Colombia | Banco de la República reduced its policy rate by 50 bp to 11.75%

Banrep Board maintains March's pace of cuts, with a 50bp reduction in April, accumulating a total of 150bp since it started its downward rate cycle in December 2023. The decision was split, with 5 members in favor of the 50bp reduction, one member in favor of a 75bp reduction and one in favor of a 100bp reduction.

Key points

• Key points:
• Banrep's Board statement highlights that core and total inflation continued to decline in the month of March (about 600bp reduction over the last year in total inflation).
• The Bank's Staff revised expected economic growth to 1.4% (from 1.2%) for 2024 and 3.2% (from 3.5%) for 2025. These revisions are due to a better start of the year in some indicators relative to what the Bank anticipated, particularly the performance of the primary and tertiary sectors.
• They highlight in the external environment that for the United States core inflation remains above the target and is more persistent, the labor market remains tight and some surprise has been observed in economic growth.
• At the press conference, it was emphasized that the weak performance of the banking sector in recent months is due to cyclical factors and has no relevant impact on solvency indicators.

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