De la Espriella Meets Business Leaders for Earthquake Recovery
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella met with some of the country’s leading business figures in Barranquilla on Aug. 22 to discuss the private sector’s role in rebuilding areas affected by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia on Aug. 10. The meeting produced two immediate commitments: lower mortgage rates for earthquake victims and a joint visit to Choco to develop a longer-term recovery plan.
The meeting took place at the alternate headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic in Barranquilla. Participants included Jaime and Gabriel Gilinski, Alejandro Santo Domingo, Luis Carlos Sarmiento, Fuad Char, Juan Carlos Mora, Cesar Caicedo and Miguel Cortes. They represent major banking, industrial, retail and investment groups in Colombia.
The talks came as the government seeks private-sector support for an earthquake recovery that De la Espriella has estimated could cost about 30 trillion Colombian pesos (US$9.6 billion).
Business leaders agree to lower mortgage rates for earthquake victims
The decision most immediately affected mortgage relief for earthquake victims. De la Espriella asked Luis Carlos Sarmiento of Grupo Aval, Jaime and Gabriel Gilinski of Banco GNB Sudameris, and Miguel Cortes of Grupo Bolivar, which owns Davivienda, to reduce mortgage rates for eligible earthquake victims.
The three business leaders agreed to set the rate at 8% effective annual interest for the entire life of the loan. The measure applies to housing loans held by people affected by the earthquake. The government described the agreement as financial relief for affected families.
The agreement adds to a broader financial response from Colombia’s banking sector. Asobancaria, the country’s banking association, had previously announced a 1.1 trillion-peso financial relief program (US$361 million) for people and businesses affected by the disaster.
Reduced interest rates directly lighten the financial burden for families facing catastrophic property damage or total home loss as they rebuild. The government has not presented the mortgage measure as a cash donation. Instead, it changes the cost of qualifying housing credit for affected borrowers.
Major Colombian business groups join the recovery effort
The participants represented several of Colombia’s largest corporate groups. Jaime and Gabriel Gilinski are associated with Grupo Gilinski and Banco GNB Sudameris. Alejandro Santo Domingo chairs the board of Valorem, an investment holding company. Luis Carlos Sarmiento founded Grupo Aval, one of Colombia’s largest financial groups.
Fuad Char leads the Char business group, which includes Organizacion Olimpica. Juan Carlos Mora is president of Bancolombia, while Cesar Caicedo leads food company Colombina. Miguel Cortes heads Grupo Bolivar, whose businesses include Davivienda.
Several of these business groups had already announced substantial contributions before the Barranquilla meeting. The Santo Domingo family committed 100 billion pesos (US$33 million) through the Fundacion Santo Domingo, while Sarmiento and his wife, Fanny Gutierrez de Sarmiento, pledged 200 billion pesos (US$66 million).
Jaime Gilinski pledged 150 billion pesos (US$49 million) to reconstruct Cali’s hospitals and schools. David Velez, the Colombian co-founder and CEO of Nubank, separately committed 100 billion pesos (US$33 million).
Made before the Aug. 22 meeting, those donations stand apart from the new mortgage deal and the Choco plan.
De la Espriella and business leaders will visit Choco
The second major result was an agreement to travel together to Choco on Sept. 7. The president and participating business leaders plan to use the visit to design what the government calls an integral recovery and transformation plan for the department.
Choco, on Colombia’s Pacific coast, was among the regions most affected by the Aug. 10 earthquake. The department has also faced longstanding infrastructure, investment and development challenges.
The government says the planned initiative will address both earthquake recovery and longer-term development needs. De la Espriella said reconstruction should go beyond replacing structures destroyed by the earthquake and should address longstanding problems in regions that have received less investment.
The visit would extend the business leaders’ role beyond donations and financial relief. The government wants them involved in planning investment and reconstruction in one of the areas most affected by the disaster.
Private-sector support grows as reconstruction begins
The Barranquilla meeting forms part of a broader effort by the De la Espriella administration to enlist companies and business groups in the earthquake response.
By Aug. 22, private-sector contributions had surpassed 2 trillion pesos (about US$656 million), according to figures cited by President De la Espriella. The total includes donations and commitments announced by major business groups in the days following the earthquake.
The government estimates that reconstruction will require around 30 trillion pesos (about US$9.6 billion), making private contributions only one part of a much larger financing effort. The earthquake affected 16 departments and 481 municipalities, according to the latest government balance, with 329 deaths, about 4,600 injuries and 247 people reported missing.
Rather than setting a final price tag, the Aug. 22 meeting delivered focused results: targeted mortgage relief and an imminent field visit to Choco. These initial moves signal a clear shift in Colombia’s disaster strategy, formalizing the private sector’s role in rebuilding.