Countries › Chile › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Capital markets, banking and credit in Chile: the CMF, the Securities Registry, takeovers, bank licences, interest rate caps, stamp tax on loans, Fintec rules and capital gains on listed shares

Capital markets, banking and credit in Chile: the CMF, the Securities Registry, takeovers, bank licences, interest rate caps, stamp tax on loans, Fintec rules and capital gains on listed shares

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

One regulator, the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF), supervises Chile's securities market, banks and insurers, keeps the Securities Registry in which every public offering and its issuer must be registered, and since the Ley Fintec of 2023 also registers crowdfunding platforms, alternative trading systems, advisers, custodians and order routers. Borrowing in Chile is shaped by three rules investors meet early: a legal ceiling on interest (the interés máximo convencional), stamp tax of 0.066 percent per month of term capped at 0.8 percent on loan documents and loans from abroad, and 4 percent withholding on interest paid to foreign banks. Gains on Chilean listed shares with stock market presence pay a single 10 percent tax in 2026, and Ley Nº 21.850 of 17 October 2026 makes them non taxable income from 1 January 2027.

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. Conversions are for orientation only; the legal thresholds themselves are set in UF.

Key facts

Integrated financial regulator (securities, banks, insurance, fintech)	Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) textDL Nº 3.538 art. 1, text set by Ley Nº 21.000, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Shareholder count that forces registration of a corporation's shares with the regulator	500 shareholders, or 10 percent of capital held by at least 100 shareholders; register within 60 days textLey Nº 18.045 art. 5 c) and art. 6, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Holding that triggers next day reporting of every trade in a listed company	10 %Ley Nº 18.045 art. 12, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Holding that triggers a mandatory tender offer for the remaining shares (within 30 days)	Two thirds of voting shares textLey Nº 18.045 art. 199 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum paid in capital and reserves of a bank	800000 UFDFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 50, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum regulatory capital to risk weighted assets for banks	8 %DFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 66, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum core capital to risk weighted assets for banks	4.5 %DFL Nº 3 of 1997 art. 66, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Legal maximum interest rate (interés máximo convencional)	Greater of 1.5 times the CMF current rate or the current rate plus 2 points textLey Nº 18.010 art. 6, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Stamp tax on credit documents and foreign loans, per month of term	0.066 %DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum stamp tax on a credit operation	0.8 %DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Withholding on interest paid to foreign banks and financial institutions	4 %DL Nº 824 art. 59 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Tax on gains from listed shares with stock market presence, through 31 December 2026	10 %DL Nº 824 art. 107, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Tax on gains from listed shares with stock market presence, from 1 January 2027	0 (non taxable income) %Ley Nº 21.850 art. 8 Nº 4 and ninth transitory article Nº 3, as of 2026-10-26 · pending
Fintech services that require registration with the regulator	Crowdfunding, alternative trading systems, intermediation, order routing, credit and investment advice, custody textLey Nº 21.521 art. 5, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) is a decentralised, technical public body related to the President through the Ministry of Finance. It must ensure the proper functioning, development and stability of the financial market, keep a systemic view of it, protect investors, depositors and insured persons, and supervise that regulated persons comply with their rules from the start of their organisation until the end of their liquidation, with the widest supervisory powers over all their operations. It took over the functions of the former Superintendencia de Valores y Seguros and, since Ley Nº 21.130, supervises the Banco del Estado and all other banks (Ley General de Bancos art. 2). Corporations and banks under CMF supervision that breach their rules or CMF instructions can be censured, fined, or have their authorisation revoked; the fine per company can reach 100,000 UF (five times that for repeat breaches of the same nature), 30 percent of the value of the sanctioned operations, or twice the benefits obtained from them, and can be imposed on the company, its directors, managers, auditors or liquidators.
Cost to do it: Maximum fine per company of 100,000 UF, about CLP 4,122,108,000 or US$4.18 million, or alternatively 30 percent of the operations or twice the gains obtained.
