Bolivia's ASFI Tightens Financial Oversight

Banco Unión S.A. has posted an opening for a National Electronic Security Analyst that requires familiarity with the Physical Security Management Regulation issued by ASFI and the Regulation for Private Security Companies, underscoring how Bolivia’s banks must align operations with specific physical and electronic security rules.

What does Banco Unión's job posting require?

The opening calls for knowledge of ASFI’s physical security regulation and the REPV. Together, those frameworks show that electronic security in Bolivia’s financial system does not rest only on each bank’s internal criteria. Banco Unión’s posting, dated September 12, 2026, shows that regulatory adaptation is part of the job requirements.

What changed in ASFI's role?

ASFI has been placed at the center of a broader oversight framework within the agreement Bolivia is negotiating with the IMF. Economy Minister Christian Morales said the authority will have a key role in supervising the financial system, with responsibilities concentrated through assessment and follow-up mechanisms.

Morales presented that approach before the Chamber of Deputies’ Commission on Planning, Economic Policy and Finance, where he detailed that the 36-month economic program includes a financial stability component with system monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. In parallel, the technical agreement backed by the Extended Fund Facility includes bank stress tests and independent asset quality assessments.

What is the scope of the IMF program?

The bill submitted by the executive branch to the Legislative Assembly formalizes roughly $1.9 billion in financing, with a 36-month program, repayment over 10 years per disbursement, an interest rate between 3% and 3.5%, and a four-and-a-half-year grace period. That structure requires reinforced supervision to remain in place over time.

International reports on the agreement also note that the amount equals 570% of Bolivia’s quota and that the program includes, alongside fiscal adjustment, stronger bank supervision through stress tests and independent asset audits.

What political climate surrounds these measures?

The agreement came amid political criticism. Evo Morales called it "impositions" and "treason against the homeland," citing fiscal adjustment conditions and economic reforms. That backdrop suggests the requirements facing entities regulated by ASFI will play out in a highly sensitive social environment.

The government has also committed to ending fuel subsidies starting in 2027, as part of a reform plan that includes reducing the fiscal deficit. Morales also said the $1.9 billion will not go to salaries or year-end bonuses, but to strengthen international reserves and the balance of payments.