LATAM interest rates — country-by-country comparison

Each Latin-American country publishes its own reference rate and its own mandatory comparative indicator for consumer credit. Comparamigo assembles on a single page the exact name of each indicator, the supervisory authority, and the direct link to the official publication where the current value lives. We do not fabricate numbers: when the day-of figure is what matters, we send you to the relevant central-bank publication. When understanding why the credit offer differs across borders is what matters, this page explains the structural differences.

Why each country has a different indicator

Headline rates in advertising — "from 1.5% per month" — do not let you compare two offers. To fix that, each financial-system regulator requires publication of a single indicator that bundles nominal interest, fees, mandatory insurance, administrative costs, and disbursement charges. The acronym differs by country (CET in Brazil, CAT in Mexico, TEA in Ecuador/Colombia/Peru, TCEA in Peru, CFT in Argentina, CAE in Chile) but the goal is identical: let the applicant choose using one number. The reference or policy rate is a different concept: it is the instrument the central bank uses to manage liquidity. Raising policy reduces inflation; lowering policy cheapens credit. Both coexist in the same market and sometimes move in opposite directions.

Policy rate versus consumer rate

The policy rate — Selic in Brazil, TPM in Chile, objective rate in Mexico, intervention rate in Colombia, reference rate in Peru, passes rate in Argentina — is set periodically by the central bank as a control instrument. That rate is NOT what a consumer-credit applicant pays. The translation from policy rate to consumer rate runs through the bank’s funding cost, portfolio risk, operating costs, reserve requirements, and commercial margin. The gap between the published Selic and the rate advertised on a personal loan can span several percentage points. To compare microcredit or consumer credit, the comparative indicator (CET/CAT/TEA/etc.) matters — not the policy rate.

Why Ecuador is the outlier

Ecuador has operated under official dollarization since 2000. That means the Banco Central del Ecuador does not run its own monetary policy — there is no Ecuadorian equivalent of Selic or TPM. Rate regulation in Ecuador works through reference active rates per portfolio segment (corporate productive, SME productive, expanded-accumulation microcredit, simple-accumulation microcredit, retail microcredit, consumer, housing) that the BCE publishes monthly together with the Junta de Política y Regulación Monetaria. The maximum legal rate applicable to an Ecuadorian microloan comes from that publication, not from a policy decision.

How Comparamigo cites the figure

On each country page you will see two things: the exact name of the rate or indicator (TIIE 28-day, BADLAR for private banks, Selic over, etc.) and a link to the official publication. We do not transcribe the numeric value into Comparamigo for an operational reason: the value changes several times per month, and a comparator showing stale numbers confuses more than it helps. When we offer comparisons of specific products (microloans, term deposits), that is when we show the comparable total cost each lender or bank publishes for its specific product — not the macro reference rate.

Structural differences across the seven markets

Brazil has the longest chain: Selic → CDI → consumer rate, with CET as the BACEN-mandated pre-contractual disclosure. Mexico runs through TIIE at its various tenors and requires every consumer credit to disclose Banxico’s CAT. Argentina references BADLAR and TM20 for term deposits and mandates CFT in any credit offer. Chile sets TPM and caps legal cost via the Tasa Máxima Convencional certified by CMF, requiring CAE as the comparable. Colombia starts from BanRep’s intervention rate and applies the Tasa de Usura as the legal cap. Peru has BCRP’s reference rate and reports TCEA per product. Ecuador is the atypical case due to dollarization: BCE publishes reference active rates per segment without a policy rate of its own.

When this figure matters to you

If you are taking out an indexed mortgage or a commercial credit at variable rate, the policy rate matters because it moves your future payment. If you are taking out a consumer loan at fixed rate, the comparative indicator (CET/CAT/TEA/CFT/CAE/TCEA) of the product matters — not the policy rate. If you are opening a term deposit, the country’s reference passive rate and the institution’s rating matter. For each case it pays to read the official publication — direct links live on each country page. If you are looking for concrete microloan comparisons, that work happens in the microloans section per country: the comparable indicator appears in the table, side-by-side, with no filler.

Rates and regulators by country

Frequently asked questions