Finance

Findeter has $243.5 billion ready to lend in areas hit by emergencies
Findeter president María Paula Tejada Bustos announced the Territorios Milagro credit line, with 243.5 billion pesos aimed at subsidizing interest rates and financing recovery projects in areas affected by emergencies and natural disasters. Eligible borrowers include governorships, municipalities, regional decentralized institutes or companies, and affected private companies. As a second-tier bank, Findeter disburses funds through rediscounting via supervised financial intermediaries.
FinanceColombiaLas2OrillasOct 23AI
Dollar opens in Colombia with a TRM of $3,185.01 after falling $6.46
The dollar starts the October 23, 2026 session in Colombia with a Representative Market Rate of $3,185.01, according to the Banco de la República, a drop of $6.46 from the previous day's $3,191.47. The TRM is down 18.35% from October 23, 2025 and 0.74% from the same day of the previous month. At exchange houses, buying ranges from $3,081 in Medellín to $3,200 in Cúcuta.
FinanceColombiaCaracol RadioOct 23AI
Villar: high rates still curb growth, but any cut must be sustainable
At the 2026 Colombian Construction Congress, Banco de la República governor Leonardo Villar said high interest rates hinder growth through financing costs and their effect on investment and consumption, and that any eventual rate cut must be sustainable and take place with inflation under control. "High interest rates are a requirement for inflation to fall," he said. Camacol reported declines in housing launches, sales and starts as of August.
FinanceColombiaLa NaciónOct 23AI
Tourism spending in Colombia totaled close to COP 78.4 trillion in 2025, according to Dane
Dane's Tourism Satellite Account showed that inbound tourism spending rose from COP 50.5 trillion in 2024 to COP 54.7 trillion in 2025, an 8.4% increase. Domestic tourism grew 14.8%, with residents spending COP 23.7 trillion on trips within the country. Both segments together totaled close to COP 78.4 trillion in tourism spending, generating revenue for air transport, food and beverages, accommodation and road transport.
FinanceColombiaLa RepúblicaOct 23AI
Grupo Nutresa signs contract to buy the Presto brand
Grupo Nutresa signed a purchase agreement to acquire the Presto brand and its productive economic unit, which includes points of sale, a plant and production centers. The announcement was made on October 23, 2026, in Medellín. Presto, founded in 1981 and with 45 years in the market, will operate as an independent brand within Alimentos al Consumidor, Nutresa's restaurant business that includes brands such as El Corral and Papa John's. While the integration is completed, its restaurants continue to operate normally.
FinanceColombiaEl ColombianoOct 22AI
Air-e warns energy consumption rises 20% in subnormal sectors of Colombia's Caribbean region
Ramiro Castilla, Air-e's intervention agent, warned at the National Energy Balance Hearing that energy consumption in subnormal electrical sectors of the Caribbean rose 20%, compared with 12% in regularized sectors and 6% in the rest of the country. He said $65 billion pesos are not being collected in those areas and that the company loses $520 billion pesos monthly. Mines and Energy Minister María Nohemí Arboleda stressed the need to save energy to get through the El Niño phenomenon.
FinanceColombiaZona CeroOct 22AI
Banco de la República governor explains why the interest rate is not being cut
Banco de la República governor Leonardo Villar Gómez explained at Camacol's Colombian Construction Congress in Cartagena why the monetary policy interest rate is not being cut. Villar said he would "love" to lower it sustainably, but noted that keeping rates high is a requirement for inflation to fall. He attributed inflationary pressures to the sharp minimum wage increase, a larger primary fiscal deficit and strong growth in domestic demand. He acknowledged that high rates affect housing construction.
FinanceColombiaEl Universal (Cartagena)Oct 22AI
Nubank lets customers finance Bre-B transfers with their Nu credit card limit
Nubank, the neobank founded by Colombian David Vélez, announced that customers with a Nu credit card can finance Bre-B transfers using that product's available limit and pay in installments. The option is available in the Nu app, where users choose between their debit account or credit card, and can split payments into 1 to 36 installments regardless of the amount. The company explains that the operation works as a cash advance and that the transferred amount accrues interest, plus a financing fee.
FinanceColombiaRED+ NoticiasOct 22AI
Villar warns a 9.4% of GDP fiscal deficit in 2027 would be "unimaginable" for Colombia
Banco de la República governor Leonardo Villar warned that if the government's announced adjustments are not applied, the fiscal deficit would reach 9.4% of GDP in 2027, a figure he called "totally unimaginable" for Colombia since the War of the Thousand Days. With the corrections, the deficit could stand at 7.2% of GDP, a level similar to 2021. Villar explained that the inflow of resources to finance the 2027 budget contributes to the appreciation of the peso.
FinanceColombiaEl ColombianoOct 22AI
The seven bets of the National Development Plan to grow Colombia's economy by 6%
DNP director Julián Buitrago presented the seven pillars of the National Development Plan of Abelardo De La Espriella's government at the Colombian Construction Congress, aimed at reaching 6% economic growth by the end of the administration in 2030. The pillars include reconstruction of areas hit by the August 10 earthquake, security and legal certainty for investment, housing, health and energy, megaprojects, the Altillanura, the transformation of the State, and talent and innovation.
