Countries › Peru › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Capital markets, banking and credit in Peru: who needs an SBS licence, bank capital and solvency, foreign bank branches, interest rate caps, public offers and takeover bids, movable collateral and the taxes on finance

Capital markets, banking and credit in Peru: who needs an SBS licence, bank capital and solvency, foreign bank branches, interest rate caps, public offers and takeover bids, movable collateral and the taxes on finance

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Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Two supervisors split Peruvian finance: the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (SBS) licenses and supervises banks, finance companies, insurers and anyone who habitually takes money from the public and lends it, while the Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV) runs the securities registry, public offers and takeover bids. Banks need minimum cash capital set in 1996 values and indexed every quarter, total capital of at least 10 percent of risk weighted assets plus a 2.5 percent conservation buffer, and SBS approval for anyone buying more than 10 percent; foreign banks may open branches on the same terms as local banks. Rates are free except for consumer and small business loans, where the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (BCRP) sets semiannual caps backed by the usury crime; offers to institutional investors or with units of S/ 250,000 or more are private and need no SMV registration, and since 3 March 2025 security over movable assets is perfected by an online notice in the SUNARP SIGM registry.

USD figures use S/ 3.446 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 26 October 2026 as shown in the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. Amounts the law sets in soles or dollars are quoted as written. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Banking, insurance and pension fund supervisor	Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP (SBS) textLey 26702 art. 11, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Securities market supervisor	Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV) textTUO Ley del Mercado de Valores (DS 020-2023-EF) art. 7, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
SBS license needed to habitually take money from the public and lend it	Yes textLey 26702 art. 11, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum paid in cash capital of a bank (December 1996 base value, indexed quarterly)	14914000 PENLey 26702 art. 16 A.1 (DL 1531) and art. 18, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Global limit: total effective equity to risk weighted assets	10 %Ley 26702 art. 199 (DL 1531), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Common equity tier 1 minimum	4.5 %Ley 26702 art. 199 (DL 1531), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Tier 1 effective equity minimum	6 %Ley 26702 art. 199 (DL 1531), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Capital conservation buffer (CET1)	2.5 %Ley 26702 art. 199-A (DL 1531), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Share transfer above this stake in a financial or insurance firm needs prior SBS approval	10 % of capitalLey 26702 art. 57, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Foreign banks and insurers may open branches with SBS approval	Yes textLey 26702 art. 39 (DL 1052), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Interest cap regime	BCRP semiannual maximum rates for consumer, low amount consumer and small and micro business loans; usury crime above the cap textLey 31143; DL 26123 art. 52; Ley 26702 art. 9, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Public offer requires registration in the RPMV with the SMV	Yes textTUO LMV art. 58 and 59, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Offer is private if lowest unit value is at least	250000 PENTUO LMV art. 5 b), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Movable collateral perfected by online notice in SUNARP SIGM from	2025-03-03 dateDL 1400; Resolución 00011-2025-SUNARP/SN, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on qualifying interest on foreign loans	4.99 %LIR art. 56 a), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withholding on interest paid to a related foreign lender	30 %LIR art. 56 j), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Financial transactions tax (ITF)	0.005 %TUO Ley 28194 art. 10 (Ley 29667), as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Anyone operating in the financial or insurance business needs prior SBS authorization. Without it, a person may not habitually take money from third parties as deposits, loans (mutuo) or in any other form and habitually place those funds as credit, investments or financing under any contract; may not underwrite or broker insurance; may not advertise or suggest that it offers those services; and may not use names or terms that imply SBS authorized activities. The law presumes the infraction when an unlicensed person has premises where the public is invited to hand over money under any title or to take loans. Lending one's own capital, for example a foreign parent funding its Peruvian subsidiary, is not the regulated activity; the licensing trigger is habitually funding loans with money raised from third parties.
Cost to do it: No fee to stay outside the perimeter. Entering it means an SBS organization and operating license and, for a bank, cash capital of at least S/ 14,914,000 in December 1996 values, indexed quarterly (about US$4.33 million at the base value, more after indexation).
Example: A Lima fintech that raises S/ 3,446,000 from retail savers through an app and lends it to small businesses is taking deposits from the public and needs an SBS license first; a company lending S/ 3,446,000 of its own equity to a supplier does not. / The same distinction applies to a US$1,000,000 book: funded by the public it is banking business needing SBS approval; funded by the lender's own capital or by its parent it is ordinary commercial lending.Ley Nº 26702, Ley General del Sistema Financiero y del Sistema de Seguros y Orgánica de la Superintendencia de Banca y Seguros (published 9 December 1996), numeral 2 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1052 (27 June 2008), Art. 11, 1996-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Banks and other financial firms must have fully paid cash capital of at least the following amounts, which are December 1996 constant values updated every quarter by the wholesale price index published by INEI and rounded up to the next hundred: empresa bancaria S/ 14,914,000; empresa financiera S/ 7,500,000; caja municipal de ahorro y crédito S/ 7,500,000; caja municipal de crédito popular S/ 4,000,000; empresa de créditos, savings and credit cooperatives authorized to take deposits from the public and caja rural de ahorro y crédito S/ 678,000 each. The SBS authorizes organization and operation, with the prior opinion of the BCRP for financial firms. Any transfer of shares of a financial or insurance firm that takes one person, directly or through third parties, above 10 percent of the capital needs prior SBS authorization, and a foreign corporate shareholder above 10 percent must report changes in its own shareholding above that percentage.
Cost to do it: Bank: S/ 14,914,000 base value (about US$4,327,916) before indexation; empresa financiera S/ 7,500,000 base (about US$2,176,436). The quarterly indexed amounts are published by the SBS by circular and are higher than the base.
Example: A foreign group founding a Peruvian bank must pay in at least the indexed equivalent of S/ 14,914,000 in cash, and a later buyer of 15 percent of that bank needs SBS approval before closing. / At the base value the floor is about US$4.33 million; plan for a higher amount because the figure has been indexed every quarter since October 1996.Ley Nº 26702, art. 16 literal A as replaced by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1531 (published in El Peruano 19 March 2022); art. 18, 19 and 57, Art. 16, art. 18, art. 19 and art. 57, 2022-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Decreto Legislativo Nº 1531, published 19 March 2022, rewrote literal A of art. 16 (renaming EDPYMEs as empresas de créditos at S/ 678,000) and art. 17, and replaced the solvency articles with effect from 1 January 2023.

