Countries › Chile › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Interest 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

Interest 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

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

Chilean law caps the interest that can be agreed on money loans at the greater of 1.5 times the CMF current rate for that segment or the current rate plus 2 points, published monthly in the Diario Oficial; from 15 October 2026 the cap is 10.05 percent for large peso loans of 90 days or more and 8.37 percent for large foreign currency loans. Loans from foreign or international banks, foreign currency loans for foreign trade and loans to banks have no cap at all. The same law lets non bank lenders agree any indexation, gives borrowers of up to 5,000 UF a right to prepay with a capped fee, and requires foreign currency debts to be paid at the seller exchange rate on the payment date.

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

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
Maximum conventional rate, non indexed pesos, 90 days or more, over 5,000 UF (from 15 October 2026)	10.05 % a yearCMF Certificado Nº 10/2026, as of 2026-10-15 · in force
Maximum conventional rate, foreign currency loans over 2,000 UF (from 15 October 2026)	8.37 % a yearCMF Certificado Nº 10/2026, as of 2026-10-15 · in force
Maximum conventional rate, UF indexed loans of 1 year or more over 2,000 UF (from 15 October 2026)	5.68 % a yearCMF Certificado Nº 10/2026, as of 2026-10-15 · in force
CMF current rate, non indexed pesos, 90 days or more, over 5,000 UF (from 15 October 2026)	6.70 % a yearCMF Certificado Nº 10/2026, as of 2026-10-15 · in force
Interest cap on loans agreed with foreign or international banks	None textLey Nº 18.010 art. 5 a), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Loan size up to which borrowers may prepay against the lender's will	5000 UFLey Nº 18.010 art. 10, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. No interest may be agreed above the interés máximo convencional: the capital multiplied by the greater of 1.5 times the current rate in force when the contract is signed for that type of operation, or that current rate plus 2 annual points, for fixed or floating rates. The current rate is the weighted average of rates charged by banks in Chile, set by the CMF by segment (non indexed or indexed pesos, foreign currency, by amount with no more than two limits, and by term), computed on each calendar month and published on the CMF website and in the Diario Oficial in the first half of the following month, in force until the day before the next publication. No interest may be charged on the part of the debt already paid.Ley Nº 18.010, credit operations and other money obligations (Diario Oficial 27 June 1981), as amended by Ley Nº 21.314 (Diario Oficial 13 April 2021), Art. 6, 2021-04-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.314 art. 9 (Diario Oficial 13 April 2021) moved rate setting to the CMF and set the greater of 1.5 times the current rate or current rate plus 2 points as the ceiling.

2. CMF Certificate Nº 10/2026, based on bank rates in September 2026 and in force from its publication on 15 October 2026 until the day before the next certificate, sets current rates and maximum conventional rates by segment, among them: non indexed pesos of 90 days or more over 5,000 UF, current 6.70 percent and maximum 10.05 percent; UF indexed loans of 1 year or more over 2,000 UF, current 3.68 percent and maximum 5.68 percent; foreign currency loans over 2,000 UF, current 5.58 percent and maximum 8.37 percent. Peso non indexed rates are linear annual; the others are compound; all are on a 360 day basis.
Example: A CLP 2,000,000,000 one year working capital loan (over 5,000 UF) signed on 20 October 2026 may carry at most 10.05 percent a year: CLP 201,000,000 of interest. / A US$5 million loan from a Chilean non bank lender signed the same day may carry at most 8.37 percent a year: US$418,500 of interest.CMF Certificado Nº 10/2026, Diario Oficial 15 October 2026, CVE 2885690, issued under Ley Nº 18.010 art. 6 and 6 bis, Certificate items 1.a to 5, 2026-10-15 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Monthly: the October 2026 certificate replaced the September 2026 rates on 15 October 2026; the next certificate replaces it in the first half of November 2026.

