A law project has been submitted to the National Congress in an attempt to modify the denomination of the Colombian legal currency. It proposes a new unit of currency: the nuevo peso. This would be equivalent to 1,000 units of the present peso.
Many reasons have been given in favour of the new currency, including the following:
- It would simplify accounting and registry procedures in national currency;
- It would facilitate the handling of the currency;
- It would simplify transactions made in monetary expressions; and
- It would facilitate currency conversion.
The project suggests that although the denomination of the new monetary unit would initially be known as the nuevo peso, once all peso bills and coins were retired from circulation the name 'peso' could once more be adopted to describe the new currency.
The project also proposes that the board of directors of the Banco de la República be allowed to adopt all necessary administrative regulations to ensure that the change in denomination does not alter the value of existing credits and obligations. It suggests that either possessors of peso bills and coins should easily be able to substitute these for nuevo peso bills or coins, or that the peso bills and coins may be used for a reasonable period of time to acquire credits and to redeem pecuniary obligations towards both individuals and authorities.
If this project is approved in Congress the new monetary unit would be used from January 1 2002.
For further information on this topic please contact Juan Carlos Duran at Holguin Neira y Pombo Abogados by telephone (+57 1 312 2473) or by fax (+57 1 312 2513) or by e-mail ([email protected]).
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