3. Financial firms must meet three solvency floors measured against total risk weighted assets and contingencies (credit, market and operational risk, including foreign currency exposures and foreign branches): common equity tier 1 of at least 4.5 percent, tier 1 effective equity of at least 6 percent, and total effective equity (the global limit) of at least 10 percent. On top of these they must hold a conservation buffer of at least 2.5 percent of risk weighted assets in common equity tier 1, plus countercyclical and market concentration buffers set by SBS general rules. A firm below the 10 percent global limit must deposit any increase in its reserve subject liabilities under the sanction regime of art. 218.
Cost to do it: Capital cost: at least 12.5 percent of risk weighted assets once the 10 percent global limit and 2.5 percent conservation buffer are combined, before SBS countercyclical and concentration buffers.
Example: A bank with S/ 3,446,000,000 of risk weighted assets needs total effective equity of at least S/ 344,600,000 and common equity tier 1 of at least S/ 241,220,000 (4.5 percent plus the 2.5 percent buffer). / On US$1,000,000,000 of risk weighted assets: at least US$100 million of total capital and US$70 million of CET1.Ley Nº 26702, art. 199 as replaced and art. 199-A as added by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1531 (published 19 March 2022, these articles in force 1 January 2023), Art. 199, art. 199-A and art. 218, 2022-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: From 1 January 2023 Decreto Legislativo Nº 1531 replaced the single global capital ratio with Basel III style CET1 (4.5 percent), tier 1 (6 percent) and total (10 percent) floors plus a 2.5 percent conservation buffer, with SBS adequacy schedules.

