Financial Cooperatives in Costa Rica

For the volume of assets and loan portfolios they manage, cooperatives together make up the fourth largest financial operator ivn the country.

Monday, October 29, 2012

In Costa Rica, the 30 cooperatives under the supervision of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Sugef) exceed in value the assets and loan portfolio of the "private bank BAC San José and are below the banks, Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Popular which are funded by public capital. "

It should be noted that there are 40 other cooperatives whose supervision doesn’t fall under the SUGEF, who also perform credit transactions.

Nacion.com reports that "the biggest cooperative is Coopenae with assets of ¢402,000 million, higher than banks Lafise, Improsa, BCT, General, Cathay and Bansol."

"Small savers and microentrepreneurs, who are also usually cooperative partners" are the cooperative’s main customers.

"Our customers also become owners, having an equity participation in the cooperative which confers additional benefits", said Adrian Alvarez, deputy of Coopenae.

"Regarding the use of the resources they provide, the main uses are for food, housing and small business financing."

According to Oscar Hildago, Coopeservidores manager, "the category of savings cooperatives handles 10% of the total amount in the financial system.

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More on this topic

Costa Rica: Financial Cooperatives up to June 2017

August 2017

In the second quarter of 2017, three entities accounted for 61% of the assets of the cooperative system, which represents 11% of the assets of the Costa Rican financial system.

From a report by Fitch Ratings :

Concentration of Business Model: The cooperative sector has moderate participation and accounts for 11% of assets in the national financial system. The participation of entities rated by Fitch Ratings (Coopenae, Coopeservidores and Coopeande No.1) has remained high and relatively stable in relation to the regulated cooperative system, accounting for 61.3% of the sector's assets. The business model continues to focus on consumer credit for its associates, mostly low- and middle-income public sector employees. Fitch believes that cooperatives face the challenge of diversifying products in their portfolio to reduce concentration risk in the consumer segment, which is typically more vulnerable to the business cycle. 

Financial Cooperatives in Costa Rica

August 2016

In the second quarter of 2016 three entities accounted for 63% of the assets of the cooperative system, which accounts for 10% of the Costa Rican financial system.  

From a report by Fitch Ratings:

Cooperatives in Costa Rica: Defaults and Pressured Profitability

Concentration of Business Model: The cooperatives rated by Fitch Ratings (Coopenae, Coopeservidores and Coopeande 1) are the three largest in Costa Rica and account for 63.3% of the assets of the cooperative system, a sector that still has a low participation in the national financial system (10.6%). These entities have a business model focused on consumer finance for its members, which makes them dependent on the behavior of a single segment.

Costa Rica: Banco Popular Assumes Coopemex Liabilities

June 2010

Bank “Banco Popular” will buy 100% of the liabilities of intervened financial cooperative Coopemex, and will put in place a trust to manage its assets.

The announcement was made by Gerardo Porras, General Manager at Banco Popular. He noted that the operation should be completed no later than June 10.

Credit Guarantees for Costa Rican SMEs

April 2009

SMEs in Costa Rica can receive guarantee backed funds for viable projects.

The Development Fund for Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (Fodemipyme) gave guarantees and assurances to six cooperatives and one bank for $8.5 million. These guarantees will be used by the institutions to cover up to 75% of each loan request after having evaluated the feasibility of the project for which the funds are requested.

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