Year: 2022
Winner: Banco de Crédito del Perú
Solid results help prep the ground for tougher times to come
Banco de Crédito del Perú, or BCP, is the Bank of the Year in the Andean country having
delivered strong performance through the first half of the year, despite an increasingly
challenging business environment.
The bank posted profits of 1.016 billion soles ($264 million) in the second quarter of the year,
a 45.5% increase over the same period of 2021. Its ROE ratio reached 20.24%, compared to
15.13% a year earlier.
Net interest income went up by 21.5% in the second quarter compared to Q2 2021, driven
mostly by strong performances of consumer and corporate lending. Financial margin for the
three months to June were 4.3%, compared to 3.4% for the same period ending June 2021.
“The bank’s performance has been very good in general in the different fronts that we have
focused this year,” CEO Diego Cavero says. “We have improved significantly the availability
and the functions offered via our digital channels to companies and families. Both our mobile
banking app and Yape are growing very quickly.”
Yape is BCP’s digital wallet which was launched in 2017 and has reached almost 11 million
users this year.
“It has enabled the financial inclusion of 2 million Peruvians who for the first time were able to
access the benefits of banking services,” says Cavero.
But BCP has also taken steps to prepare itself for a more difficult market ahead. Expenses with
the build-ing up of provisions 7.2% in the second quarter, especially linked to the SME and
corporate credit portfolio.
BCP’s balance sheet shows signs that the banking market is starting to lose some steam in Peru
after the initial post-pandemic economic recovery. The ratio of non-performing loans reached
4.42%, compared to 3.50% in June last year. And profits in the second quarter were down
9.1% compared to the first, in part due to higher provision levels.
Yet Cavero is optimistic that the bank will be able to navigate the downturn, and so should
Peru’s banking system as a whole. “Political and economic volatility have been the rule in our
environment for decades, and we have been able to prosper in any kind of scenario,” Cavero
says. “BCP and Peru’s financial system have shown much resilience in recent years.”
BCP closed May 2022 with a 33.9% share of Peru’s credit market, and 35.9% in deposits,
results strong enough maintain the company at the top of the bank rankings. And in June, BCP was the first Peruvian bank to issue a green bond in a $30 million deal. The bank published its Sustainable Financing Framework in January.