue and unpaid installments and not on the total debt balance.”
So what are the default caps? For loans less than 2 million UI — about $ 10,096,000 — it is 80% of the average rates. And, for credits greater than that amount, it is 120% of the average rates.
For example, a consumer loan for $ 20,000 to be paid in more than two years without legal authorization to discount assets has a default interest cap of 161.32%. A different situation is if assets can be discounted, since the maximum percentage drops to 56.88%.
“Bear in mind that if you are late in the periodic payments with which you are canceling the credit you requested (installments), the creditor will not only charge you a higher interest rate (called default), but also it will be able to collect some commissions and extra expenses ”, warns the BCU.
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Maximum percentage to be charged to companies
The BCU publishes the limits that can be charged to companies. For example, if a large company wants to take out a loan in pesos of less than 2 million UI to be paid in more than one year, the maximum percentage is 12.76%. It is different if the company is small, since the ceiling rises to 22.8%.
On the other hand, if it is in dollars to be paid in less than 366 days, a large company has a cap of 3.95% and a small one of 7%.
Claims related to financial services
The Consumer Defense Area, which depends on the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), receives complaints or inquiries of all kinds. During 2020 it carried out 22,589 attentions and, in relation to 2019, there was a slight fall of 1.64%.
The office published how many attentions it made by area. Of the total, 3,713 were linked to financial services. If compared to 2019, the category had 28.57% less.
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