The Superintendence of Banking, Insurance, and Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) of Peru has enacted Resolution SBS N° 01689-2025, which updates the obligations of financial system institutions regarding the information they must provide to users in cases of credit application refusal. This regulation, in accordance with Law N° 32294, seeks to strengthen consumer financial protection and promote greater transparency in access to credit, which is crucial for the development of microfinance and economic inclusion.

This is an important step towards protecting the rights of financial users and in creating a more equitable and transparent credit system. The new resolution modifies Article 22 of the Regulation of Market Conduct Management of the Financial System. With this amendment, financial companies are now required to inform applicants of the specific reasons for a credit refusal within a maximum of seven business days from the date the application was submitted. This obligation applies to all companies in the financial system, except when the refusal is due to prudential regulations issued by the Superintendence, in which case they only need to indicate that circumstance.

Among the most notable new features of the resolution are:

• Mandatory deadline for information: Financial institutions have 7 business days to respond to a request for information about a credit refusal. This deadline provides speed to the process and prevents undue delays that could harm the user in their search for financing.
• Communication channels: The information must be provided through the communication channels that the company has previously informed the user of, thus guaranteeing the accessibility and traceability of the response.
• Exception for prudential regulations: When the refusal is based on the application of the SBS’s prudential regulations, it will suffice to indicate that the decision is due to said regulatory framework, protecting the confidentiality of the institution’s prudential risk assessment.
• Classification of an infraction: It incorporates “failure to comply with the established deadline to respond to users’ requests for the reasons for refusal” as a new minor infraction. This empowers the Superintendence to apply penalties in case of non-compliance, strengthening customer protection.

Impact on the Microfinance and MSE Sector

For microfinance institutions, this implies a review of their internal processes for communication and application management, ensuring that their systems allow them to meet the required deadlines and quality of information. In addition, it encourages them to develop more robust financial education so their clients can understand the credit evaluation criteria.

For MSEs and entrepreneurs, clarity in credit refusal is a valuable tool. It will allow them to identify errors in their proposals, credit histories, or business models, which facilitates the correction of faults and improves their profiles for future applications. All of this results in a more streamlined access to credit for this productive segment. Financial inclusion is strengthened, as the information asymmetry between the financial institution and the applicant is reduced.

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Also in Peru, the Consumer Protection Law was modified to regulate credit refusal reports, requiring financial institutions to inform of the reasons for a negative rating, with the exception of considerations regarding the applicant’s profile based on prudential regulations. The main objective of this new regulation is to establish procedures for the regularization and correction of consumer information in credit bureaus. It also seeks to ensure that consumer credit information is accurate and updated quickly, something fundamental for risk assessment and access to microfinance products. By reducing update times and establishing clear responsibilities, the goal is greater financial inclusion and customer protection.

The Law introduces two articles of special interest on the regularization of credit information and the correction of data for unrecognized consumption.

In Latin America, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) do not have a marginal role; they are the core of productive activity: they represent 99.5% of the business landscape and 60% of formal employment (UNDP, 2024). Additionally, more than a third of the region’s workers are self-employed (ILO, 2023). 

However, a paradox persists: although they are essential for social and economic inclusion, MSMEs face gaps that restrict their capacity to grow, generate quality jobs and drive innovation. This leads to lower incomes, less resilience, and limited competitiveness compared to more advanced economies. 

Placing MSMEs at the heart of an inclusive, digital, and green productive transformation is an imperative for accelerating sustainable development. This requires action on four strategic fronts: 

• Insertion into Local and Regional Value Chains 

The limited participation of MSMEs in value chains limits their access to demanding markets and higher quality standards. To address this challenge, it is key to strengthen the role of large companies as pivotal companies, which promote innovation and dissemination of know-how and to articulate national clusters with regional networks. In the context of productive relocation and nearshoring, Latin America can leverage its geographical and cultural proximity to consolidate more robust and resilient chains, positioning itself as a strategic supplier to global markets. 

• Technological uptake 

The region maintains a considerable digital divide: between 2014 and 2016, technology assimilation in businesses grew by just 4.5%, compared to 16.4% in China (ECLAC, 2021). In 2019, only half of businesses had a website, and the use of big data or artificial intelligence (AI) was minimal. Although the pandemic accelerated digitalization, the benefits were captured by large firms. 