4. Foreign financial and insurance firms that want to set up a branch operating with the public in Peru need prior SBS authorization; for financial firms the SBS asks the BCRP for its opinion. Branches are subject to the whole law, have the same rights and obligations as Peruvian firms of the same kind, cannot bring diplomatic claims about their Peruvian business, and creditors domiciled in Peru rank first over the branch's Peruvian assets if the foreign firm or the branch is liquidated. A branch needs no board but must have a representative with the widest powers, and may run its business following its own practices if they do not breach Peruvian rules.
Cost to do it: Same minimum capital as a Peruvian firm of the same type (S/ 14,914,000 base value for a bank branch, about US$4.33 million before indexation), plus SBS application work.
Example: A foreign bank that wants to take deposits in Lima can do it through a branch with S/ 14,914,000 of assigned capital in 1996 values, indexed, rather than incorporating a subsidiary. / Its Peruvian depositors would rank ahead of the head office's other creditors on the branch's Peruvian assets in a liquidation, which affects how the group funds the branch.Ley Nº 26702, art. 39 as replaced and art. 39-A as added by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1052 (published 27 June 2008), Art. 39 and art. 39-A, 2008-06-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Financial firms set interest rates freely, but within the maximum rates fixed by the BCRP. The BCRP may set maximum and minimum rates every six months, and the caps apply only to consumer credit, low amount consumer credit (loans up to 2 UIT, S/ 11,000 in 2026) and loans to small and micro businesses. Rates charged above the cap are treated as usury and fall under art. 214 of the Penal Code; the SBS supervises compliance, sanctions and files criminal complaints. Default interest equals the rate the BCRP sets for transactions outside the financial system, capitalization of interest and penalty fees for late payment are banned, and fees must pay for a real additional service backed by a technical report to the SBS. Corporate loans, mortgages and loans by foreign lenders outside these categories are not capped by this regime.
Cost to do it: No fee; the cost is pricing headroom for consumer and micro business lenders and criminal exposure above the cap. The current cap is published by the BCRP each semester.
Example: A consumer lender making S/ 5,000 personal loans must price them at or below the BCRP cap for the semester and cannot add a late payment fee on top of default interest. / A US$5,000,000 corporate working capital loan to a mining contractor is outside the capped categories and is priced freely.Ley Nº 31143, Ley que protege de la usura a los consumidores de los servicios financieros (published 18 March 2021), amending Ley Nº 26702 art. 9 and 221, Decreto Ley Nº 26123 art. 52 and Ley Nº 28587 art. 6, Ley 31143 art. 1, 2 and 3; Ley 26702 art. 9 and 221 numeral 3 c); Decreto Ley 26123 art. 52, 2021-03-18 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Before Ley Nº 31143 (18 March 2021) financial firms were exempt from the Civil Code art. 1243 ceiling and priced freely; since then the BCRP sets semiannual caps for consumer and small business credit, and lending above them is usury.

6. A public offer of securities is an adequately disseminated invitation to the public or to segments of it to place, buy or sell securities, and a primary public offer requires registering the security in the Registro Público del Mercado de Valores (RPMV) with the SMV, with the issuer's communication, the issue resolution, a draft prospectus and two years of audited financial statements. An offer is private, and outside the securities law unless it says otherwise, when it is made only to institutional investors (banks, insurers, broker dealers, pension fund and fund managers, similar foreign entities and others the SMV qualifies), or when the lowest unit face or placement value is S/ 250,000 or more, or in other cases set by the SMV. Securities bought in an institutional only offer may be resold only to another institutional investor or after registering them, and S/ 250,000 units may not be resold in smaller denominations. Registered issuers must disclose material events (hechos de importancia), including ongoing negotiations, as soon as they occur.
Cost to do it: A private placement avoids SMV registration and prospectus costs. A public offer adds two years of audited statements, a prospectus and SMV registration; SMV and stock exchange fees are not quoted here.
Example: A Peruvian company selling S/ 34,460,000 of bonds only to local pension fund managers and insurers runs a private offer with no RPMV registration, but the buyers can only resell to other institutional investors unless the bonds are later registered. / A placement of notes in US$100,000 units qualifies as private by denomination only if each unit is worth at least S/ 250,000 (about US$72,548), so a US$100,000 minimum denomination clears the threshold at the current rate, while a US$50,000 one does not.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Mercado de Valores, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 020-2023-EF (published 10 February 2023); art. 5 as amended by Ley Nº 29720, Art. 4, art. 5, art. 8 j), art. 30, art. 58 and art. 59, 2023-02-10 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Anyone who intends to acquire or increase, directly or indirectly, in one act or successive acts, a significant participation in a company with at least one class of voting shares listed on the exchange must make a tender offer (oferta pública de adquisición, OPA) to holders of voting shares and other securities that can confer votes. The SMV regulation defines significant participation and the exceptions. Delisting a security triggers a joint duty for those responsible to make a cash tender offer at no less than the price set under SMV criteria or an independent valuation. Offers are irrevocable. Anyone who crosses the threshold without following the procedure loses, by SMV decision, the voting rights of the shares acquired, which do not count for quorum, must sell them, and must hand any capital gain on that sale to the shareholders who sold to it.
Cost to do it: The bid itself: the acquirer must offer to all voting holders on the regulated terms, and the price must be paid in cash (or in securities for an art. 73 OPA under the exchange offer rules).
Example: A foreign strategic buyer wanting a large stake in a Lima listed cement company must check the SMV threshold before buying in the market; crossing it without an OPA freezes the votes of the new shares. / If the buyer later resells shares bought in breach for a US$2,000,000 gain, that gain belongs to the shareholders who sold to it.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Mercado de Valores (Decreto Supremo Nº 020-2023-EF); art. 73 as replaced by Ley Nº 27649, Art. 73, art. 74, art. 75, art. 76 and art. 77, 2023-02-10 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Movable assets of any kind, present or future, specific or generic, can secure any obligation through a garantía mobiliaria, with or without possession: vehicles, inventory, bank account balances, receivables and loan portfolios, shares and company interests, intellectual property, insurance proceeds, concessions and their cash flows, crops, machinery, mining output and future flows. Without possession it is created by any written instrument (public deed, legalized, digital or handwritten signatures) on pain of nullity. Publicity and priority against third parties come from the electronic notice in the Sistema Informativo de Garantías Mobiliarias (SIGM) run by SUNARP, possession, or a control agreement over deposit accounts; priority follows the time of publicity. Securities registered in a clearing institution (ICLV) are outside the SIGM and follow their own rules. The regime applied from the business day after the SIGM database began operating; SUNARP set the start of operations for 2 March 2025, so filings moved to the online notice system on 3 March 2025, and prior registrations keep their validity and priority.
Cost to do it: No notary deed required for a non possessory pledge (any signed writing). SIGM user account and notice filings through SUNARP; the filing fee was not verified and is not quoted.
Example: A lender financing S/ 3,446,000 of mining trucks takes a non possessory garantía mobiliaria over the trucks and their insurance proceeds and files the notice in the SIGM the same day to fix its priority. / On a US$1,000,000 receivables facility the lender's rank against later creditors runs from the moment its SIGM notice is filed, not from the signing date.Decreto Legislativo Nº 1400, Régimen de Garantía Mobiliaria (published 10 September 2018), repealing Ley Nº 28677; start of SIGM operations under Resolución Nº 00011-2025-SUNARP/SN, Art. 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 34 and 36; Third and Eighth Complementary Final Provisions, 2018-09-10 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: The SIGM began operating on 2 March 2025 under Resolución Nº 00011-2025-SUNARP/SN, bringing Decreto Legislativo Nº 1400 into force from 3 March 2025: new movable collateral is published by an online notice filed by the secured creditor, without registrar review, instead of a registered title.

