At the end of 2018, credit granted to the business sector in Guatemala registered a 7% increase over December of the previous year.
Figures from the Superintendence of Banks specify that up to December 2018 the credit portfolio reached $23.064 million and investment in securities $11.324 million, which compared to 2017 is equivalent to 6.8% and 11.3% increases, respectively.
The decrease in the granting of credits to the business sector has been attributed to legal uncertainty caused by the case of the hydroelectric stations Oxec I and II.
Datafrom the Bank of Guatemala indicates that as of April 27, the balance of credit granted by the banking system to the private sector amounted to $24 billion, 5.6% more than in the same period in the previous year, but only 0.4% more than in December of last year. In the case of OffShore entities, the figures indicate that loans granted by these institutions up to April 20 totalled $1860 million, recording a year-on-year change of -1.5% and -4.2% compared to December 2016.
Guatemala's monetary authority (Junta Monetaria - JM), passed new regulations by which retirement funds at non-banking financial entities can now be transferred to banks.
The JM ruled this in its latest resolution, named 14-2010.
They explained that investors must approve the transference, and once in a bank, "the funds will be protected by FOPA (a fund protecting savings)".
Both "Banco Industrial" and G&T Continental are moving forward with their expansion plans in Central America.
Banco Industrial will open an office in El Salvador in May 2010, while G&T Continental plans to enter the Costa Rican market in the medium term. G&T already operates in Panama and El Salvador.
Diego Pulido, director at "Corporación BI", parent company of Banco Industrial, said in a Prensalibre.com article that "...
The banking system's late portfolio reached $283 million in June 2009, 24% more than the same month of 2008.
As a portion of the entire credit portfolio, late loans accounted for 3% of the total, while it was 2.5% in June 2008. Bad credits grew at a larger pace than the entire credit portfolio, which grew 5% in the last 12 months, reaching $8.856 million.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Periodico de Guatemala (the Newspaper of Guatemala) has held its regular investment forum where five of the most important businessmen analyze the business panorama.
The article published in elPeriodico.com says that "given the global economic situation, elPeriodico convened an investment forum with five of the most prominent businessmen and women.