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"Bank" holidays are great for banks in Colombia

Think about all the "bank", or public, holidays there are in Colombia....quite a few eh? Well, they have more than a purely recreational interest.

A couple of days ago I went to my bank to decide what to do with a "Deposito A Termino" (A type of fixed term deposit or CDT) that was maturing that day. For some reason I was unusually (for me) vigilant and checked the interest they were paying on the maturing deposit. The deposit period was from June 19th 2007, maturing March 25th 2008 which I calculated as 280 calender days. The bank was only paying interest for 276 days.

My enquiry as to why I was not receiving the full 280 days interest was answered as follows....."We do not pay interest on bank/public holidays" and there were 4 such days during this period. My follow-up question enquiring if they did not charge interest on the loans/overdrafts on the same days received no reply.

What I do not know is if all Colombian banks apply this rule or if my bank is a simple maverick? Anyone out there know?

By fecherklyn on Mar 27, 2008, 14:48 in Friendly Talkzone.

Bill Turley says on Mar 27, 2008, 15:17:

We had a problem with a direct deposit SSA check. The bank claimed they had not received it and still had not on the 22nd. Normally the check are available on the 5th. I called the Embassy for help and they send me documentation about the transfer which was done on the 3rd. We did file a camplaint with The Bank Supervisory board and have never had a late day since. By the way it was BancoBogota

Mr. Bill Somondoco

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bogotabrian says on Mar 27, 2008, 15:45:

I have had tons of issues with the banks in Colombia with both personal and business accounts. I can not say that all of the errors were all in the banks favor either.

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Brians says on Mar 28, 2008, 04:30:

That is too funny...Although sounds like a little it means a lot over a large deposit base. I expect you recieved the incorrect answer but knowing Colombia nothing would surprise me.

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rocinante says on Mar 28, 2008, 07:03:

Just in case someone wants to know the dates....Go to the last post:

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/yet-another-holiday-in-colombia-...

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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sloopskipper says on Mar 28, 2008, 07:57:

It seems that banking in Colombia is even more a joke than here in Panamá, and that is bad enough.

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bogotabrian says on Mar 28, 2008, 16:17:

Funny story. I opened up a business then a business account at Bancolombia with a decent amount of cash before I moved full-time. I got my Colombian ID (CE) then tried to open my personal account at Bancolombia but they refused because I had not lived here for 6 months. This was a different branch in Bogota that opened my business account so I explained to them that I was already banking there. They called manager after manager (supposedly) and an hour later they still refused. I knew that this wasn't their policy because I knew others who had opened accounts right after getting their CE. After arguing with them for 30 min and threatening to close my business account, I got the idea to walk 3 blocks down the street to a different branch and try there. I walked in, showed them my CE and opened an account in 10 minutes! I never even mentioned to them about my business account. Craziness.

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tomtom33 says on Mar 29, 2008, 02:57:

That kind of horseshit is exactly why I will not do business with Bancolombia. And they still have not returned my 9 million pesos. The last time I tried to open an account there, I had been in Colombia for 6 months. I was told that they would not open accounts for anyone who did not have permanent residence.

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DodgerDogs says on Mar 29, 2008, 03:10:

Colombia is a great place, but is many years behind in business practices.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.Martin Luther King:

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