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"Corporates have been negatively affected by elevated interest rates in several countries and rising taxes," said Paula Bunn of Fitch Ratings.

The 25-point cut narrowly won the day among central bank board members with a 4-3 vote. All three dissenters preferred another 50-point reduction.

While the $450 million USD pledged by Obama has been approved, doubt remains as to whether the same level of assistance will keep arriving over the long term.

One analyst firm believes the move "to step up the pace of interest rate cuts is a clear response to the weakness of the recent activity data."

The IMF is predicting 2.3% GDP growth for Colombia in 2017, a decrease from the 2.7% expansion the institution had forecasted in October.

"For now, the Banco de la República is likely to continue to move in 25-basis-point steps," said Capital Economics.

Fitch noted Colombia improving macroeconomic imbalances, current account deficit reduction, and falling inflation rate.

"Signs for an improvement in credit metrics are slowly emerging for corporates across Latin America following a tough year during 2016," said Jay Djemal of Fitch Ratings.

"I don't have the slightest doubt that the worst has already passed," said Cárdenas while predicting better economic growth this year than the 2.0% seen in 2016.

The February rate is down from 5.47% in January — and a marked decrease from the 8.97% seen in July 2017.