When times are good, growth in Latin America’s banking sector generally follows two paths. A bank can grow through acquisitions, gaining a bunch of new customers in a single swoop, or it can ride the wave and build up its credit portfolio. But when times are bad, a bank can score a small victory by simply maintaining its existing market share.
In LatinFinance’s Banks of the Year awards for this year, we recognize the banks that made transformational acquisitions, such as Itaú Unibanco in Brazil, Santander Río in Argentina and Ficohsa in Honduras. We also recognize the banks that logged impressive loan growth in sluggish markets, such as Banco de Bogotá in Colombia, Produbanco in Ecuador and BROU in Uruguay. And finally, we recognize the banks that stood firm in a down year, like Interbank in Peru, Banco Regional in Paraguay and Republic Bank in Trinidad & Tobago.
After several years of economic doldrums, Latin America and the Caribbean, on the whole, are growing again. Now the region’s banks are betting on a wider range of digital services and loan products to support growth in the years to come. In Brazil and Colombia, rising volumes of local bond issues will help investment banking businesses there. In Argentina, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic, more mortgage loans will add to the retail credit portfolios of commercial banks. In Central America, where economic growth is expected to approach 4% in 2018, banks remain focused on expanding personal loans.
The editorial team at LatinFinance considered all these factors when selecting the winners for Banks of the Year 2107. We started with a list of the largest banks by assets in each country and then examined their financial results from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, sought input from market analysts and reviewed supporting documents from the financial institutions themselves. For the investment banks, league tables of the major participants in the equity, bond and loan markets served as the starting point. For full details on the selection process, go to www.latinfinance.com/boty. LF
Bank of the Year
Itaú Unibanco
Argentina
Santander Río
Bolivia
Mercantil Santa Cruz
Brazil
Itaú Unibanco
Brazil Investment Bank
Itaú BBA
Caribbean
Banreservas
Central America
Ficohsa
Chile
Santander
Chile Investment Bank
Banchile Citi
Colombia
Banco de Bogotá
Colombia Investment Bank
Bancolombia
Costa Rica
BAC San José
Dominican Republic
Banreservas
Ecuador
Produbanco
El Salvador
Banco Agrícola
Guatemala
Banco Industrial
Honduras
Ficohsa
Jamaica
National Commercial Bank
Mexico
BBVA Bancomer
Mexico Investment Bank
Citibanamex
Multilateral
IFC
Nicaragua
Banco Lafise
Panama
Banco General
Paraguay
Banco Regional
Peru
Interbank
Trinidad & Tobago
Republic Bank
Uruguay
BROU