After the bank was taken over because of its inclusion in the Clinton List drawn up by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Superintendency of Banks has ordered its reorganization and sale to another bank.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Banks in Panama:
Through Resolution SBP-0116-2016 of July 1, 2016, the Superintendency of Banks has ordered the reorganization of Balboa Bank & Trust Corp., effective from the date July 4, 2016 at 2:30 pm, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Interim Administrator.The reorganization of the bank aims to fulfill three basic objectives:• To protect the best interests of depositors;• To minimize any loss of value of the bank to the detriment of depositors and•Reduce any adverse impact on the banking system. The decision to reorganize the bank will allow choices to be made that aim to give greater security to depositors and creditors of Balboa Bank & Trust Corp. for an early normalization of the situation in the bank and access to all of its funds.
It has been reported that the Spanish firm Banco Popular has abandoned the negotiations for the purchase of Citigroup's consumer banking unit in the region.
Reports published by Bloomberg.com indicate that a purchase of consumer banking operations in the region would not be aligned to the strategic plan of the Spanish Banco Popular SA, who for weeks had been holding negotiations with Citigroup.
The banks Davivienda and Grupo Aval, already present in Central America, could be in talks with Citi to acquire its consumer banking operations in the region.
The sale of assets of Citigroup in 7 countries in Latin America represents an expansion opportunity for Colombian banks. Bloomberg reports cited by Elfinancierocr.com note that in the case of Banco Davivienda, it's interest is soley in the consumer banking units in Peru and Guatemala.
Local financial groups are interested in negotiating with the U.S. company in order to acquire the consumer banking operation in Nicaragua.
The consumer banking business that will be left behind by Citigroup could return to the hands of Central American companies, as some have expressed interest in acquiring the operation in Nicaragua, although it is not yet known who the interested parties are.
The group has announced that as part of its long-term strategy it will withdraw from the consumer banking business in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
Extract from a statement issued by Citigroup:
Citigroup today announced strategic actions to accelerate the transformation of its Global Consumer Banking (GCB) to focusing on those markets where it has the largest scale and growth potential.
Grupo Aval would finalize the purchase this year, once it has authorizations from regulatory agencies.
The announcement was made by the president of Banco de Bogota (part of Grupo Aval), Germain Salazar.
Larepublica.com.co reports, "in order to get the resources for this transaction, which will be of 1,900 million dollars, Banco de Bogota announced the issuance of 2.200 million pesos in bonds convertible into shares ($ 1,220 million Dollars)."
GE Capital Global Banking announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell BAC Credomatic to Grupo Aval, Colombia’s largest banking holding group, for $1.9 billion.
The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, and the parties anticipate closing by the end of 2010.
“This is a good deal for GE, and furthers our objective of reducing the overall size of GE Capital,” said Dmitri Stockton, president and CEO of GE Capital Global Banking. “We have enjoyed working with BAC’s shareholders and their world-class management team to successfully grow the franchise over the previous five years. We believe this transaction will be positive for BAC, and will allow the Bank to focus solely on its excellent prospects for future growth.”
Juan Carlos Sansón, general manager of BAC-Credomatic, stated that GE’s sale of BAC-Credomatic shares is “nothing but a rumor”.
He told newspaper La Prensa that they don’t have any official information confirming that General Electric intends to sell Bac-Credomatic. He did acknowledge, however, that GE intends to reduce its participation in the financial market.