The reforms to the Credit Cards Law came into force
The past October 4th, 2017 came into force the reforms made to the Credit Cards Law of 2006, the ones that were promulgated in Diario Oficial La Gaceta the past August 4th, 2017, through the Legislative Order No. 57-2017.
These reforms are focused on designating a maximum ceiling of 54% that apply to the annual average interest rate to be charged to credit cards users in Honduras, given that these interests had reached the highest ones in the Central American region. Also, it is established the same annual ceiling of 54% as a reference for other financial operations that performs the non-bank lenders in the financing of goods and services or money.
The reforms also authorized the readjustment of the debts that remain under ambiguous or impossible to pay financial conditions. On the other hand, the credit and savings cooperatives properly authorized by Consejo Nacional Supervisor de Cooperativas, may emit credit cards according to the arranged in the decree and a previous no objection from Superintendencia de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito.
It is established that the minimum payment from the transmitter should include the total interests, commissions and no financeable charged, plus a proportion of the current capital balance not less than 2.6%, plus the overdue capital of the minimum payments of the past months.
Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros (CNBS) must regulate the technical procedure when applying its modifications and percentages. Other reforms that are implemented are the prohibitions to increase the interest rate to the loans granted for the credit cards payment in case of insolvency, any premium or commission charges to enjoy the benefit of the payment and the granting of new credit cards in case of insolvency.
David Díaz Hernández, Associate in Honduras, explains that “with the entry into force of the reforms that, although they generate expectations of implementing a more energetic action tending to benefit the population and to protect it from interests that for a while have been considered users, it comes to attenuate the situation of insolvency and over-indebtedness from a significant proportion of the Honduran population, as well as to regulate a sector that has been left unnoticed during a long time”.