LatinNews Daily - 18 March 2020

* Paraguay’s central bank (BCP) has cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.25%, and reduced the foreign currency reserve requirement for local banks by 2%, in a bid to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on the domestic economy. A BCP statement said that its monetary policy committee (CPM) decided to adopt the measures given the various monetary policy steps being taken by central banks around the world to ensure that there is enough liquidity in the markets to deal with the effects of the pandemic. The BCP also announced that local firms would be given a grace period to pay off any bank loans, or allowed to refinance them should they encounter financial difficulties. The moves by the BCP come as the government led by President Mario Abdo Benítez said that it is currently evaluating the adoption of emergency fiscal policy measures, also aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic.

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