Debt Relief Law in Honduras
The Debt Relief Law for Public and Private Sector Workers, approved by the National Congress of the Republic in November, aims to allow Honduran workers who are heavily indebted in commercial houses, non-bank lenders and in the Honduran regulated system, as well as workers who, without being over-indebted, can consolidate their debts and have access to formal credit.
The people who have access to the benefits offered by the Debt Relief Law for Public and Private Sector Workers are all workers who earn a salary, regardless of their hiring modality, credit history and whether they are paid through the National Financial System, or any other modality. Retirees or pensioners may take advantage of this mechanism; however, the financial institutions must carry out the corresponding analyses to determine the individual payment capacity, by virtue of the existence of restrictions to apply payroll deduction for their condition.
The entities that will serve the beneficiaries of the Law are regulated financial system institutions, cooperatives and pension institutions, which may, within the limits established in this Law and other applicable legislation, consolidate debts to workers through financial products and ensure their repayment via payroll deduction, which guarantees risk mitigation.
Finally, the primary reason for the Government of Honduras is to favor people who are in a situation of over-indebtedness; and that workers may opt for a program of access to credit and consolidation of their debts before financial institutions regulated or not regulated by the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS, by its acronyms in Spanish).
Gabriela Aguirre Barahona
Associate
García & Bodán
Honduras