The Honduras National Banking and Insurance Commission approved temporary relief allowing supervised institutions to reschedule or refinance credit obligations, including financial leases, for agricultural borrowers whose income or repayment capacity has been affected by El Niño related drought and water shortages. The measures principally cover borrowers in municipalities under a state of emergency, as well as areas subsequently included based on technical reports and official alerts. Borrowers may apply through Feb. 28, 2027, and institutions must decide applications by April 30, 2027. Institutions must verify the impact through field visits and assess the borrower’s temporary payment difficulties, productive viability, expected cash flows and recovery capacity. Revised payment plans must reflect production cycles. Institutions may grant grace periods, improved interest rates or other documented benefits, but may not impose commissions, default interest or administrative charges related to the relief, or capitalize unpaid accrued interest and other overdue charges into the modified loan. Modified loans will retain the risk category held on Aug. 31, 2026, before being classified according to subsequent payment performance. Existing impairment provisions may not be reduced or released, unpaid interest may be recognized as income only when collected, and institutions must continuously monitor affected exposures. Beneficiaries must also be identified in the Credit Information Center and private credit bureaus, and each borrower may receive the relief only once at the same institution.

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