(Bloomberg) -- Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said Venezuela’s central bank will reduce reserve requirements for lenders, potentially boosting a moribund local credit market.
Rodríguez did not add details on the reduction of reserve requirements, which reached as high as 100% in 2019 as the socialist government choked off credit to help rein in six-digit inflation. The central bank’s measures drastically reduced consumer price gains but severely restricted bank lending and consumer demand.
Speaking to local bank CEOs, insurance companies and financial regulators from the presidential palace, Rodríguez also said an inter-bank FX market would be created to allow dollar exchanges, potentially enabling banks to avoid government fines. The finance ministry will also start offering “investment instruments” as of next week, she added, without elaborating.
These days, most Venezuelan credit cards have monthly limits of about $60 and consumer credit represents less than 5% of total bank portfolios. Recently, buy-now, pay-later services in the country have lured millions of clients thanks to pent-up demand for credit.
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