Insurance fund to protect savings in financial institutions rises to S/121,910

The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and AFPs (SBS) raised the maximum coverage amount of the Deposit Insurance Fund (FSD) to S/121,910 for the period June-August of this year.

The current figure is S/5,626 higher than that established by the SBS for March and May 2022, which was S/116,284.

In this way, the insured deposits are those found in banks, financial companies and municipal savings and credit banks, as well as in rural savings and credit banks. However, the coverage does not apply to cooperatives.

In the case of cooperatives, these entities will have the Cooperative Deposit Insurance Fund (FSDC), whose maximum coverage amount is S / 10,000, but it would only come into force in mid-2024.

For this reason, the savers of more than 10 cooperatives that were intervened by the SBS in recent months (such as Aelucoop or Credicoop Arequipa), they did not have such coverage.

The Deposit Insurance Fund protects savings of non-profit private natural and legal persons, as well as demand deposits (current accounts) of other companies.

This insurance is free for savers, and does not require any prior registration.

When a financial institution supervised by the SBS is declared in a state of dissolution and liquidation, the FSD pays savers the amount they had accumulated in this entity (savings accounts, current accounts and time deposits), up to the maximum amount of current coverage.

Jorge Carrillo Acosta, professor at Pacífico Business School, explained that the FSD is important because it allows savers to recover their money (including interest earned) up to the maximum amount indicated, given the possibility of bankruptcy of any of the insured financial entities.

He added that the FSD covers deposits in foreign currency in its equivalent in national currency. In the case of joint accounts, their balance is divided pro rata among the holders.

To date, there are a total of 41 financial institutions that have an active Deposit Insurance Fund:

• 15 banks: BCP, BBVA, Scotibank, Interbank, Falabella, Ripley, Mibanco, BanBif, Pichincha, GNB, Comercio, Alfin, Citibank, Santander and ICBC.
• 8 financial institutions: Crediscotia, Compartamos, Confianza, Oh!, Effective, Credinka, Proempresa and Qapaq.
• 12 municipal savings banks: Arequipa, Piura, Huancayo, Cusco, Sullana, Trujillo, Ica, Tacna, Maynas, Lima, Del Santa and Paita.
• 6 rural savings banks: Cencosud Scotia, Raíz, Los Andes, Prymera, Del Centro and Incasur.

Carrillo also mentioned that when a new financial entity enters Peru, it will not have this coverage until it completes 24 months of contribution, as is currently the case with the Bank of China, which entered in 2020.