Last week

14.12.11 | Nicaragua

El incremento del número de turistas que ha visitado Nicaragua en el 2011, provocó un crecimiento de al menos un 20 por ciento en la...

20.10.11 | Nicaragua

Nicaragua has suffered serious bad press as a result of its troubled past and current President. Those unfortunate realities aside, this beautiful...

21.12.09

By using Facebook, you can now follow our daily activities and read interesting industry comments as well as enjoy our gallery of pictures and...

23.09.09 | Nicaragua

The final draft for the Rules and Regulations that will complete the new Coastal Law was finished today and presented to the Legislature for its...

22.07.09

Calvet & Associates weekly publication and more interesting information is now also available at WordPress !! We keep growing and expanding in our...

14.07.09 | Nicaragua

Projects in Central America and in Nicaragua will need to present returns above 25% to compete with less risk and equal or better yield...

13.07.09 | Nicaragua

It is right after lunch in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, July 7th, and some of the key players in the hospitality industry have been summoned...

13.07.09 | Nicaragua

As Jeff Higley (Editor-in Chief of Hotel and Motel Management Magazine) said in his “Twitter” page on June 2, the IREFAC (Industry Real Estate...

13.07.09 | Nicaragua

One of the most prestigious tourism and hospitality research organizations in the U.S. is Smith Travel Research (STR). Through its division called...

13.07.09 | Nicaragua

It is refreshing to see good things happening even though we are all going through difficult times since the Sub-prime crisis. During the last two...

13.07.09 | Nicaragua

PRONicaragua is the official investment promotion agency in Nicaragua. The agency recently qualified as one of the best promotional agencies in the...

11.07.09

Our new Calvet Weekly News Edition is up! please go to www.calvetreport.com and read the updated world hotel outlook for 2009 to 22011

11.07.09

07.07.09

Today we attended the ALIS (American Lodging Investment Summit) Summer Update meeting held in Los Angeles, another successful conference organized...

06.07.09

We are presently visiting all the mayor hotels in Managua as well as a large number of small and medium hotels gathering information for our next...

30.06.09

Congratulations to our first clients in ITALY!! After two intense months, the complete Feasibility Study and the Concept Design for their...

22.06.09 | Nicaragua

On the morning of October 16, 2004, people in London were drinking their morning coffee and reading the newspaper, “The Guardian”, in which...

22.06.09 | Nicaragua

The most important element of the new Coastal Law is a very clear and explicit respect for private property which has been legally obtained. This...

22.06.09 | Nicaragua

The new Coastal Law specifically mandates that government institutions and municipal authorities should work together with developers, property...

22.06.09 | Honduras

For those truly interested in delving into the details of the new law, this article will discuss its most important elements: • The new setback is...

22.06.09 | Nicaragua

The approval of the Coastal Law immediately generated positive comments and reactions from the investment community. The Association of Investors...

26.05.09 | Nicaragua

In recent weeks, the Tourism Institute presented an initiative from President Daniel Ortega to the Legislature (the Nicaraguan version of the U.S....

25.05.09 | Nicaragua

The cost of borrowing in dollars between banks had its biggest two-day drop in more than four months amid confidence record low interest rates and...

25.05.09 | Nicaragua

Arriving a couple of days ago in Granada, “the colonial jewel of Nicaragua”, Joan Belden and Carol Kennicot of Denver, Colorado were excited to...

25.05.09 | Nicaragua

· The inflation rate was 0% during the first four months of 2009, and the International Reserves at the Central Bank remained level at $1,128...

25.05.09 | Costa Rica

The Central Bank of Costa Rica reported an increase in their International Reserves, reaching $4,085 million during the first 5 months of 2009,...

28.04.09 | Nicaragua

COPADES (Consultores para el Desarrollo Empresarial, S.A.), a think-tank directed by economist Nestor Avedaño whose group has more than 15 years’...

27.04.09 | Nicaragua

There is nothing more important in today’s business world than “information management”. Long gone are the days when it was valid to say that...

27.04.09 | Costa Rica

Costa Rica is fighting the current economic crisis by showing renewed confidence in their products in an effort to prepare for an economic...

27.04.09 | Nicaragua

January reported decreases in the industrial production, YTD -2.3%. Last year, the same month YTD presented an increase of 4.8%, as reported by the...

27.04.09 | Costa Rica

The Latin American Economic Commission (CEPAL) has forecasted a 0.5% economic growth for Costa Rica during 2009, compared to a 1.4% average for the...

27.04.09 | Nicaragua

Calvet & Associates® has changed its CalvetWeeklyNews® email distribution method after a glitch was discovered in the original software program....