Closing digital gaps requires strengthening digital support frameworks, connecting universities, innovation centers, and technology providers with business demands. It is also key to promote collaborative platforms and learning networks that drive the exchange of information and knowledge management, as well as strengthen digital connectivity infrastructure. 

MSMEs must not lag behind in leveraging the opportunities of AI. Beyond operational efficiency, AI can transform business models by anticipating trends, personalizing products in real-time, and improving traceability and quality, which are essential conditions for their insertion into value chains. 

• Climate Mitigation and Resilience 

Latin America, despite emitting less than 5% of global CO₂, is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change (EIB, 2023). Hurricanes, floods, and droughts directly affect productive chains, while almost half of the countries’ capital cities are classified as “extreme risk” (Green Climate Fund, 2021). In a just climate transition, MSMEs face two challenges. The first is mitigation: decarbonizing their business models with renewable energy and energy efficiency, and converting carbon-intensive sectors toward sustainable activities. The second is adaptation: being especially vulnerable, they must strengthen their resilience and capacity to respond to hydrometeorological events that threaten the continuity of their operations. 

The great challenge will be to maintain and improve job quality. Some jobs will disappear, others will be transformed, and new ones will be created, but the objective must be a positive net effect on employment, without leaving any segment behind. 

• Access to Financing 

Financing is decisive for MSMEs to advance in these transformations. The global credit gap amounts to USD 5.7 trillion; Latin America accounts for nearly USD 1 trillion (SME Finance, 2025), which affects 29 million businesses. Closing this gap demands modernizing financing infrastructures, integrating open finance and data systems, credit schemes based on assets, and effective frameworks for insolvency. Development banks must expand their transformative role with derisking strategies and the mobilization of private capital toward underserved segments. Furthermore, financial education strategies are relevant to promote a productive use of credit and encourage responsible repayment habits, which are not very strong in the region. 

A New Productive Contract for the Region 

The future of Latin America depends on its capacity to place MSMEs at the heart of the productive, digital and green transformation. The challenges are significant, but the opportunities are even greater. An agenda that combines these four elements can make MSMEs the cornerstone of a development model that leverages entrepreneurial talent, innovation potential, and the ability to generate quality jobs in the region. 

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References

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Cathles, A., Suaznábar, C., & Vargas, F. (2022). Radiografía de la transformación digital en las firmas de América Latina y el Caribe. Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo.

Cirera, X., Cruz, M., Grover, A., Lacovone, L., Medvedev, D., Pereira-López, M., & Reyes, S. (2021). Firm recovery during COVID-19: Six stylized facts (Policy Research Working Paper Nº 9810). Banco Mundial.

Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL). (2021). Tecnologías digitales para un nuevo futuro (LC/TS.2021/43). Santiago de Chile.

Green Climate Fund. (2021). Increasing resilience through nature-based solutions in Latin American cities (Nature4Cities Latam).

Hirs-Garzón, J., & Vargas, F. (2023). Prioridades para la digitalización empresarial en América Latina y el Caribe. Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate resilient development pathways (Chapter 18). In Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 2657–2800). Cambridge University Press.

Katz, R., Jung, J., & Callorda, F. (2020). El estado de la digitalización de América Latina frente a la pandemia del COVID-19. CAF – Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe.

Luaces, S., & Gulasan, N. (2025, 26 de junio). Micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas resilientes: Por y para la prosperidad. Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD).

Marchitto, B., Conde, J., Santos, R., de Nicola, C., Ferrazzi, M., Baldini, A., Pal, R., Parigi, E., & Bermingham, C. (2023). Climate risk in Latin America and the Caribbean: Are banks prepared for the green transition? . European Investment Bank.

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OCDE, CAF y SELA. (2024). Índice de políticas para las MIPYMES: América Latina y el Caribe 2024: Hacia una recuperación inclusiva, resiliente y sostenible. Publicaciones de la OCDE.

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Martin Naranjo Landerer holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences and a Bachelor of Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. He later earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and Ford Foundation Fellow.

He is a former General Manager of Banco de Desarrollo del Perú – COFIDE and former Superintendent of Banking, Insurance, and Pension Fund Administrators. He has also held key leadership positions at renowned international organizations and institutions such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Bancolombia, and Financiera Confianza. 

Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASBANC, President of the Red de Estudios para el Desarrollo (REDES), Vice President of CONFIEP, and Director of inPERÚ and the Consejo Privado Anticorrupción (CPA).