Example: A listed company that fails to disclose a sanctioned operation worth CLP 20,000,000,000 can face a fine of up to CLP 6,000,000,000 under the 30 percent test. / On an operation of about US$20.27 million, the 30 percent test allows a fine of up to about US$6.08 million, more than the 100,000 UF cap of about US$4.18 million.Decreto Ley Nº 3.538, organic law of the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero, in the text set by Ley Nº 21.000 (Diario Oficial 23 February 2017) and amended by Ley Nº 21.130 and Ley Nº 21.314, DL Nº 3.538 art. 1 and art. 36; Ley General de Bancos art. 2, 2017-02-23 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Securities (any transferable instrument, including shares, options, bonds, debentures, fund units and commercial paper, but not instruments issued or guaranteed by the State or the Central Bank) may be offered to the public only when both the securities and their issuer are registered in the CMF's public Securities Registry. A public offering is one aimed at the public in general or at certain sectors or specific groups of it; the CMF may by general rule exclude certain offers by number and type of investors, channel and amount. Shares must also be registered when a corporation has 500 or more shareholders, or at least 10 percent of its subscribed capital belongs to at least 100 shareholders (excluding those holding more than that percentage), within 60 days of meeting either test. An issuer that registers is not obliged to offer its securities until one year after registration.
Cost to do it: Registration requires issuer and securities filings with the CMF; professional costs (legal counsel, auditors, rating agencies for debt, underwriters) are negotiated privately and are not set by law.
Example: A family owned S.A. that reaches 500 shareholders through an employee share plan has 60 days to register its shares and itself with the CMF. / No monetary threshold applies; the trigger is the number and spread of shareholders, not the size of the company.Ley Nº 18.045, Ley de Mercado de Valores (Diario Oficial 22 October 1981), Art. 3, art. 4, art. 5 and art. 6, 1981-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Anyone who holds, directly or through others, 10 percent or more of the subscribed capital of an open corporation (sociedad anónima abierta), or reaches that level through a purchase, and every director, liquidator, principal executive, administrator and manager regardless of holding, must report every purchase or sale of its shares, and of derivatives whose price depends substantially on them, to the CMF and to each Chilean stock exchange where the shares are listed, no later than the day after the trade. Majority shareholders must also state whether the purchase aims at taking control or is only a financial investment.
Cost to do it: No filing fee; the cost is compliance time and systems to report by the next day.Ley Nº 18.045, Ley de Mercado de Valores, Art. 12, 1981-10-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Acquisitions of shares of an open corporation, direct or indirect, must be made through a tender offer (oferta pública de adquisición, OPA) under Title XXV when they allow the buyer to take control; when the buyer of a holding company that controls another open corporation representing 75 percent or more of its consolidated assets wants control, it must first make an offer to the shareholders of that subsidiary. Anyone who, alone or with others acting in concert, reaches or exceeds two thirds of the voting shares must make a tender offer for the remaining shares within 30 days, at a price no lower than the withdrawal right value; if it does not, the remaining shareholders gain a withdrawal right under art. 69 of Ley Nº 18.046. Exceptions include control obtained by subscribing a capital increase of newly issued shares. The CMF may exempt offers of up to 5 percent of the shares made on an exchange pro rata to all shareholders.
Cost to do it: The buyer pays for the whole offer, adviser fees and exchange charges; the main cost risk is the mandatory follow on offer for all remaining shares once two thirds is crossed.
Example: A foreign buyer that moves from 60 percent to 70 percent of a listed company must offer for the remaining 30 percent within 30 days. / If that 30 percent is worth US$150 million (about CLP 147,987,000,000), that is the size of the follow on offer the buyer must fund.Ley Nº 18.045, Ley de Mercado de Valores, Title XXV as amended by Ley Nº 19.705 and Ley Nº 20.382, Art. 198, art. 199 and art. 199 bis, 2000-12-20 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Banks must be incorporated as corporations (sociedades anónimas) and need CMF authorisation: the founding shareholders file a prospectus with a three year business plan, obtain a provisional certificate, must apply for authorisation of existence within ten months of it, and must post a guarantee equal to 10 percent of the planned capital. Paid in capital and reserves may not fall below 800,000 UF; 50 percent must be paid at incorporation or when a foreign bank branch is authorised, with no deadline for the balance, but until the minimum is reached the bank holds an extra 2 percent of risk weighted assets in core capital (1 percent once it reaches 600,000 UF). Regulatory capital (patrimonio efectivo) must be at least 8 percent of risk weighted assets, and core capital at least 4.5 percent of risk weighted assets and 3 percent of total assets, with further buffers under art. 66 bis to 66 quinquies.
Cost to do it: Minimum capital of 800,000 UF, about CLP 32,976,864,000 or US$33.4 million, of which 400,000 UF (about CLP 16,488,432,000 or US$16.7 million) at incorporation, plus the 10 percent guarantee during organisation.
Example: A new bank planned with capital of CLP 40,000,000,000 must post a CLP 4,000,000,000 guarantee while it organises. / That is a US$4.05 million guarantee on planned capital of about US$40.5 million.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. 27, art. 50, art. 51 and art. 66, 2019-01-12 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.130 (Diario Oficial 12 January 2019) moved bank supervision to the CMF and introduced the current capital structure of art. 66 and following, with core capital, additional tier one instruments and buffers.

