Between April 2020 and the same month of 2021, corporate credit to the local sector decreased 16% from $26,628 million to $22,386 million.
According to the report "Informe de Actividad Bancaria - Abril 2021", prepared by the Superintendence of Banks of Panama, consumer credit showed a 0.9% increase driven by mortgage credit.
Following the approval of the Bitcoin Law in El Salvador by the members of the Legislative Assembly, which creates a legal framework that recognizes this digital currency as legal tender in the country, the IMF warns that financial and legal risks have arisen.
Negotiable certificates of deposit, a new investment tool that was authorized in El Salvador, generates expectations because it promises to improve the yield of savings and may be processed with no need to register it in an agency.
The Standards Committee of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) authorized on February 2, 2021 the new investment tool called negotiable certificates of deposit (CDN).
After the Nicaraguan Assembly approved a bill that forces local banks to allow public officials sanctioned by OFAC to have an account, there are fears that the country will be isolated from the international financial system.
A statement issued by the National Assembly on February 3 explains that the deputies approved the Law Initiative of Reform and Addition to the Law for the Protection of the Rights of Consumers and Users, a legislative project which guarantees a better and greater protection of the rights of consumers and users in the access to goods and services as a human right recognized by the Nicaraguan State.
In order to face the crisis generated by the covid-19 outbreak, Costa Rica extended until December 31, 2021 the measure that allows clients of financial institutions to benefit from extensions, refinancing and readjustments without the need to carry out debtor stress analysis.
According to Conassif, additionally, banks were asked to reapply their internal policies for measuring the payment capacity of each client as of April 1, 2021.
Given the outbreak of covid-19 and the imposition of restrictions on economic activity, between February and June of this year the amount of loans granted by the banking sector reported a 1.2% drop.
Data from the Superintendence of the Financial System (SSF) indicate that between February (the month before the beginning of the health and economic crisis) and June of this year, the credit portfolio contracted by $149 million, from $13.276 million to $13.127 million.
In an auction process in which more than 200 investors from different parts of the world participated, the bank placed the debt at a rate of 2.5% for a 10-year term.
This transaction is the first international bond issue in the capital markets of Banco Nacional in its almost 116 years of existence and represents the largest issue that any Panamanian financial institution has made.
At a regional level, nearly 16 million people are looking to purchase financial services online. Of this group of consumers, approximately 11% are exploring options for acquiring a credit card.
The interactive information system developed by CentralAmericaData, monitors in real time the changes in consumer habits in all markets of the region, with fundamental information to understand the new commercial environment that has emerged in an accelerated manner.
Fitch Ratings agreed to change the perspective of the region's banks from stable to negative, arguing that the current health crisis will affect financial institutions in all countries.
Considering the measures that countries have adopted in the last 15 days in economic matters, following the spread of covid-19, Fitch expects that there will be a decrease in the issuance of loans.
Arguing that there were arbitrariness and that due process had not been complied with, former representatives of Financiera de Occidente S.A. decided to file a legal appeal following the suspension of the entity.
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.
Because of the hike in interest rates in the United States, several banks in Panama are already increasing mortgage rates by between 0.25% and 0.50%.
According to representatives of the Banking Association of Panama (ABP), the increase in mortgage loans is mainly due to the upward adjustment that interest rates are experiencing worldwide, which will affect the Panamanian market in the short and medium term.
Corporación Financiera de Inversiones, owned by Grupo Pellas, has confirmed acquisition of the bank.
Representatives from Corporación Financiera de Inversiones announced that they will be expanding the business model of Procredit, which up until now had been focused on the segment of small and medium enterprises.
In a statement, the company led by Carlos Pellas detailed that they"... will remain committed to providing the best attention to the needs of its current customers, expanding its business model to offer new products and services by implementing innovative technologies in its operations".
The microcredit portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean is worth over $40 billion, is awarded by more than 1,000 institutions, and reaches more than 22 million customers.
From a statement issued by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
A new report documents significant expansion of microcredit in Latin America and the Caribbean
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador - Microcredit in Latin America and the Caribbean remains strong and continues its expansion of the last decade, experiencing an increase in their number of customers, a variety of institutions and a downward trend in interest rates according to new data released here today by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the IDB Group.
In an attempt to attract more customers banks are diversifying their product portfolios.
One example is the Agromercantil Bank (Bam) who will soon launch a product called 'Hazlo sencillo' (Make it Simple), which will be accessible to the institution's debit card users. "The service will consist of rounding off cardholder's accounts and transferring the balance to a small savings account, where the owner will earn interest on those savings.", said the general manager of the institution, Luis Fernando Caceres, in an article in Siglo21.com.gt