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According to the World Bank, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the driving force of the Latin American economy, representing over 90% of all businesses in the region and generating the bulk of formal employment. However, they face significant challenges, from informality to limited access to financing and technology.

In Peru, Congress recently approved the Law for the Formalization, Development, and Competitiveness of Micro and Small Businesses (MYPE) last May. The law aims to enable their formalization and give them access to tax benefits. To analyze the impact of this type of action and explore what can be done to boost the competitiveness of MSMEs throughout the region, we spoke with Martin Naranjo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Banks of Peru (ASBANC).

• MSMEs drive a large part of the region’s economy, but many struggle to grow. From your experience, what are the most urgent barriers that need to be overcome for these businesses to be more competitive?

MSMEs account for the majority of employment in many economies. In developing countries, their potential is constrained by clear obstacles. The most crucial is the high cost and low benefits of formality. This is not a gradual process: no matter how small the company is, its budget must cover national taxes, local contributions, municipal licenses, and relatively sophisticated compliance and financial management costs.

This discontinuity becomes a wall that many businesses cannot climb, especially if, in return, they receive little from the State in terms of basic services and infrastructure. The result is informality and the low productivity that comes with it.

Formalization and productivity go hand in hand when good institutions, reliable infrastructure, and macroeconomic stability are in place. Strong institutions—in education, health, justice, and security—along with quality basic infrastructure—roads, telecommunications, energy, water, and sanitation—in a stable environment reduce uncertainty, operational risks, and transaction costs, including those associated with formalization.

The competitiveness of MSMEs cannot be solved with isolated programs. It requires a comprehensive environment that combines macroeconomic stability, strong institutions, reliable infrastructure, and tools designed to support the growth of small businesses within formality from the start.

• In Peru, the MYPE Law was just approved, which seeks to accelerate formalization and grant tax benefits to these types of businesses. What tangible effects do you think this law can have on a micro-entrepreneur’s daily life, and what lessons could it extend to other countries?

The law incorporates several mechanisms aimed at facilitating the formalization of MYPEs. These include initiatives such as an order for the Executive Branch to implement an online system to establish a company in just 48 hours; the declaration of national interest in granting loans with preferential rates to formalized MYPEs and the mandate to COFIDE, Banco de la Nación, and Agrobanco to promote financing through financial intermediaries.

The MYPE Law represents a significant step forward, but its real impact will depend on how it translates into practice for the small entrepreneur. In the end, formalizing is a rational calculation. If a small business owner sees it as more red tape, time, and control, it won’t be appealing. On the other hand, if it opens access to financing, broader markets, and state services, it will become a worthwhile investment.

The success of the MYPE Law will depend on its ability to lower the discontinuity in the costs of formalization. The more it succeeds in simplifying procedures and offering real-world incentives, the greater its chances of becoming a blueprint for other countries.

• In an increasingly digital environment, a small business’s competitiveness also depends on technology. How can financial institutions help MSMEs embrace digital tools and new ways of working to drive their progress?

Today, digitalization is critical for survival; a small business’s ability to compete depends heavily on it. In this process, financial institutions have a decisive role. Digital financial tools are increasingly reliable, accessible, and allow for better risk management. A digital payment system generates a verifiable history; an electronic wallet reduces dependence on cash; an online loan managed with alternative data expands the customer base. Each digital innovation in finance facilitates formalization, improves productivity, and provides efficiency, better information, and greater planning capacity.

But adopting these tools requires reliability and security. With inclusive products, lower access costs, and secure digital services, banking can become the bridge that allows MSMEs to transition to formality and consolidate their growth.

• At the Foundation, we collaborate with international development and microfinance organizations. By fostering alliances, could MSMEs in Latin America achieve more sustained growth or even help with their internationalization?

Undoubtedly, strengthening alliances between local actors and international development and microfinance organizations can decisively boost the growth of MSMEs and even open up opportunities for them in international markets.

These alliances not only provide financing but also knowledge, networks, and standards that accelerate learning and strengthen capabilities. By facilitating the mutual exchange of ideas, tools, and institutions, they connect and disseminate best practices. This way, they promote innovation, the adoption of new tools, and the possibility of scaling with greater productivity and sustainability.

• Final Message

I’d simply like to congratulate the BBVA Microfinance Foundation for its commendable initiative. Beyond removing barriers, passing laws, innovating, forging alliances, or achieving impressive impacts, it is an exemplary effort for one fundamental reason: recognizing the dignity of each person by creating real opportunities to lift them out of poverty will always be the right direction.