6. Deposits and funds of any kind received by banks are covered by bank secrecy: information may be given only to the holder, someone expressly authorised by the holder, a legal representative, or whoever the law authorises to request it, and breach is a criminal offence. Other bank operations are reserved and may be disclosed only to whoever shows a legitimate interest, where no harm to the client is foreseeable, or to whoever the law authorises. The CMF may pass reserved bank information to the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) for anti money laundering purposes.DFL Nº 3 of 1997, Ley General de Bancos, as amended by Ley Nº 21.130 and Ley Nº 21.713, Art. 154, 2024-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.713 (Diario Oficial 24 October 2024), art. 15, added disclosure to whoever the law authorises to request the information, both for secret and for reserved operations.

7. No interest may be agreed above the interés máximo convencional: the capital multiplied by the greater of 1.5 times the current interest rate (tasa de interés corriente) in force when the contract is signed for that type of credit, or that current rate plus 2 annual percentage points, whether the rate is fixed or floating. The current rate is the weighted average rate charged by banks in Chile, set by the CMF by segment (peso, inflation indexed or foreign currency, by amount and term) and published on its website and in the Diario Oficial in the first half of each month. Any interest clause above the maximum is deemed unwritten and the interest is reduced to the current rate, with excess amounts refunded with indexation. Interest on interest may be agreed, but never capitalised for periods shorter than 30 days. Small peso loans of 200 UF or less have their own lower ceiling under art. 6 bis.
Example: If the CMF current rate for a segment were 8 percent, the ceiling would be the greater of 12 percent and 10 percent, so 12 percent. / If the current rate for a foreign currency segment were 2 percent, the ceiling would be the greater of 3 percent and 4 percent, so 4 percent: the plus 2 points test binds at low rates.Ley Nº 18.010, credit operations and other money obligations (Diario Oficial 27 June 1981), as amended by Ley Nº 20.715 and Ley Nº 21.314, Art. 6, art. 6 bis, art. 8 and art. 9, 2021-04-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.314 (Diario Oficial 13 April 2021), art. 9, set the current formula (greater of 1.5 times the current rate or the current rate plus 2 points) and moved rate setting to the CMF.

8. Stamp tax (impuesto de timbres y estampillas) applies to bills of exchange, promissory notes, simple or documentary credits and any other document, including dematerialised ones, containing a money credit operation, at 0.066 percent of the amount for each month or fraction between issue and maturity, with a maximum of 0.8 percent; sight loans or loans without maturity pay 0.332 percent. It also covers loans and other credit operations from abroad, the issue of bonds and debentures, and money lent at interest unless deposited with a bank. Tax on documents issued abroad accrues when they arrive in Chile or are recorded, and for credits from abroad with no document, when the credit is recorded in the Chilean borrower's books. The creditor is normally liable, but when the creditor has no domicile or residence in Chile the debtor pays.
Cost to do it: 0.066 percent per month of term, capped at 0.8 percent (the cap binds from a term of 13 months, since each fraction of a month counts as a month); 0.332 percent for sight or open ended loans.
Example: A 12 month loan of CLP 986,580,000 pays CLP 7,813,714 of stamp tax (0.792 percent); a loan of 13 months or more pays the 0.8 percent cap, CLP 7,892,640; a sight loan pays CLP 3,275,446. / On US$1,000,000: US$7,920 for 12 months, US$8,000 at the cap, US$3,320 for a sight loan.Decreto Ley Nº 3.475, Ley de Timbres y Estampillas (Diario Oficial 4 September 1980), as amended by Ley Nº 20.455 and Ley Nº 20.780, Art. 1 Nº 3 and art. 14, 2014-09-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Interest paid to persons without domicile or residence in Chile bears additional tax at 35 percent, reduced to 4 percent for interest on credits granted from abroad by foreign or international banks or financial institutions (and certain foreign insurers and pension funds), provided the lender declares there is no structured arrangement passing the interest to someone not entitled to the rate. The payer withholds and pays by the 12th of the following month.
Example: Annual interest of CLP 69,060,600 on a foreign bank loan bears CLP 2,762,424 of withholding at 4 percent. / US$70,000 of interest bears US$2,800 when the lender is a foreign bank, and US$24,500 at 35 percent when it is a non financial related company.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, Art. 59 Nº 1 letters a) and b), art. 74 Nº 4 and art. 79, 1974-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-26

