Peru Central Bank Cuts Reserve Requirement for Trade Finance

Peru’s central bank cut the reserve requirement for trade finance as it seeks to avert a reduction in the availability of credit to exporters.

The central bank cut the reserve ratio for trade finance in dollars to 20 percent from 65 percent, it said in an e-mailed statement today.

Outstanding loans for foreign trade operations contracted 14 percent to 8.58 billion soles ($3.2 billion) in May from a year ago, after declining 11 percent in April, the central bank said June 22. Growth in trade finance slowed to 3.8 percent last year from 41 percent in 2010 as the global economy cooled, according to the central bank’s website. The segment accounted for 9 percent of total lending to companies last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net