September 19th / 2024.
The Secretariat of the Board of Directors of the Colombian Central Bank recently modified its stance on the limitation under which Foreign Exchange Market Intermediaries are the only ones allowed by the regulation to disburse foreign currency loans to Colombian residents.
The new interpretation by the Colombian Central Bank establishes that the disbursement and/or payment operations of a foreign currency loan between residents are: internal operations and can be carried out using the compensation accounts of the creditor and debtor residents.
Therefore, the disbursement of a foreign currency loan between residents is not considered an exclusive operation of the Foreign Exchange Market Intermediaries. Consequently, an external loan obtained by a resident in Colombia and granted by a non-resident or a Foreign Exchange Market Intermediary can be disbursed to a compensation account of the debtor resident, and those funds could be used to perform foreign currency loans to other residents, using the compensation accounts of the creditor and debtor residents.
In general and subject to a case-by-case review, the tax effects of these operations do not change compared to their execution in Colombian Pesos. However, this new interpretation could imply interesting tax planning opportunities under which these operations, allowed under the new construal, could imply tax efficiencies in taxes such as the debit tax.
At Gómez Pinzón, we are always keeping a close eye on the development of any regulatory changes regarding the foreign exchange regime in Colombia. For any inquiries on these matters, please do not hesitate to conct our Banking. Finance & Capital Markets’ team.