10. Only entities registered in the CMF's Registry of Financial Service Providers may professionally provide crowdfunding platforms, alternative trading systems, intermediation of financial instruments, order routing, credit advice, investment advice and custody of financial instruments; registered legal entities may provide one or more of these services, each subject to its own requirements. International firms providing these services must have a domicile in Chile. Securities brokers, banks, fund managers, insurers, rating agencies and commodity brokers may provide the services that match their existing licence without registering. The CMF may exempt or lighten requirements for small providers by general rule, but never the registration duty or the personal data rules. Title III creates an Open Finance System in which account and information providers must let clients who expressly consent share their data with other participants through remote automated interfaces, under CMF standards and timelines.
Cost to do it: Registration with the CMF is mandatory for in scope services; capital, guarantee and operational requirements are set per service by CMF general rules and are not fixed in the law.Ley Nº 21.521, Ley Fintec (Diario Oficial 4 January 2023), Art. 1, art. 2, art. 4, art. 5, art. 16 and art. 17, 2023-01-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

11. Until 31 December 2026, the gain on the sale of shares of Chilean open corporations with stock market presence (presencia bursátil) pays a single 10 percent income tax, if the shares were bought on a Chilean exchange authorised by the CMF, in a Title XXV tender offer, in a first issue placement or through conversion of public convertibles, and are sold on such an exchange or in a tender offer; the same applies to qualifying investment fund and mutual fund units. For a seller without domicile or residence in Chile, the buyer or the broker acting for the seller withholds 10 percent of the gain when the price is paid, or a provisional 1 percent of the whole price if it lacks the cost information, and pays it by the 12th of the following month; the seller then files an annual return unless the withholding settled the tax in full. From 1 January 2027, Ley Nº 21.850 replaces the 10 percent tax with treatment as non taxable income (no constituirá renta) and removes the withholding, cost and effects rules of numerals 6 to 9.
Cost to do it: 10 percent of the gain for sales through 31 December 2026; none from 1 January 2027 for qualifying shares.
Example: A foreign fund that sells qualifying shares in December 2026 at a gain of CLP 98,658,000 pays CLP 9,865,800; the same sale in January 2027 pays nothing under art. 107. / On a US$100,000 gain: US$10,000 of tax in 2026 and zero from 2027. If the broker does not know the cost, it withholds 1 percent of the whole price, for example US$5,000 on a US$500,000 sale, refundable through the annual return.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, as amended by Ley Nº 21.420 (Diario Oficial 4 February 2022) and Ley Nº 21.850 (Diario Oficial 17 October 2026), DL 824 art. 107 Nº 1 to 9; Ley Nº 21.850 art. 8 Nº 4 and ninth transitory article Nº 3, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.850, published 17 October 2026, turns the 10 percent single tax on gains from listed shares and qualifying fund units into non taxable income and deletes art. 107 numerals 6 to 9, effective 1 January 2027.

Item	Foreign bank lender, 12 month term	Foreign related company lender, 24 month term
Stamp tax	0.792 percent: US$7,920 (CLP 7,813,714)	0.8 percent cap: US$8,000 (CLP 7,892,640)
Interest for the year	US$70,000 (CLP 69,060,600)	US$70,000 (CLP 69,060,600)
Withholding on interest	4 percent: US$2,800 (CLP 2,762,424)	35 percent: US$24,500 (CLP 24,171,210)
Central Bank reporting	Report the loan and its terms (US$1,000,000 or more)	Report the loan and its terms (US$1,000,000 or more)

Cost of a US$1,000,000 (CLP 986,580,000) loan to a Chilean company from abroad, by lender type, first year, at an illustrative 7 percent interest (DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3; DL Nº 824 art. 59). CLP at 986.58 per US dollar.