21.04.09 | Nicaragua

Last weekend, with the sun at its highest point and the temperature at 104¢ªF, there was no mercy for Dr. Darwin Juarez, biologist and Calvet &...

21.04.09 | Nicaragua

It is true that Nicaragua is a country of contrasts, and its financial system is no exception. While in most countries the Central Banks are...

20.04.09 | Costa Rica

Texas A&M University is opening the new Soltis Research and Education Center at San Isidro de Peñas Blancas, about two hours from San Jose, close...

20.04.09 | Nicaragua

CABEI, the Central American Integration Bank, approved a $200 million dollar line of credit to the Nicaragua Central Bank. $100 million of these...

17.04.09 | Nicaragua

Calvet & Associates congratulates the projects Milagro del Mar (at Gran Pacifica) and Soma Resort (in Tola) for the recent approval of Law 306...

04.04.09

After 40 years of discussions, meetings, planning and more planning, the long-dreamed-about Coastal Road is still just that—a dream. The project,...

03.04.09

Eduardo Holmann, the hands-on former Mayor of San Juan del Sur, had lunch with us today (with the Association of Investors and Developers) and...

16.03.09 | Nicaragua

The Canadian Charter season from Montreal to Montelimar is finishing next Tuesday. I was there to congratulate our team for an excellent job done....

12.03.09 | Nicaragua

Standing on top of a high hill in Managua, Gerardo Caligari admired the newest addition to the hospitality industry in Managua, feeling proud but...

12.03.09 | Nicaragua

The Association of Investors and Developers has been growing in the number of its members and definitively in importance and influence in the...

08.03.09 | Nicaragua

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” How many times have we heard this line? It is more appropriate now than ever, as we never thought...

08.03.09

The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua has become a hot destination for real estate investors, developers, general tourists and surfers looking for the...

01.03.09 | Nicaragua

BHN, the Burba Hotel Network, and Jim Burba, its President and CEO, a very well known and respected figure of the Hospitality Industry is actively...

19.11.07

New Companies Interested in Energy Distribution in Nicaragua The minister of Energy and Mines has announced that five foreign companies are...

21.04.09 | Nicaragua

Wall Street Makes an Impact on Nicaragua Interest Rates

It is true that Nicaragua is a country of contrasts, and its financial system is no exception. While in most countries the Central Banks are reducing interest rates to promote expenditure and reactivate their economies, in Managua the Central Bank limited the maximum monthly debt servicing to 40% of the personal income, thus reducing the market’s purchasing capacity for housing and retail products. In Nicaragua, where inflation surpasses 13.7%, this measure has a different meaning and prevents the economy from running on hot air fueled by flat money.
The official interest rates have increased 240 to 260 basis points since last September, with the short-term rate reaching 14.2% and the long-term reaching 13.1% in February.

Deposits, most of them in U.S. dollars, have continued to grow steadily, even though effects of the economic crisis have been felt since mid-2008. Confidence in the local financial system is pivotal for the macro-economic health of the country, and so far it is consolidating positively. (The following charts were prepared by the Financial Division of C&A, based on data obtained from the Central Bank.)

During the last few months, the most affected areas of the economy have been agriculture and cattle farming due to the credit shortage, with negative growths of -14% and -33% respectively of approved credits. On the other hand, credit available for commerce and retail grew 75%, housing by 26.7% and retail by 75.8%. It is obvious why the Central Bank authorities restricted credit to non-capital goods and activities. Therefore, in Nicaragua, small lending companies have been replacing large banks in the financing of small and medium agriculture and cattle producers. This is another reason why credit to these areas reflects a reduction among large bank reports.

The financial system of Nicaragua is composed of 8 commercial banks, one second floor bank, seven international bank representatives, one Stock Exchange center with six proprietary positions, two credit risk centers, five insurance companies (four in bond deposits), and nineteen micro-lenders. LAFISE was last year’s number one ranking Exchange House in total operations, even though INVERCASA ranked number one in total assets during the same period.

Mortgage financing conditions have improved during the last months, especially for the affordable housing levels with a maximum value of $30,000. Interest rates have dropped to 10.5%, LTV up to 90% and 20 year terms. The only problem so far has been equity capital and financing for large housing projects.

Other fall-outs from Wall Street that are being felt in Nicaragua are tighter requirements for foreigners to obtain local mortgage financing. However, times are improving for preparing projects and purchasing land and for developments with cash problems. Be ready for the rebound sometime early next year.

Most analysts believe that if the macro-economic levels are maintained during 2009, the results of the financial sector will be acceptable. So far, the Central Bank has reduced its GDP growth expectations to 2% for the present year.

20.04.09