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# Colombia's central bank holds its rate at 12.25% in a 4-3 vote and approves a $2 billion reserves purchase
- URL: https://www.theglobalbanker.com/colombias-central-bank-holds-its-rate-at-12-25-in-a-4-3-vote-and-approves-a-2-billion-reserves-purchase/
- Published: 2026-10-30T23:17:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T23:17:56.000Z
- Description: Colombia's central bank kept its benchmark rate at 12.25% on Friday, with four of seven board members voting to hold, and approved a $2 billion purchase from the government to shore up reserves.
- Author: TGB Editorial Team
- Tags: Central Banks, Americas, #newsroom

[Colombia](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/market-colombia/)'s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 12.25% on Friday, in a split decision that most analysts had not expected. Four of the seven board members voted to keep the rate unchanged, while the other three favoured another 25-basis-point increase.

The board also approved the purchase of $2 billion from the government to shore up the bank's reserves, board chief Leonardo Villar told a press conference. Villar said it was not yet clear whether the bank's cycle of increasing borrowing costs had ended.

## A HOLD MOST ANALYSTS DID NOT EXPECT

Only 13 of 31 analysts in a Reuters poll this week had predicted an unchanged rate. Seventeen expected a rise to 12.5%, and one forecast a 75-basis-point increase to 13%.

## SLOWER GROWTH AND A FISCAL TEST

"Annual growth in the Colombian economy is estimated to have slowed in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter," the board said in its statement, adding that domestic demand indicators pointed to slower growth in both private and public consumption.

The board said the evolution of public finances was a key factor for future macroeconomic performance and for efforts to bring inflation back to target, and called for a "rigorous review" of the fiscal reform the government sent to congress on Thursday.

Annual inflation was 6.29% through September, and has stayed above the bank's long-term 3% target for nearly six years, although it rose less than expected last month. The El Niño weather phenomenon remains a risk. Core inflation eased from 6.1% in August to 6%, while analysts' inflation forecasts for December 2026 edged up to 6.9%.

The reserves purchase was requested by the finance ministry and comes on top of the bank's accumulation programme, which it has run through auctions since August.

## THE TGB VIEW

[Bancolombia](https://www.theglobalbanker.com/rankings-americas/), the largest lender with 27.6% of the country's net loans in 2025 according to TGB's market profile, had expected a rise. It ranks 36th in the Americas table of the TGB Bank Rankings with US$101.1bn of assets and a 2025 return on equity of 9.6%, against 9.3% at Grupo Aval, whose return on assets is 0.49% against Bancolombia's 1.01%. The dates to watch are third-quarter growth figures in mid-November and the board's next vote in December, as there is no November meeting.