Sale date	Tax	Withholding by broker or buyer
Through 31 December 2026	10 percent single tax: US$10,000 (CLP 9,865,800)	10 percent of the gain, or a provisional 1 percent of the price if cost is unknown
From 1 January 2027	Non taxable income: zero	Withholding rules of art. 107 Nº 6 deleted

Tax on a US$100,000 gain from selling qualifying Chilean listed shares by a non resident (DL Nº 824 art. 107; Ley Nº 21.850 art. 8 Nº 4).

Worked example

A foreign group finances its Chilean SpA with a US$1,000,000 (about CLP 986,580,000) two year loan. If the lender is the group's treasury company, the SpA pays the 0.8 percent stamp tax cap, US$8,000 (CLP 7,892,640), when the loan is recorded in its books (DL Nº 3.475 art. 1 Nº 3 and art. 14), withholds 35 percent on each interest payment and reports the loan and its terms to the Central Bank (see FX and capital controls). If a foreign bank lends instead, withholding falls to 4 percent (DL Nº 824 art. 59).
The rate agreed must stay below the interés máximo convencional for the CMF segment in force when the loan is signed (Ley Nº 18.010 art. 6); any excess is deemed unwritten and cut back to the current rate (art. 8).
Later the group lists the SpA's successor S.A. on the Santiago exchange. It registers the issuer and the shares in the CMF Securities Registry before offering them (Ley Nº 18.045 art. 5 and 6), and from then on its 10 percent holders and directors report every trade by the next day (art. 12).
An Argentine or other foreign portfolio investor that buys those shares on the exchange and sells them in 2027 with stock market presence pays no Chilean income tax on the gain (DL Nº 824 art. 107 as amended by Ley Nº 21.850); the tax treatment at home depends on the investor's own country and any tax treaty, which is beyond this page.

Step by step

1. Map the activity against CMF perimeters before launching: public offering (Ley Nº 18.045), banking (DFL Nº 3), or Fintec services (Ley Nº 21.521). A foreign fintech serving Chilean clients needs a Chilean domicile and registration.
2. For intercompany or bank debt, fix lender type and term to price stamp tax (0.066 percent per month up to 0.8 percent) and withholding (4 or 35 percent) before signing.
3. Check the CMF current and maximum rates published in the Diario Oficial in the first half of the month the loan is signed, and keep the certificate in the file.
4. Record the foreign loan and pay stamp tax when it is booked in Chile; report it to the Central Bank through the bank under the FX Compendium.
5. For an IPO or bond issue, budget for CMF registration of issuer and securities, rating agencies for debt, auditors and underwriters; the issuer has up to one year after registration to place.
6. Before building a stake in a listed company, plan the art. 12 next day reports from 10 percent and the tender offer duties when taking control or crossing two thirds.
7. Time sales of listed shares: gains realised from 1 January 2027 on qualifying shares are not income under art. 107 as amended by Ley Nº 21.850.

Common traps

Assuming the 4 percent interest rate applies to any foreign lender. It covers foreign banks and financial institutions with a no structured arrangement declaration; parent company loans bear 35 percent.
Forgetting stamp tax on loans from abroad with no Chilean document. It accrues when the credit is recorded in the borrower's books (DL Nº 3.475 art. 14).
Agreeing a rate above the legal ceiling. The clause is deemed unwritten and interest falls to the current rate, with refunds of any excess (Ley Nº 18.010 art. 8).
Marketing securities to a targeted group of Chilean investors without checking CMF exemptions. An offer to specific groups of the public is still a public offering (Ley Nº 18.045 art. 4).
Crossing two thirds of a listed company through a block purchase and missing the 30 day mandatory offer, which gives the other shareholders a withdrawal right (art. 199 bis).
Selling listed shares in December 2026 instead of January 2027: the 10 percent single tax still applies to qualifying sales through 31 December 2026.
Selling through a broker without giving cost information: the broker withholds a provisional 1 percent of the whole price, recoverable only through an annual return (art. 107 Nº 6, in force through 2026).
Offering crowdfunding, advice or custody to Chilean clients from abroad without a Chilean domicile and CMF registration (Ley Nº 21.521 art. 5).

Sources

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