Access to credit is still scarce in the country, but there are radical differences between provinces. In Pichincha, for example, 46% of adults have access to credit, while only 12% do so in Guayas.
Although 71% of adults in Ecuador they have a savings account and uses it frequently, only 31% on average access credit.
This is one of the main conclusions of the study titled ‘Financial Inclusion in Ecuador’, prepared by the Network of Development Financial Institutions (RFD).
“A small percentage of people can access credit to increase their business or to buy durable goods such as houses or vehicles,” the report states.
This considerably slows down investment and consumption in an economy like Ecuador’s, which is celebrating a lost decade in terms of growth.
Not only is credit scarce, but it is concentrated in a few provinces.
86% of the deposits are concentrated in 7 provinces and 70% of the loans are grouped in 6. Guayas It is one of the most affected provinces, because only 12% of its adult inhabitants can access a credit operation.
At the other extreme, in provinces like Pichinchathe percentage of adults who access credit reaches 46%, that is, almost four times more than in Guayas.
“This indicates that the deepening of savings and credits is still scarce and the concentration levels not only occur geographically but also in a few people,” says the RFD.
In Emeraldswhich has been hit by the informality and the delinquency In recent years, access to credit barely reaches 14%.
The percentage of access to financing, through banks y cooperativesdoes not exceed 30% in 14 of the country’s 24 provinces. In addition to the examples already mentioned, this group includes all the rest of the provinces of the Coast, Galapagos; and provinces of the Sierra such as Loja and Cañar, among others.
Only in 10 provinces, access to credit exceeds 30% of the adult population.
“Credit is the blood in the veins of an economy. If access is scarce, the economy stagnates and poverty levels cannot be reduced. poverty and of lack of employment. A profound change is needed in the political system that establishes ceilings on interest rates, among other reforms to change the situation,” analyzed Carla Romero, economist and researcher on economic issues. financial inclusion.
Young people are the ones who have the least access to credit in Ecuador
According to the study by the Network of Development Financial Institutions, which includes 53 institutions active in the microcredit between banks, cooperatives, NGOs, the percentage of youths up to 30 years old who access credit is 18.3%.
This percentage is twice lower than the 43.8% who access financing between 31 and 45 years old. Meanwhile, in the group between 46 and 69 years old, access to credit reaches 34.6%.
Thus, young people are the most excluded from an economy that does not provide many formal employment opportunities; but it also does not offer facilities for undertakery prosper with your own business.
Although credit has increased for those aged 30 or younger, it still reaches few.
Thanks to credit, not only can businesses invest and grow; but also that households can maintain and increase their levels of consumptioneven though their income and the economy in general were affected.
This is one of the most interesting conclusions of the study ‘The Debt of Ecuadorians: a difficult burden to bear?’, carried out by the Network of Financial Institutions of Ecuador (RDF); with the support of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) and Equifax.
Credit should be a priority policy in Ecuador, Romero concluded. (J.S.)
Reviewing the rate system is the first step to improve access to credit
Within the recent financing agreement signed between the Government of Daniel Noboa and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) It includes a commitment to review the current interest rate system, which excludes the majority from credit.
Specifically, until March 2025, the main pillars or guidelines of a reform to the interest rate ceiling systemwhich has hit especially the granting of microcredits.
This commitment to the IMF is made public a few days after Angelo Caputi, president of the board of directors of Bank of Guayaquilsaid through his X account the following: “Without political overtones, the country should set itself the goal of increasing the number of people and companies that access financing, following market principles and protecting depositors’ money.”
Economist Alberto Acosta Burneo, editor of Analysis Weekly, has tried a response to the credit problem in Ecuador. According to his criteria, the shortage of capital in the underdeveloped Ecuadorian economy can be corrected through access to international savings (which is abundant in developed economies).
For this, in addition to radically changing the interest rate system, the Foreign Exchange Outflow Tax (ISD); modernize the legislation (under international standards) of both the financial system and the securities market.
From a liberal point of view, a simple and flexible banking law is needed that allows Ecuadorians to have access to lower interest rates and larger loans. Likewise, financial regulations must be simplified, all restrictions and taxes on capital movements must be eliminated and a territorial tax system must be adopted, that is, only income generated in the national territory is taxed.
Access to credit in Ecuador | |
| With cut to 2023 | |
| Province | % of adults with credit |
| Guayas | 12% |
| Pichincha | 46% |
| Manabi | 21% |
| The Rivers | 15% |
| Azuay | 28% |
| The Gold | 20% |
| Emeralds | 14% |
| Tungurahua | 35% |
| Chimborazo | 30% |
| Store | 29% |
| Imbabura | 35% |
| Cotopaxi | 34% |
| Saint Dominic | 18% |
| Saint Helena | 12% |
| Cañar | 26% |
| succumb | 16% |
| Bolívar | 39% |
| Morona Santiago | 25% |
| Cargo | 34% |
| Orellana | 19% |
| Napa | 27% |
| Pasta | 53% |
| Zamora Chinchipe | 36% |
| Galapagos | 24% |
By: LA HORA newspaper