DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Accessing credit continues to be a costly challenge for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or Mipymes in the Dominican Republic. Borrowing for a small business is much more costly than financing a new vehicle — despite a generally stable monetary environment. Car financing rates of 9.75% are available, up from around 8% in past years.

Yet, at the close of the first quarter of 2025, the average interest rate for small business loans stood at a low of 14.3% and an average interest rate of 16.7% as of March 2025, according to figures from the Superintendence of Banks, El Dia reports.

This disparity persists even though the Central Bank has held its policy rate steady throughout 2025, following a cumulative reduction of 125 basis points in the second half of 2024. These moves were expected to ease borrowing costs, but the data shows little relief for small business...