9. Interest on foreign loans paid to a non domiciled lender bears 4.99 percent income tax withholding if, for cash loans, the foreign currency is shown to have entered Peru and the annual interest does not exceed the prime rate of the lender's market plus three points (covering fees and charges); interest paid abroad by Peruvian banks and other multiple operation firms on their foreign credit lines also bears 4.99 percent. Interest paid to a related foreign lender, interest on loans whose funds did not enter Peru, the excess above the cap and interest through a lender interposed to disguise a related party loan bear 30 percent. Separately, the financial transactions tax (ITF) applies at 0.005 percent to credits and debits in Peruvian bank accounts and other taxed operations.
Cost to do it: 4.99 percent of qualifying third party interest; 30 percent of related party or non qualifying interest; ITF 0.005 percent (S/ 50 per S/ 1,000,000 moved).
Example: On S/ 275,680 of annual interest (8 percent on S/ 3,446,000), the Peruvian borrower withholds S/ 13,756 if the lender is an unrelated foreign bank and the loan qualifies, or S/ 82,704 if the lender is its foreign parent. / On a US$1,000,000 loan at 8 percent, withholding on the US$80,000 of interest is US$3,992 to an unrelated bank versus US$24,000 to a related lender; ITF on crediting the US$1,000,000 to a Peruvian account is US$50.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), art. 56 literals b) as replaced by Ley Nº 29645 (published 31 December 2010) and a) and j); TUO de la Ley Nº 28194 (Decreto Supremo Nº 150-2007-EF), art. 10 as replaced by Ley Nº 29667, LIR art. 56 a), b) and j); TUO Ley 28194 art. 10, 2010-12-31 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Item	PEN	USD	Rule
Bank minimum cash capital, 1996 base value (indexed quarterly)	S/ 14,914,000	about US$4,327,916	Ley 26702 art. 16 and 18
Empresa financiera minimum capital, base value	S/ 7,500,000	about US$2,176,436	Ley 26702 art. 16
Empresa de créditos, cooperatives taking deposits, caja rural, base value	S/ 678,000	about US$196,750	Ley 26702 art. 16
Solvency: CET1, tier 1, total capital	4.5%, 6%, 10% of risk weighted assets	same	Ley 26702 art. 199
Conservation buffer	2.5% of risk weighted assets	same	Ley 26702 art. 199-A
SBS approval for share transfers above	10% of capital	same	Ley 26702 art. 57
Private offer by unit size	S/ 250,000 or more per unit	about US$72,548	TUO LMV art. 5 b)
Withholding on qualifying foreign loan interest	4.99%	same	LIR art. 56 a)
Withholding on related party interest	30%	same	LIR art. 56 j)
ITF on account credits and debits	0.005% (S/ 50 per S/ 1,000,000)	US$50 per US$1,000,000	TUO Ley 28194 art. 10

