Up to March of this year, Salvadoran financial institutions registered credits to the construction sector for $521 million, 40% more than what was reported at the end of the same month in 2018.
Data from the Salvadoran Banking Association (Abansa) specify that between March 2018 and the same month of 2019 the net loan portfolio registered a 5.6% growth, going from $11,717.1 million to $12,372.7 million.
The change from stable to negative in the classification perspective of foreign currency debt would not have, at least in the medium term, significant effects on the Guatemalan financial system.
On April 11, 2019 Fitch Ratings ratified the long-term foreign currency default rating of "BB", but changed the outlook from stable to negative.
The rating agency argued that the revision of the Negative Perspective of Guatemala's debt rating reflects political tension and greater uncertainty in the agents, in addition to a constant erosion in the low tax collection.
Allowing the opening of branches of foreign banks in the country and creating a structure of consolidated supervision of the entire financial system is part of the reform proposed by the Alvarado administration in Costa Rica.
In March of this year, two bills were presented to the Legislative Assembly, one of them seeks that foreign banks can open branches in Costa Rica and the other includes several changes to the Securities Market Regulatory Law.
In Costa Rica, low economic activity and rising unemployment explain the 25% increase reported between February 2018 and the same month of 2019 in the value of assets acquired by banks to recover loans.
Figures from the General Superintendence of Financial Entities (Sugef) specify that between February 2018 and the same month of this year, the amount of goods and securities acquired by financial entities because people and companies did not pay their loans increased from $425 million to $533 million.
From May 2019, foreign customers will have to declare to local system banks that their funds meet their country's tax requirements.
The Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP) approved Agreement 02-2019, which implements the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which consists of expanding the required due diligence measures of banks with their customers.
In Costa Rica, greater banking control and the increased presence of organized crime explain the 58% increase in suspicious transaction reports in 2018 over 2017.
In the last two years, Suspicious Transaction Reports (SARs) submitted by banks to the Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD) increased by 58%, from 320 in 2017 to 507 in 2018.
Guillermo Araya, director of the ICD, explained to Nacion.com that "...
The entities of the International Banking Center of Panama generated during last year profits of $1.582 million, 4% more than reported in 2017.
The Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP) specify that during the last two years the profits of the 84 banks that operate in the International Banking Center (IBC) of Panama, grew by $70 million, going from $1,782 million in 2017 to $1,852 million in 2018.
Up to November 2018, the credit portfolio of banks in the national system totaled $54.626 million, 5% more than in the same month in 2017, and the increase was mainly because of mortgage and personal loans.
The sectors driving this growth are associated with personal banking products, especially in the mortgage (5.4%) and personal loans (8.7%) sectors, as well as public sector financing that increased by 33.9%, informed the Superintendence of Banks of Panama.
Consistent with the behavior of recent years, up to October 2018 the number of credit cards circulating in Costa Rica totaled 2.98 million, 14% more than in the same month of 2017.
From the report of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC):
The last quarterly study of credit and debit cards, as of October 31, 2018, conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), through the Directorate of Economic and Market Research, determined that in nine years, the number of credit cards in the country increased 125%, representing a total of 2,984,769 plastics in circulation of which 1,976,522 are holders and 1,008,247 are additional plastics, i.e. linked to a cardholder.
A reform to the Organic Law of the National Banking System proposes to allow foreign banks to choose between a corporation or a branch as the legal form to establish themselves in the country.
Project No. 21,292 called "Reform to Law No. 1644 - Organic Law of the National Banking System - Technical Sheet" was presented to the Legislative Assembly on March 8.
Between May and September 2018, an increase was reported in the proportion of loans with payment arrears greater than 90 days, but between October and December the trend was downwards.
Data from the General Superintendence of Financial Entities (Sugef) indicate that between September and December 2018, the proportion of loans with payment arrears greater than 90 days, or in judicial collection, decreased from 2.58% to 2.14%.
The inclusion of Panama in the list of high-risk countries with strategic deficiencies in the battle against money laundering and terrorism would increase the operating costs of foreign banks in the country.
A few days ago, the European Commission included the Central American country in a list of 23 nations classified as territories with lax measures and controls against money laundering and financing of terrorism.
Up to December 2018, the gross portfolio of the financial system in Nicaragua totaled $4.464 million, 9% less than in the same month in 2017, partly because of the performance of commercial and personal credit.
From the Central Bank of Nicaragua report:
For commercial credit, there was a 10.7 percent reduction from last year and for personal loans, the reduction was 14.1 percent.
Financial institutions operating in the Honduran market reported the issuance of $1.313 million in new loans during 2018, 21% more than the $1.081 million recorded in 2017.
Figures from the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS) detail that the rise reported last year is due to the behavior of new consumer credit and trade.
Imperia Intercontinental Inc., the main shareholder of Banco Cuscatlán, reached an agreement to purchase the banking and insurance operations of the entity of Canadian origin.
The sale of Scotiabank's operations in El Salvador is subject to authorization by the Superintendence of Competition and the Superintendence of the Financial System.