3. There is no interest limit on money loans agreed with foreign or international banks or financial institutions, on loans agreed or expressed in foreign currency for foreign trade operations, on Central Bank operations with financial institutions, or where the borrower is a bank or financial company.
Example: A Chilean SpA borrowing pesos from a foreign bank is not bound by the 10.05 percent cap for large peso loans. / A US dollar import finance loan for foreign trade carries no legal rate ceiling.Ley Nº 18.010, as amended by Ley Nº 19.528 (Diario Oficial 4 November 1997), Art. 5, 1997-11-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Small non indexed peso loans of 200 UF or less with terms of 90 days or more have a lower ceiling: the current rate for non indexed peso loans over 200 and up to 5,000 UF, plus 14 points for loans over 50 UF or 21 points for loans of 50 UF or less; loans repaid through deductions from pensions are capped at that reference rate plus 7 points.Ley Nº 18.010, as amended by Ley Nº 20.715 (Diario Oficial 13 December 2013), Art. 6 bis, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. In peso money loans where none of the parties is a bank, family allowance fund, insurer, savings cooperative or mass lender, any form of indexation may be agreed freely. Interest is payable only in money, accrues day by day, and months count as 30 days and years as 360. A loan with no term can only be demanded 10 days after delivery. Interest clauses above the maximum are deemed unwritten and reduced to the current rate.Ley Nº 18.010, as amended by Ley Nº 18.840 (Diario Oficial 10 October 1989), Art. 3, art. 8, art. 11 and art. 13, 1989-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Prepayment is freely agreed, but for loans of up to 5,000 UF a borrower that is not a CMF supervised entity, the Treasury or the Central Bank may prepay against the lender's will, paying principal, interest to date and a prepayment fee of at most one month of interest (non indexed loans) or one and a half months (indexed loans); prepayments under 10 percent of the balance need the lender's consent. The right cannot be waived. A borrower in default owes current interest from the date of delay, unless a higher legal rate was agreed, without stacking interest and only on the overdue capital.
Cost to do it: Prepayment right applies to loans of up to 5,000 UF (about CLP 206,105,400 or US$208,909).Ley Nº 18.010, as amended by Ley Nº 19.528, Art. 10 and art. 16, 1997-11-04 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Obligations expressed in foreign currency are paid with their peso equivalent at the seller exchange rate on the payment date, as certified by a Chilean bank; for overdue obligations the rate on the due date applies if higher. Where payment in foreign currency was agreed under authority of law or the Central Bank, the creditor may demand payment in that currency. Foreign currency obligations payable in pesos may not carry any indexation other than the one implicit in the currency.Ley Nº 18.010, Art. 20 and art. 24, 1981-06-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Item	Segment	Current rate (% a year)	Maximum conventional rate (% a year)
1.a	Non indexed pesos, under 90 days, up to 5,000 UF	31.82	47.73
1.b	Non indexed pesos, under 90 days, over 5,000 UF	5.44	8.16
2.a	Non indexed pesos, 90 days or more, up to 50 UF	32.82	41.02
2.b	Non indexed pesos, 90 days or more, over 50 and up to 200 UF	29.56	34.02
2.c	Non indexed pesos, 90 days or more, over 200 and up to 5,000 UF	20.02	30.03
2.d	Non indexed pesos, 90 days or more, over 5,000 UF	6.70	10.05
3.a	UF indexed, under 1 year	3.51	5.51
3.b	UF indexed, 1 year or more, up to 2,000 UF	4.32	6.48
3.c	UF indexed, 1 year or more, over 2,000 UF	3.68	5.68
4.a	Foreign currency or expressed in it, up to 2,000 UF	9.90	14.85
4.b	Foreign currency or expressed in it, over 2,000 UF	5.58	8.37
5	Loans repaid by deduction from pensions		27.02

Current and maximum conventional interest rates in force from 15 October 2026 (CMF Certificado Nº 10/2026, Diario Oficial CVE 2885690). Non indexed peso rates are linear annual; others compound annual; 360 day basis.

Worked example

On 20 October 2026 a foreign owned SpA negotiates three facilities: CLP 2,000,000,000 for one year from a Chilean factoring company, capped at 10.05 percent; UF 50,000 (about CLP 2,061,054,000 or US$2.09 million) for five years from a Chilean insurer, capped at 5.68 percent plus UF indexation; and US$5 million from a New York bank, with no legal cap (Ley Nº 18.010 art. 5 and 6; CMF Certificado Nº 10/2026).
If the factoring company had written 11 percent, the interest clause would be deemed unwritten and cut to the current rate of 6.70 percent, with excess interest refunded (art. 6 and 8).

Step by step

1. Classify the loan by currency, indexation, amount in UF and term to find its CMF segment.
2. Check the certificate in force on the signing date (published in the first half of each month in the Diario Oficial).
3. Confirm whether an art. 5 exemption applies (foreign bank lender, foreign trade loan in foreign currency, bank borrower).
4. Set the rate below the maximum; for floating rates, check the all in rate at signing.
5. For loans up to 5,000 UF, draft prepayment terms within the statutory fee caps.
6. For foreign currency debts payable in pesos, specify the bank certifying the seller rate.

Common traps

Using last month's certificate: the cap is the one in force on the day the contract is signed.
Assuming intercompany loans from a foreign parent are exempt: the art. 5 exemption covers foreign banks and financial institutions, not group companies.
Capitalising interest for periods under 30 days, which is not allowed (art. 9).
Adding UF indexation to a foreign currency debt payable in pesos (art. 24).
Charging default interest on top of ordinary interest on the same amount (art. 16).

Sources

← 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 secrecyStamp tax on loans in Chile (impuesto de timbres y estampillas): rates by term, loans from abroad, renewals, import financing, exemptions, deadlines and penalties →