Summary
• The broader private monetary aggregate (private M3) exhibited a growth of 1.1% in January, registering a year-on-year variation of 25.1%. The monthly increase continued to be driven by credit in pesos to the private sector.
• Among the components of private M3, fixed-term deposits stood out, which, once the seasonal effects of December that generate a high demand for transactional money were overcome, once again showed growth of around
2.2%. Distinguishing by strata of amount, progress was made in both placements belonging to the wholesale segment (2%) and those of less than $1 million (2.5%). In year-on-year terms, the increase in fixed-term deposits stood at 31%, sustaining a significant dynamism.
• In January, loans in pesos to the private sector registered a growth of 2.7% ($12,450 million), somewhat lower than in December, although as expected for this part of the year, in which the summer recess begins. The year-on-year variation stood at 34.5%.
• Bank liquidity (sum of cash in banks, the current account of the entities in the Central Bank, the net passes with such entity and the holding of LEBAC and NOBAC; in terms of deposits in pesos) continued at high values, standing at a level similar to that of December (30.9%).
• In terms of reserve requirements, there were two regulatory changes. It was provided that as of March 2014 there will be a reduction in the requirement of Minimum Cash in pesos for an amount equivalent to 16% of the financing that has been agreed as of January 1
, 2014 to MSMEs and with a term of more than 5 years, within the framework of the Credit Line for Productive Investment (LCIP). On the other hand, in the foreign currency segment, an increase in the requirement
of 10 p.p. for demand obligations, and between 1 and 10 p.p. for fixed-term placements, depending on their residual term, was determined for each of the next three months.
• At the end of January, the Central Bank began to tender LEBACs denominated in U.S. dollars with the aim of promoting the banking penetration of dollarized savings. These securities can be subscribed only by financial institutions based on the fixed-term deposits of the private sector in dollars that they capture, have terms of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months and are tendered at predetermined cut-off rates ranging from 2.5% nominal annual for the shortest term to 4% for the 12-month specie. In the month, VN US$19 million of these LEBACs were placed.
• In order to stimulate savings in national currency, the Central Bank increased the interest rates on the LEBAC and NOBAC placements that are made every week in the primary market. Throughout the month, through these securities, the Central Bank absorbed $10,746 million.
