Peru approves 80 million credit to modernize the civil registry

The Executive Branch approved an external borrowing operation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for up to US$ 80,000,000.00, intended to partially finance Phase II of the civil registry and identification project executed by the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC). The decision is contained in Supreme Decree No. 246-2026-EF, published on Thursday, November 5, 2026, in the Legal Norms section of the official newspaper El Peruano. The regulation bears the signatures of the President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, the President of the Council of Ministers, Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Elmer Rafael Cuba Bustinza, and was issued at the Government House on November 4, 2026.

The decree is based on numeral 3.1 of article 3 of Law No. 32515, Public Sector Borrowing Law for Fiscal Year 2026, which authorizes the National Government to agree to external borrowing operations for up to US$ 2,840,000,000.00, of which up to US$ 1,840,000,000.00 correspond to economic and social sector destinations. The approved amount is charged to this second tranche and is also framed within Legislative Decree No. 1437, of the National Public Debt System.

The financed project is titled “Improvement of Access to Quality Civil Registry and Identification Services Nationwide” and has Unique Investment Code No. 2324655. Its execution is the responsibility of RENIEC, through the Executing Unit 002 Improvement of Registry Service Quality, which the decree itself ratifies as the executing unit for Phase II. Prior to approval, the Office of Planning, Budget, and Modernization (OPPM) of RENIEC issued a favorable opinion on the financing of the counterpart through Official Letter No. D000027-2026-RENIEC/OPPM; the General Directorate of the Public Treasury and the General Office of Legal Advice of the Ministry of Economy and Finance also issued favorable opinions, and the Comptroller General of the Republic issued a prior report in accordance with literal l) of article 22 of Law No. 27785.

SOFR Rate and amortization until 2042

Article 1 establishes the financial conditions of the loan. The operation accrues an interest rate based on the SOFR Rate in dollars plus a margin to be determined by the IDB according to its interest rate policy, and repayment will be made in twenty-two installments:

• 4.55% of the loan amount at each maturity, from March 15, 2032, to March 15, 2042.
• 4.45% of the loan amount on September 15, 2042.

Added to this is a commitment fee on the undisbursed balance, established periodically according to the bank’s policy, which cannot exceed 0.75% per annum. During the disbursement period, no inspection and surveillance fee is charged, unless the IDB reinstates it, in which case no more than 1% of the loan amount divided by the number of semesters of the original disbursement period may be charged in a given semester.

Conversion Facilities and Treasury Margin of Action

Article 2 authorizes the Ministry of Economy and Finance, through the General Directorate of the Public Treasury, to request the four facilities provided for in the contract:

• Currency Conversion, to transform a disbursement or part of the outstanding balance into a main or local currency.
• Interest Rate Conversion, which allows switching from the SOFR-based rate to a fixed rate or another option accepted by the bank.
• Commodity Conversion, through put or call options.
• Catastrophe Protection Conversion, agreed upon on a case-by-case basis according to the respective Commitment Letter.

The General Director of the General Directorate of the Public Treasury is empowered to sign, on behalf of the Republic of Peru, the conversion instructions and the required documentation, while the Minister of Economy and Finance shall sign the Loan Agreement. Paragraph 1.3 allows that office, through the same general directorate, to modify the amortization schedule in accordance with what was agreed upon in the contract.

Debt Service Charged to the Public Treasury

Article 5 provides that the amortization, interest, commissions, and other expenses of the operation are covered using the budgetary resources assigned to the payment of the public debt service of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The regulation was endorsed by the President of the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Economy and Finance, and was issued with the approving vote of the Council of Ministers, in application of Directive No. 001-2019-EF/52.04, approved by Directorial Resolution No. 015-2019-EF/52.01, and Directive No. 001-2024-CG/VCST, approved by Comptroller General Resolution No. 063-2024-CG. It was published on the same day as two other supreme decrees from the Economy and Finance sector: S.D. No. 245-2026-EF, which approves the TUPA of the Pension Normalization Office (ONP), and S.D. No. 247-2026-EF, regarding the income scale of SERNANP.

The operation expands the financial space of a key agency for the identity and civil registry of the population, within a context of partial execution of the borrowing program authorized for 2026. With a schedule extending until September 2042 and a rate referenced to the SOFR, the final cost of the credit will depend both on the evolution of that international rate and on the use that the Ministry of Economy and Finance makes of the conversion facilities provided for in the contract.

Source: El Peruano, Legal Norms, Thursday, November 5, 2026, pág. 18 (official reference: Supreme Decree No. 246-2026-EF, code 2571982-1).