Countries › Chile › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Banking in Chile for foreign groups: licensing a bank, foreign bank branches and representative offices, 10 percent ownership approval, capital, lending limits, deposit guarantee and secrecy

Banking in Chile for foreign groups: licensing a bank, foreign bank branches and representative offices, 10 percent ownership approval, capital, lending limits, deposit guarantee and secrecy

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Foreign banks can enter Chile by founding or buying a Chilean bank, opening a branch or opening a representative office; all need CMF authorisation, and branches and subsidiaries get the same rights and duties as local banks. A bank needs paid capital and reserves of at least 800,000 UF, half paid at start, buyers of more than 10 percent of a bank need prior CMF approval, and loans to one borrower are capped at 10 percent of regulatory capital, or 30 percent with collateral. Individual depositors get a State guarantee of up to 200 UF per bank and 400 UF across the system each calendar year.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44). UF figures use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 per UF for 26 October 2026 and UTM figures the October 2026 value of CLP 72,151. Conversions are for orientation only; the legal thresholds are set in UF or UTM.

Key facts

Minimum paid in capital and reserves of a bank	800000 UFDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 50, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Bank shareholding that needs prior CMF approval	10 %DFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 36, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Bank lending limit to one borrower (unsecured)	10 % of regulatory capitalDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 84 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Bank lending limit to one borrower with collateral	30 % of regulatory capitalDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 84 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
State deposit guarantee for individuals, per bank per calendar year	200 UFDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 145, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
State deposit guarantee for individuals, all banks per calendar year	400 UFDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 145, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Days the CMF has to reject a new bank's prospectus	180 daysDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 30, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Foreign banks may open a branch in Chile after obtaining a provisional CMF certificate in the same way as founders of a new bank, and then the definitive authorisation by filing the documents required for an agency of a foreign corporation; the CMF reviews the bylaws and whether the bank offers sufficient guarantee. The approving resolution and an extract of the bylaws are registered in the Commercial Registry and published in the Diario Oficial within 60 days, and the CMF authorises operation once the capital has been brought into the country and the branch is ready. A foreign institution taking a significant stake in a Chilean bank or opening a branch needs adequate home supervision, prior approval from its home supervisor and information exchange between supervisors.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos (Diario Oficial 19 December 1997), as amended by Ley Nº 21.130 (Diario Oficial 12 January 2019), Art. 29 and art. 32, 2019-01-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. The CMF may authorise foreign banks to keep representative offices acting as business agents for their head offices, with the same inspection powers it has over banks. Representative offices may never carry out banking business, though they may advertise the head office's credit products and services that the CMF determines. The authorisation can be revoked at any time for breach, serious or repeated breaches of other rules, or serious risk to public trust or financial stability.
Cost to do it: CMF fee for approvals of existence and similar authorisations: 34 UF (DL Nº 3.538 art. 33 Nº 5).DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 21.130, Art. 33, 2019-01-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Foreign banks operating in Chile enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same laws as local banks of the same category. Capital and reserves assigned to a branch must actually be brought into Chile and converted to pesos through a system authorised by law or the Central Bank. A foreign bank may not invoke its nationality for its branch's operations, all disputes on those operations go to Chilean courts under Chilean law, branch and head office are treated as separate entities, and Chilean and Chile domiciled creditors of the branch have preference over the bank's assets in Chile.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, Art. 34, 1997-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Founders of a bank file a prospectus with the CMF, which may reject it within 180 days on fit and proper grounds; if it does not, positive administrative silence can be invoked. After incorporation the CMF checks that the capital is paid and authorises existence, then has 90 days to verify readiness and the three year business plan, and 30 more days to grant the operating authorisation, setting up to one year to start business. Paid capital and reserves may not fall below 800,000 UF; 50 percent must be paid when the bylaws are executed or a branch is authorised.
Cost to do it: Minimum capital and reserves 800,000 UF (about CLP 32,976,864,000 or US$33.43 million); half at start, 400,000 UF (about CLP 16,488,432,000 or US$16.71 million).DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 21.130, Art. 30, art. 31, art. 50 and art. 51, 2019-01-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. No one may acquire, directly or through others, shares of a bank that alone or with those already held represent more than 10 percent of its capital without prior CMF authorisation; unauthorised shares carry no vote, and shareholders of a corporate holder may not transfer more than 10 percent of it without authorisation either. The CMF may only refuse if the applicant does not meet the fit and proper requirements of art. 28. Bank mergers, acquisitions of all or a substantial part of a bank's assets and liabilities, or taking control of two or more banks so that the result is systemically important need CMF authorisation within 60 days, and the CMF may refuse with the prior agreement of the Central Bank Board.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 21.130, Art. 35 bis and art. 36, 2019-01-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. A bank may not lend, directly or indirectly, to one person more than 10 percent of its regulatory capital (patrimonio efectivo), or 15 percent for credits to public works concessions secured by the concession pledge or syndicated by two or more banks. It may go up to 30 percent if the excess over 10 percent is secured by collateral worth at least that excess, and up to 30 percent for foreign currency export credits. Loans to another bank may not exceed 30 percent of the lending bank's regulatory capital.
Example: A bank with regulatory capital of CLP 1,000,000,000,000 can lend one borrower CLP 100,000,000,000 unsecured and up to CLP 300,000,000,000 with collateral covering the extra CLP 200,000,000,000. / For a bank with about US$1.01 billion of regulatory capital, that is about US$101 million unsecured and US$304 million secured per borrower.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 20.190 (Diario Oficial 5 June 2007), Art. 84 Nº 1, 2007-06-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. The State guarantees deposits and time deposits through savings accounts or nominative or order documents issued by banks, for individuals only; all of a person's covered deposits at one bank count as one obligation. No one may benefit by more than 200 UF per bank per calendar year, and no more than 400 UF in total per calendar year. A document naming a legal entity is excluded.
Cost to do it: Coverage of up to 200 UF (about CLP 8,244,216 or US$8,356) per bank and 400 UF (about CLP 16,488,432 or US$16,713) in total per year; companies are not covered.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 21.130, Art. 144, art. 145 and art. 146, 2019-01-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. Deposits and funds of any kind received by banks are subject to bank secrecy and may only be disclosed to the holder, someone expressly authorised by the holder, a legal representative, or whoever the law authorises to request them; other operations are reserved and may be disclosed to those with a legitimate interest where no harm to the client is foreseeable. The CMF may share reserved information with the Financial Analysis Unit for anti money laundering purposes.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 21.713 (Diario Oficial 24 October 2024), Art. 154, 2024-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Vehicle	Can take deposits and lend	Key requirements	Articles
Chilean bank subsidiary (S.A.)	Yes	Prospectus, 800,000 UF capital (half at start), CMF authorisations, home supervisor approval	Art. 27 to 31, 50, 51
Branch of the foreign bank	Yes, same rights as local banks	Provisional certificate, capital brought in and converted to pesos, Chilean courts, local creditor preference	Art. 32 and 34
Representative office	No banking business; may advertise head office credit products the CMF allows	CMF authorisation, revocable	Art. 33
Cross border lending from abroad	Loans to Chilean borrowers from the head office	No Chilean licence for the loan itself; 4 percent interest withholding and Central Bank reporting apply	See the capital markets, banking and credit overview

