The Chilean congress is poised to pass legislation that will create a central register of collateral used by SMEs to take out credit.
Small companies have to pay an upfront tax of 1.6% of the loan amount, known in Spanish as impuesto timbres y estampillas, every time they take out a new loan (including when they switch lender). Furthermore, every lender has a separate register of the collateral (perhaps land or a house) used against the loan.
Under the new scheme – expected to come into...
