Central Bank Releases 2025 List of Licensed Moneylenders and Pawnbrokers

In related news, the Central Bank of Belize has issued its 2025 list of licensed moneylenders across the six districts.  The licenses to lend money are broken down in four categories, namely, Single Store Moneylenders; Master Agent Moneylenders; Single Store Pawnbrokers and Master Agent Pawnbrokers. – Under the Single Store Moneylenders list, some 26 licenses were issued, to date, with the Belize District having nine entities, followed by the Cayo District with 5 licensees; the Orange Walk District with 5; Stann Creek with three and Corozal with two.  Under the Master Agent Moneylenders, 34 licenses were issued to date with the Cayo District having 12 licensed lenders.  In the pawnbrokers category, referring to pawnshops, 19 licenses were given out under the single store category while 8 were given to pawnbrokers referred to as master agents.  For context, single store lenders refer to those who only operate from one location while master agents have multiple branches.  It is important for consumers to note that informal lending through loan sharks is illegal and are considered black market lenders as they are not licensed to operate.