Medellin-based banking giant Bancolombia announced April 27 that it has approved COP$17.4 trillion (US$4.3 billion) in payroll-coverage loans to 293,000 small, medium and independent businesses in Colombia via a new National Guarantee Fund (FNG) Coronavirus-crisis program. Under the FNG

It’s a tale of two countries: U.S. President Donald Trump announced April 15 that Coronavirus-crisis emergency loan funds to help U.S. businesses meet payroll are exhausted – just as 22 million more North Americans hit the unemployment lines — yet Colombia simultaneously expanded its loan programs by COP$16 trillion (US$4.06 billion). Colombia Treasury Minister

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced April 9 that its executive board will recommend approval of a US$10.8 billion line-of-credit request to help Colombian businesses and workers weather the economic downturn caused by the Coronavirus crisis. “This renewable credit line helps safeguard against external shocks by providing countries who have very strong policy