The new release will have an annual interest rate of 9%.
SANTO DOMINGO. The Monetary Board (JM) authorized the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) to release RD$50 billion from the legal reserve requirement, representing 2.4% of the liabilities subject to this requirement. These funds must be granted at an interest rate no higher than 9% per annum and for terms of up to two years, to economic sectors with a broad impact on productive activity, such as construction, manufacturing, exports, and agriculture, as well as to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
In adopting these measures, the Monetary Board took into consideration the high levels of uncertainty and volatility in the international landscape associated with multiple geopolitical conflicts worldwide; as well as the liquidity levels of the financial system, the upward trend in interest rates at the national level, and the moderation of credit to productive sectors.
In this regard, the objective of this program is to provide the financial system with liquid resources to facilitate credit to productive sectors and help boost the pace of economic growth. It is important to note that these measures are being adopted in a context where forecasting models indicate that inflation will remain within the target range of 4% ± 1% established in the monetary program, thus providing the necessary leeway to implement monetary easing policies that will contribute to the recovery of domestic demand.
Furthermore, with the aim of supplementing the credit supply to the aforementioned productive sectors, the Monetary Board authorized the use of RD$14 billion corresponding to unused funds from the legal reserve approved through Resolution Five of November 21, 2024, under the same financial conditions as the new interest rate release, which is no higher than 9% annually. It is worth recalling that this resolution was originally intended exclusively for the acquisition and construction of low-cost housing, as well as for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
postponement was arranged for RD$17 billion in rapid liquidity facilities (FLR), which were originally scheduled to return to the Central Bank between June and December 2025. This measure helps prevent beneficiaries of loans granted through this facility from having to refinance at higher interest rates.
On the other hand, the Monetary Board specified elements regarding the scope of the limits on financing in foreign currency to those who do not generate foreign exchange, excluding from said limit short-term foreign trade operations, implemented through letters of credit or similar instruments; as well as activities linked to the tourism sector whose income is received in national currency.
With this program to provide liquidity in national currency for RD$81 billion and the adjustments implemented in the prudential rules of financing in foreign currency, we will contribute to the expansion of credit to the private sector and to greater dynamism in the Dominican economy; in a context of price stability and strength of its macroeconomic fundamentals.
