Controversial decree puts financial system on the line

On May 28, 2026, Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MinTIC) published a draft decree that would allow Colombian postal companies to grant loans to the public without oversight from the Financial Superintendency. The proposal also provides that the so-called “postal accounts” would fall under MinTIC’s supervision, rather than that of the competent financial regulator.

The underlying problem is structural. Deposit-taking and lending activities in Colombia are matters of public interest, heavily regulated precisely because they involve public savings and require robust controls against money laundering, terrorism financing, and other significant financial risks. Removing these activities from the Financial Superintendency’s oversight opens three fronts of risk: first, the entry of illicit funds; second, the absence of a competent regulator; and third, the lack of monitoring obligations over third parties and transactions.

What stands out most is that this is not a new proposal. It was already published in January 2026, drawing rejection from the Central Bank of Colombia, the Financial Regulation Unit (URF), and the Financial Superintendency itself. The fact that it was republished just days before the change in government raises an inevitable question: is this the outgoing administration’s final move? If so, it would be a significant blow to a financial system that has taken decades to consolidate.