Solidarity Economy Organizations Developing Savings and Credit Operations in Colombia: An Approach to Their Characteristics, Supervision, and Regulation
Abstract
In Colombia, cooperatives are part of a group of entities known as solidarity economy organizations. Within the solidarity economy sector, there are different legal forms that are permitted to engage in savings collection and loan placement activities with their members or third parties. This variety of legal forms in the solidarity economy sector, while certainly having advantages in terms of generating financial inclusion, also presents difficulties, as legislative progress has caused the initial characteristics that justified the existence of various legal forms to disappear, and regulatory asymmetries have begun to emerge. Therefore, the State, through the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit — Financial Regulation Unit, has been advancing a series of regulatory initiatives and studies to alleviate asymmetries and strengthen the solidarity savings and credit sector.
Received: 14 November 2025
Accepted: 4 Febrero 2026
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