During the first seven months of 2013, remittances to Guatemala totalled $2,924 million, $142 million more than in the same period in 2012.
Prensalibre.com reports: "Last July, the receipt of remittances was $445.7 million, which means an increase of 5.6%, or $24 million more compared to July 2012 ($422 million) ...".
According to statistics from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) the amount which came in last July is also higher by 6.8% compared to June when $417 million was received.
Seguros y Fianzas GyT in Guatemala is now offering insurance to cover the taxes on goods in transit, in case of theft or loss.
The ‘Insurance for Goods in Transit or Transfer’ has been available since March 13th.
"Now in an easy way the carrier can enter GyT’s website and within five minutes have a printed insurance policy, allowing them to take their goods out of the customs port," said the assistant manager of Seguros y Fianzas GyT, Elmer Roca.
Business loans of more than $ 640.000 pay between 8% and 12.5%.
Business loans of less than $ 640,000 pay considerably more, between 11.3% and 34.4%.
The information comes from the monthly report generated by the Bank Superintendence of Guatemala, which for the first time includes interest rate information filtered by credit portfolio, economic activity, type of credit and rank.
From January to September, credit card issuers reported $36 million in profit.
Profitability was 32% in the same period, according to data from the Banking Superintendence.
Edgardo Pérez Preciado, executive at G&T Continental, told Prensalibre.com: "...according to a study conducted by credit card issuers in Guatemala, there was less consumption and less credit card holders. Payment volume was down 0.6%, and the number of clients 10%".
In order to support liquidity, the government is analyzing whether to accept a $500 million line of credit from the IDB.
The Superintendent of Guatemalan Banks, Edgar Barquín, said that the purpose of this instrument would be to compensate for the likely loss of foreign credit lines.
According to an article in prensalibre.com, "credit lines granted by correspondent banks to local ones in the past 15 months have fallen by $130 million,” and "there are now nearly $1.6 billion in lines of credit."
In short, Financia in Costa Rica and Banco Financia (BMF) in Panama will begin to use the Guatemalan financial company’s brand.
Both companies were already part of the G&T Continental Financial Group which is now completing the formalities to change the name with the respective supervisory authorities in Costa Rica and Panama.
In this way, G&T’s presence now covers four Central American countries by adding Panama and Costa Rica to Guatemala and El Salvador, where it was already operating.
Banks and transmitters of credit cards add more application requirements and reduce credit limits.
The main cause is the likelyincrease in defaults, derived from the international crisis and bad local economic situation. In 2008, credit card delinquency increased, reaching 0.46% of the total of accounts receivable.
According to the article published in sigloxxi.com, Flavio Montenegro, General Manager of G&T Continental, indicated that "These are measures that should be taken to maintain credit in the country…," upon explaining that the interest rates were adjusted in the third quarter of 2008.
On Tuesday Guatemala's Monetary Committee was advised of the request of G&T Continental Bank to issue a series of preferred shares for 70 million dollars at a fixed interest rate.
G&T is the second financial group within the past year to use this type of instrument to increase its paid capital. Last September the Banco de los Trabajadores (Workers' Bank) issued 20 million dollars' worth of preferred shares.
Guatemala's "people's banks", that lend to the likes of small shopkeepers, aim to take their business model to the rest of Central America.
G&T Continental and Banco Industrial (BI) run mini-branches where low-income customers can cash cheques, open savings accounts and pay public-service bills.
Boosted by their success, each of the banks is aiming to reach 2,000 branches by the end of the year, some of them in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The Banco Financiera Comercial Hondureña S.A. (Ficohsa) and Guatemala's Banco GT Continental, together with several local banks, including Atlántida, BAC-Bamer, GTC Bank, Banco Aliado and Tower Bank, have put together a syndicated loan of 77 million dollars for Corporación Dinant.
The funds will be used for investment in plant and agro-industry. Surplus funds will be used for publicity and marketing.