Banks and cooperatives may defer El Niño loans for up to 90 days

Executive Decree 529 empowers entities within the public, private, and popular and solidarity financial sectors to implement mechanisms for the extraordinary and temporary deferment of credit obligations for debtors affected by the El Niño phenomenon. The postponement may be granted for a maximum period of ninety days. The regulation is located in the Executive Branch Decrees section of the Official Registry —Third Supplement No. 404, Year II, Quito, Friday, November 6, 2026— and begins on page 5 of the supplement.

The bulletin summary outlines the scope of the measure with this wording: entities “may implement mechanisms for the extraordinary and temporary deferment of credit obligations, for the benefit of debtors affected by the El Niño phenomenon,” and adds that “the deferment may be granted for a maximum period of ninety (90) days.” The text appears under the heading Presidency of the Republic, within section I of the Official Registry, in a 16-page supplement that also contains Executive Decree 528, regarding the President’s representation before the Galapagos Government Council, and Ministerial Agreement MTDH-2026-037 from the Ministry of Labor and Human Development.

What it allows and who it reaches

• Covered sectors: public, private, and popular and solidarity economy financial entities; that is, public and private banks and savings and credit cooperatives.
• Maximum term: ninety (90) days of deferment per obligation.
• Beneficiaries: debtors affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
• Nature of the mechanism: extraordinary and temporary, not permanent.
• Nature of the authorization: entities “may” apply it, meaning implementation remains within their decision-making scope.
• Publication: Executive Decree 529, Official Registry Third Supplement No. 404, Friday, November 6, 2026, p. 5.

A phenomenon already declared and under national red alert

The measure is published while the climatic event is ongoing and formally declared. According to the ERFEN Executive Technical Report No. 007-2026, dated August 28, 2026, the National ERFEN Committee (CN-ERFEN) determined that the four criteria of the Protocol for the Declaration of El Niño in Ecuador were met and officially declared the event in the country. That same report reported a weekly sea surface temperature anomaly of approximately +4.0 °C in the Niño 1+2 region and +2.6 °C in Niño 3.4, with sea level anomalies between +28 and +33 cm at coastal stations.

On that basis, the National Secretariat for Risk Management issued Resolution SNGR-238-2026, published in the Third Supplement No. 369 on September 15, 2026, which declared a red alert throughout the national territory for the reasons set forth in Technical Report SNGR-SGIAR-2026-008. The previous escalation had occurred with Resolution SNGR-193-2026, dated July 20, 2026, which changed the alert from yellow to orange in the prioritized areas: 17 provinces, 143 cantons, and 491 parishes, located predominantly up to 1,500 meters above sea level.

The financial background of the decision

The technical report that supported the red alert itself gathers international perspectives: the Diagnostic Discussion from the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC), dated August 13, 2026, maintained a scenario of strengthening El Niño conditions, and the official forecast estimated a 69% probability of reaching an event of historical magnitude for the October–December 2026 quarter. The effects already observed on the Coast—localized rains, swells, and flooding associated with high tides—are the type of impact that deteriorates the payment capacity of households and small businesses.

In this context, the deferment operates as a temporary postponement of the fulfillment of credit obligations and not as a debt forgiveness. The enablement covers the entire financial system, including the popular and solidarity segment, which concentrates a large part of consumer credit and microcredit in coastal and rural cantons exposed to the event.

Closing

The decision comes when the CN-ERFEN has already officially declared the phenomenon and the National Secretariat for Risk Management maintains the red alert throughout the country, so that the financial relief is anchored to an emergency recognized by the technical institutional framework itself. For affected debtors, Executive Decree 529 opens the door to up to ninety days without payment pressure on their obligations; for banks and cooperatives, it establishes the framework under which they can reschedule portfolios without deviating from current regulations during the months of highest climatic risk.

Source: Official Registry, Year II - No. 404 - Third Supplement, Friday, November 6, 2026, section I (Executive Branch, Decrees), p. 5 (official reference: Executive Decree 529).