Description

As from issue number 50, the Series of Economic Studies of the Central Bank of Chile will be called Studies in Economic Statistics.

In this paper we analyze different segments of Chilean banking credit. Based on daily information obtained from the banks, we describe different types of bank loans—commercial, foreign trade, consumer and housing— in terms of currency, interest rates conditions (fixed and variable) and contractual maturity. Using the stocks of banking loans, which are computed based on banks’ balance sheets data, we concluded that commercial loans are the credit operations with the shortest contractual maturity, and that consumer credits have the highest interest rates, offered mainly in nominal pesos. Finally, the majority of the credits that finance foreign trade operations are short-term loans in foreign currency and housing loans are long-term and inflation-adjusted.