Peru’s Congress has enacted Law No. 32353, a regulation that redefines the legal framework for the formalization, development, and competitiveness of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE). This law aims to boost the economy and ensure a more favorable environment for this sector by simplifying processes and improving working conditions.

What Defines a Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE)?

The law classifies companies based on their annual sales:

• Micro-enterprise: Up to 150 Tax-Based Units (UIT).
• Small enterprise: Up to 1,700 UIT.

Simplification for Formalization and Access to Labor Justice

Micro-enterprises are not required to be established as a legal entity and can be run directly by their individual owner.

If an owner chooses to form a legal entity, the law facilitates the process and allows monetary contributions to be accredited via a sworn statement. It also establishes a simplified formation and registration procedure for capital that does not exceed 4 UIT.

The formal establishment of MSEs can be done digitally, with the online process expected to be completed in under 48 hours. 

Access to Markets, Financing, and Social Security

• Peru’s Development Finance Corporation (COFIDE) is tasked with designing financial products, assessing risk, and channeling resources. Funds are allocated for guarantee and venture capital funds, facilitating access to credit.
• The law authorizes MSEs to transfer their creditor rights to regulated financial institutions in state contracting processes, which helps ensure prompt payment.
• It also promotes MSEs’ access to national and international markets through business associations, state purchases, and export promotion.
• The retention of the full performance guarantee is authorized as an alternative in state contracts. 

Improved Labor Conditions for MSE Workers

The law creates a special labor regime for MSE employees, guaranteeing:

1. Minimum wage
2. Eight-hour workday
3. Weekly rest and vacation
4. Protection against unfair dismissal
5. Benefits like Complementary Risk Work Insurance (SCTR), life insurance, collective rights, profit sharing, and Compensation for Time of Service (CTS).
6. A differentiated severance pay for unfair dismissal: Micro-enterprise workers will join a partially subsidized, semi-contributory regime of the Comprehensive Health Insurance. Small enterprise workers will be regularly insured by ESSALUD.
7. A mandatory Social Pension System is established for workers and owners of micro-enterprises under 40. It features gradual contributions and a state recognition bonus.

Chile’s Commission for the Financial Market (CMF) has presented the 24th edition of its Gender Report in the Financial System on women’s access to financial products and female participation in management positions in the financial sector. 

According to the report, although the financial industry has shown significant progress in gender equity, such as women’s increasing access to products and the closing of gaps in population coverage, there are still challenges to overcome.

Gaps in Financial Management Positions 

The report reveals that Chile is below the average of developed countries in women’s participation in management positions in the financial sector, with only 17%, compared to figures of 45.5% in France or 39.3% in Canada.

In the financial sector, women are mostly in positions of lesser responsibility, with little representation on boards of directors and in the senior management of microfinance and other financial institutions.

Access and Use of Financial Products

Although men and women have similar access to credit, there is a 37-point gap in the amounts granted. Women have more access to consumer loans, but less to housing and commercial loans.

A positive trend is observed in Chilean women’s access to microcredits and other financial products adapted to their needs. 

Payment Behavior and Insurance Policies

Less insurance coverage: The proportion of insured women (56.3%) is slightly lower than that of men (58.8%). This gap is more pronounced in life insurance starting at age 50.

Women, in general, maintain better debt payment behavior, according to delinquency and renegotiation indicators.

Digital gap: The lack of access to technology and digital skills limits women’s participation in digital financial services such as online banking and mobile payments, a crucial factor for financial inclusion today.

Female Participation in Mutual Funds

As a new feature, this edition of the Gender Report in the Financial System includes information on the population coverage of investments in Mutual Funds. As of September 2024, more than 2 million individuals were investors in these funds, of which 49.7% were women.

Report Conclusions and Future Challenges

• The study emphasizes the need to design financial products and services with a gender perspective, which consider the particularities of women entrepreneurs and micro-business owners.
• Collecting and analyzing gender-disaggregated data is essential to formulating public policies and business strategies.

Colombia’s National Commission of Agricultural Credit (CNCA) has approved the 2025 Annual Guarantees Plan, a crucial instrument for the financial revitalization and strengthening of the agricultural and rural sector. The initiative underscores the government’s commitment to financial inclusion and support for producers, especially small and medium-sized ones, who are pillars of the rural economy.