Peru finance at a glance (USD at S/ 3.446 per US$, 26 October 2026)

Worked example

A US group finances its new Peruvian subsidiary with US$1,000,000 (S/ 3,446,000) at 8 percent. Lent directly by the US parent, the US$80,000 of annual interest bears 30 percent withholding (US$24,000) because the lender is related (LIR art. 56 j)); lent by an unrelated foreign bank, with the dollars wired into Peru and the rate within prime plus three points, it bears 4.99 percent (US$3,992) under art. 56 a). Either way the loan must go through the banking system, and crediting the funds to the subsidiary's Peruvian account costs US$50 of ITF (0.005 percent).
The same group later wants to buy a controlling stake in a Lima listed company. It must check the significant participation threshold in the SMV tender offer regulation and, if it will cross it, buy through an OPA addressed to all voting holders (TUO LMV art. 73); buying in the market first and bidding later risks losing the votes of the new shares and having to sell them (art. 77).
To raise local currency debt it places S/ 34,460,000 (about US$10 million) of notes only with Peruvian pension fund managers and insurers. The offer is private under TUO LMV art. 5 a), so no RPMV registration or prospectus is needed, but buyers can only resell to other institutional investors.

Step by step

1. Map the activity against the SBS perimeter: if you will habitually take money from the public and lend it, or sell or broker insurance, you need SBS authorization before starting (Ley 26702 art. 11); a foreign bank chooses between a subsidiary and a branch (art. 39).
2. For a licensed entity, budget the indexed minimum capital (art. 16 and 18), capital of at least 12.5 percent of risk weighted assets once the conservation buffer is added (art. 199 and 199-A), and SBS approval for any shareholder going above 10 percent (art. 57).
3. For lending, confirm whether the product is consumer, low amount consumer or small and micro business credit; if so, price within the BCRP cap for the semester and drop late payment penalties (Ley 31143).
4. For fundraising, decide public or private: offers to institutional investors only or in units of S/ 250,000 or more are private (TUO LMV art. 5); a public offer needs RPMV registration with a prospectus and two years of audited accounts (art. 59).
5. For acquisitions of listed companies, check the SMV OPA regulation thresholds before buying any shares and structure the deal as a tender offer where required (art. 73 and 77).
6. For secured loans over movables, sign the security agreement in writing with the minimum content of DL 1400 art. 9, open a SIGM user account with SUNARP and file the constitution notice immediately to fix priority (art. 12 and 36); for shares held in CAVALI use the ICLV rules instead (art. 5).
7. For cross border loans, document the entry of the foreign currency into Peru and keep the rate within prime plus three points to access the 4.99 percent rate; see the FX page for the banking channel rules.

Common traps

Habitually raising money from the public to lend, including through apps or 'investment clubs', without SBS authorization breaches Ley 26702 art. 11; having premises that invite the public to hand over money or take loans creates a legal presumption of the infraction.
The S/ 14,914,000 bank capital figure is a 1996 base value; the real floor is the indexed amount the SBS publishes each quarter, which is higher.
Buying a stake in a Peruvian bank, insurer or financial firm above 10 percent, directly or through intermediaries, without prior SBS authorization (Ley 26702 art. 57); a foreign holding company above 10 percent must also report changes in its own shareholders.
Charging consumer or micro business borrowers above the BCRP cap is usury under Penal Code art. 214, and fees must match a real additional service approved through an SBS process (Ley 31143).
Institutional only placements are private, but the securities cannot be resold to non institutional buyers unless they are registered in the RPMV (TUO LMV art. 5 a)); S/ 250,000 units cannot be split into smaller resale lots (art. 5 b)).
Creeping above the significant participation level in a listed company without an OPA suspends the voting rights of the shares bought, forces their sale and hands any gain to the sellers (TUO LMV art. 77).
Since 3 March 2025 new movable collateral ranks from the SIGM notice, not from signing; an unpublished non possessory pledge loses priority to a later creditor who files first (DL 1400 art. 34 and 36). Shares held through CAVALI are outside the SIGM.
Interest on intercompany loans from a related foreign lender bears 30 percent withholding, not 4.99 percent, and so does interest on cash loans whose foreign currency never entered Peru (LIR art. 56 j)).

Sources

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