Banco Industrial Rejects Sale Rumors

In response to rumors, Guatemala’s Banco Industrial categorically denies that it is up for sale. “That’s absolutely false,” Diego Pulido Aragon, director of Corporacion Banco Industrial, tells LatinFinance. “The bank is not for sale. There aren’t even any discussions about it. There is no interest in selling to anyone,” he affirms. Industrial is leading the consolidation drive in Guatemala and also looking to other Central American markets. Pulido expects to announce a Honduras acquisition in two weeks and says a purchase in El Salvador should follow. Industrial has 28.5% of the market by assets, according to Fitch. Industrial’s ROA (1.2% at year-end 2006) and ROE (16.8%) place it among the most profitable of Guatemala’s large banks. But after relying on shareholder investment for capital, Industrial must now devise other means of raising funds, and Fitch identifies capitalization as the weak point in the country’s banking system. The bank is considering a public offering.