LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 47
the local retail market by focusing on
customers long-underserved by the
banking industry.
A year ago, Banco General began
partnering with retail outlets such as
supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations
in districts without branches. "BG Express"
offers basic services and extended hours to
a lower-income, non-traditional clientele:
a benefit to customers and shop owners
alike. It's a model that has worked well in
Brazil and Colombia, says Alemán.
"We're getting ever closer to the clients'
needs," he says. "We're making things
easier and easier."
Younger customers now expect 24/7
convenience, which has led Banco General
to "take transactions outside the branch,"
Alemán says. Expanding distribution
channels - including ATM, online and
mobile banking - serves that purpose and
reduces the costs associated with brick-andmortar locations.
The new approach is already showing
results. Loans and deposits from Banco
General's more than 700,000 customers
grew about 11% each from mid-2013 to mid2014, and the bank posted a 15.6% increase
in net profit.
A leading role in the national market
RAÚL ALEMÁN, BANCO GENERAL
"WE'RE GETTING EVER
CLOSER TO THE
CLIENTS' NEEDS.
WE'RE MAKING THINGS
EASIER AND EASIER"
has also allowed the bank to look beyond
Panama's borders. For six years, it has
maintained a full-service subsidiary in
Costa Rica, whose growth has been steady,
if a bit slower than that of its parent. Banco
General is considering a new representation
office in Peru, Alemán says, but there is no
risk of overextension.
"We are very patient," he says. "We have
a decidedly long-term vision."
What he says is Panama's stable context,
meanwhile, makes the chief executive
optimistic. A boom from 2011 to 2013
may be over, but Alemán still expects the
Panamanian economy to grow by 6.5%
to 7% annually: still "a very interesting
number", he says, and one that may open
the door to further development on both
sides of the balance sheet. LF
BANK OF THE YEAR GUATEMALA
BANCO AGROMERCANTIL
Rising capital, falling bad
debt, and growing profits
mark a year that also saw a
debut cross-border bond,
and a new pact with a
regional leader
"Make people's lives easier." That's the
simple mission and vision of the winner of
LatinFinance's Bank of the Year Guatemala
award.
Locally, the bank is up against three
larger competitors: Banco Industrial, Banco
de Desarrollo Rural and G&T Continental.
But Banco Agromercantil, the fourth biggest
bank, stood out thanks to its strong financial
performance, a debut in the cross-border
bond market, as well as a $100 million
unsecured A/B loan led by the Netherlands
November/December 2014 - L ATINFINA NCE.COM 47
http://www.msf.com
http://www.msf.com
http://www.LATINFINANCE.COM
LatinFinance - November/December 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LatinFinance - November/December 2014
Contents
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - Cover1
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - Cover2
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - Contents
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 2
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 3
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 4
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 5
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 6
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 7
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 8
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 9
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 10
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 11
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 12
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 13
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 14
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 15
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 16
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 17
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 18
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 19
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 20
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 21
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 22
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 23
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 24
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 25
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 26
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 27
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 28
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 29
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 30
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 31
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 32
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 33
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 34
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 35
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 36
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 37
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 38
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 39
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 40
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 41
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 42
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 43
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 44
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 45
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 46
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 47
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 48
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 49
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 50
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 51
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LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 53
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 54
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 55
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 56
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 57
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 58
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 59
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 60
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - Cover3
LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - Cover4
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