Overview
- The Legislatura of the City of Buenos Aires approved the Programa de Desendeudamiento Familiar y Personal on June 19, creating a refinancing route for overdue card and personal loan balances.
- The law caps the nominal annual rate at 35% and requires a minimum term of 24 months for loans that replace existing debt, and it restricts eligibility to debtors with 60–180 days of arrears, household income below ten minimum wages and debt service above 30% of income.
- Implementation will be led by Banco Ciudad, the city has 30 days to issue reglamentación, and beneficiaries will have a 60-day window to apply once the rules are published.
- Public banks including Banco Nación are preparing soft‑credit lines while private banks say they prefer case‑by‑case restructurings and warn that fixed caps and uniform rules could reduce formal credit to higher‑risk borrowers and shift demand to fintechs and nonbank lenders.
- The program responds to record household delinquency: BCRA reported household morosity at 12.1% in April with personal loans near 15%, and experts say the law’s impact will hinge on the forthcoming regulation and on banks’ willingness and operational capacity to participate.