Ways a foreign bank can operate in Chile (DFL Nº 3 of 1997)

Worked example

A Spanish bank wants to serve Chilean corporates. A representative office lets it market head office loans but not book business in Chile (DFL Nº 3 art. 33). To take local deposits it would open a branch, bringing in at least 400,000 UF (about US$16.7 million) at authorisation and reaching 800,000 UF (about US$33.4 million) of capital and reserves (art. 50 and 51), or buy more than 10 percent of a Chilean bank with prior CMF approval (art. 36).
Meanwhile it can lend from Madrid: interest to it bears 4 percent Chilean withholding, the 0.8 percent stamp tax cap applies on loans of 13 months or more, and the interest cap of Ley Nº 18.010 does not apply to loans from foreign banks (Ley Nº 18.010 art. 5).

Step by step

1. Choose the vehicle: representative office, branch, subsidiary or acquisition.
2. Obtain the home supervisor's prior approval and confirm information sharing with the CMF (art. 29).
3. File the prospectus and business plan; the CMF has 180 days to object (art. 30).
4. Incorporate or register the agency, pay in at least 50 percent of 800,000 UF and bring the capital in through the formal FX market (art. 34 and 51).
5. Pass the CMF readiness review (90 days) and obtain the operating authorisation (30 days), then start within the term set (art. 31).
6. For an acquisition above 10 percent, file for CMF approval before closing (art. 36).

Common traps

Doing banking business through a representative office: it may only act as business agent and advertise (art. 33).
Buying more than 10 percent of a bank, directly or through a holding company, without prior approval: the shares lose voting rights (art. 36).
Assuming a corporate deposit is State guaranteed: the guarantee covers individuals only, up to 200 UF per bank and 400 UF a year (art. 144 and 145).
Leaving branch capital offshore: it must be brought in and converted to pesos (art. 34).
Treating the branch as shielded from Chilean courts: all disputes on its operations are heard in Chile (art. 34).

Sources

← Governance of Chilean open corporations: board size, gender balance reporting, independent directors and directors committee, related party transactions, minimum dividend and withdrawal rightsInterest rate ceiling and credit law in Chile: the CMF current and maximum rates for October 2026, exempt loans, indexation, prepayment, default interest and foreign currency debts →