FinanceColombiaEl TiempoOct 22AI
Prosecutor's Office seized six cellphones in probe into financing of Pacto Histórico primary
Colombia's Attorney General's Office seized six cellphones in operations in Bogotá and Barranquilla as part of a probe into alleged irregularities in the financing of the campaigns of Iván Cepeda and Carolina Corcho in the Pacto Histórico internal primary of October 26, 2025. The operations, carried out by the DIJIN police unit under an order from a prosecutor of the Specialized Directorate against Corruption and with authorization from a judge, included personal searches of six citizens.
FinanceColombiaCaracol RadioOct 22AI
Colombia's Fiscal and Customs Police seize 10 tonnes of smuggled food in Ipiales
In the first half of 2026, officers from the Criminal Investigation Basic Unit of the Ipiales Operational Control Division of the Fiscal and Customs Police seized 10 tonnes of perishable food: 8,630 kilos of rice and 1,500 kilos of sugar, plus 1,200 units of cleaning supplies and 6,850 units of tuna and energy drinks, valued at $130,698,228. The goods, carried in a truck bound for Cali, lacked documents proving legal entry into the country and INVIMA sanitary registration, and were handed over to DIAN.
FinanceColombiaDiario del SurOct 22AI
Dollar closes lower in Colombia at $3,185.01
The dollar closed the session in Colombia down US$6.46 against the day's TRM, moving from US$3,191.47 to $3,185.01. During the day the currency ranged between lows of US$3,171 and highs of US$3,197.75, with 1,865 transactions worth US$1.410 billion. So far this year the currency has fallen $565.61. Rising oil prices since the start of the Middle East conflict and uncertainty over the US legislative elections are affecting the market.
FinanceColombiaLa FMOct 22AI
'Mejora tu Casa' buys materials from neighborhood hardware stores, boosting Bogotá's local economy
The 'Mejora tu Casa' program, run by the Caja de la Vivienda Popular (CVP), improves homes in Bogotá while strengthening neighborhood economies. Instead of going to large retailers, the entity buys materials from hardware stores and supply depots in the intervened area itself. Óscar Escamilla, owner of Ferremilla in Bosa San Pedro, said the CVP has bought pegacor, nozzle, sand, blocks and rollers from him, and that the impact is twofold: families improve their homes and local businesses sustain their sales.
FinanceColombiaPulzoOct 22AI
Villar defends Banrep's high-rate strategy to anchor inflation before builders
Leonardo Villar, governor of Banco de la República, explained before the Colombian Construction Congress, organized by Camacol in Cartagena, why the institution keeps interest rates high. Villar acknowledged the sector's difficulties with credit costs, but argued that cutting rates with inflation at twice the 3% target could raise price expectations and long-term borrowing rates. He also said the fiscal scenario pressures public debt yields and makes housing financing more expensive.
FinanceColombiaEl EspectadorOct 22AI
Clevercel returns to a2censo for COP 3 billion to expand its used-technology inventory
Colombian company Clevercel, which recovers, refurbishes and sells phones, tablets, smartwatches and computers, opened a campaign on a2censo, the crowdfunding platform managed by the Colombian Stock Exchange, seeking up to 3 billion pesos. The operation is structured as 36-month debt at a 16.5% effective annual rate with monthly principal and interest payments. The funds will go to working capital to buy inventory. In 2022 the company obtained 450 million pesos through the same platform.
FinanceColombiaEl TiempoOct 22AI
Northeast region and Bogotá were the only areas with economic growth in the third quarter, according to Banco de la República
According to Banco de la República's Regional Economic Pulse, only the northeast region —Santander, Norte de Santander, Boyacá and Arauca— and Bogotá would have posted annual increases in economic activity in the third quarter, driven by industry and transport. Five of the seven regions would have seen a decline compared with the same period of 2025, and all recorded a weaker result than in the second quarter. The August 10 earthquake and high temperatures particularly affected the Southwest and Central Coffee regions.
FinanceColombiaVanguardiaOct 22AI
Dollar closed at 3,185.01 pesos in Colombia, below the day's TRM on October 22
The dollar closed this Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 3,185.01 pesos in Colombia, 6.46 pesos below the day's TRM of 3,191.47. During the session the currency traded between a low of 3,171 and a high of 3,197.75, with 1,865 transactions worth about 1.41 billion dollars. The TRM rose 27.71 pesos from Wednesday (0.88%) but is down 565.61 pesos so far in 2026, a 15.05% decline.
FinanceColombiaNoticias RCNOct 22AI
Banco de la República expects to meet below-4% inflation target by 2028
Banco de la República governor Leonardo Villar said the country's projected spending adjustment supports meeting the below-4% inflation target by 2028. He acknowledged that the targets will not be met this year or next, and attributed the improvement in expectations to the 235-basis-point interest rate hike in the first quarter, complemented by another 25 basis points. He spoke at the 36th National Congress of Family Compensation Funds in Cartagena.
FinanceColombiaELHERALDO.COOct 22AI
Dollar closed at COP 3,174 in Colombia, COP 17 below the TRM
The U.S. dollar closed the October 22 session in Colombia at COP 3,174, a drop of COP 17 from the COP 3,191 TRM set by the Financial Superintendency. The session opened at COP 3,193, with a high of COP 3,197 and a low of COP 3,171, and an average price near COP 3,185. About USD 1.104 billion was traded, with average transactions of USD 713 million.
FinanceColombiaRevista SemanaOct 22AI