Its scope of application covers all organizations that make up the National Agricultural Credit System and those in the public sector that guarantee agricultural or rural activities.

Commissions and Coverage of the Agricultural Guarantees Fund

• The Agricultural Guarantees Fund (FAG) of Colombia has taken measures in 2025 with the objective of making it easier for more farmers and ranchers to access credit.
• The Fund does not cover 100% of all loans but offers coverage percentages that vary according to the type of producer and the project.
• The Fund has set a goal for 2025 to recover the money it had to provide to banks when producers were unable to repay their loans. The entity in charge of managing the FAG (Finagro) will be able to negotiate payment agreements with producers who fell behind on their debts between 2020 and 2021.

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New Law That Promotes Opportunities for Rural Women

Colombia’s Congress has also enacted Law 2462 of 2025, which establishes measures to guarantee equal opportunities for rural women, peasants, and fisherwomen—those who have migrated from the countryside due to armed conflict or land dispossession, prioritizing those with fewer economic resources. The law enables the full exercise of their economic, cultural, social, political, environmental, and territorial rights, seeking to close the historical gaps of discrimination in the rural context.

The law promotes the participation, autonomy, and equal opportunities of rural women and highlights the need to make their contribution to the national economy visible.

Access to Credit and Guarantees

The National Commission of Agricultural Credit (CNCA) will create an annual strategy to eliminate barriers and close gaps in credit access for rural women. These credits will be granted preferentially to rural women, peasants, and fisherwomen, victims of armed conflict, and female heads of household involved in agricultural activities, peasant, family, and community economies, and activities associated with traditional and sustainable economies. Barriers based on gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic level will be eliminated.

The Agricultural Guarantees Fund (FAG) will establish an agricultural insurance line for rural women, with mandatory technical assistance, and small and medium-sized rural producers will have priority access to FAG guarantees.

Additionally, the Fund for the Promotion of Rural Women (FOMMUR) is created to increase the participation of rural women in economic and social policy, prioritizing those with low incomes.

The Commission for the Financial Market of Chile (CMF) has published its 2025-2026 Regulation Plan, which details a series of regulatory and legislative projects aimed at strengthening prudential supervision and market conduct, seeking greater resilience and efficiency in the financial system. The proposed measures will impact financial institutions, insurance companies, and savings and credit cooperatives, with a focus on adopting international standards and adapting to new market dynamics.

The CMF will provide continuous technical support to various legislative bills currently in Congress. Among the most relevant for the financial sector are the Development Agency, Bank Resolution, and Risk-Based Supervision in insurance. 

Prudential Regulation: Areas of Action

The prudential regulation plan has several lines of action, including:

• Rules for the refund of shares in savings and credit cooperatives: Requirements for the refund of shares will be established, a measure derived from the approval of the Resilience Law.
• Minimum credit card payment: A formula will be established to determine the minimum payment and its conditions for exception.
• Recovery plans in banking institutions: Banking institutions will be required to prepare recovery plans following best practices in bank resolution.
• Consolidated Debt Registry: Operational rules will be issued for the registry.
• Financial risks derived from climate change: A regulatory proposal will be developed in collaboration with the Climate Change Technical Secretariat, which will establish guidelines on corporate governance and climate risk management.
• Parametric insurance: Following the approval of the Fintech Law, regulations will be issued establishing requirements, information, product types, and indices for the commercialization of parametric insurance.

The European Union has taken an important step in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) with the publication of the Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI (GPAI), a voluntary tool that seeks to help the industry comply with the obligations of the AI Act, especially regarding the security, transparency, and copyright of general-purpose AI models.

With this publication, the European Union aims to foster an AI ecosystem that is innovative, safe, transparent, and respectful of rights, laying the groundwork for the responsible development and implementation of artificial intelligence.

GPAI Structure and Content

The code has three chapters:

• Transparency: It includes an easy-to-use documentation form for providers to detail the necessary information to comply with the AI Act on model transparency.
• Copyright: It gives providers with practical solutions for complying with the AI Act and establishes a policy for adhering to EU copyright legislation.
• Safety and Protection: It contains new practices for managing systemic risks.

How to Adhere to the GPAI

Providers of general-purpose AI models interested in adhering to the code can do so by completing a signature form and sending it via email to EU-AIOFFICE-CODE-SIGNATURES@ec.europa.eu.

More information on the questions and answers regarding the Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI