LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 44

43.2% of the loan portfolio at the end of
June, while corporate loans accounted for
41.7% and mortgages represented 15.1%.
Total deposits were stable at $2.76 billion
in the first half of 2016, while dollardenominated checking accounts jumped
to $342 million from $29.5 million. LF

BANK OF THE YEAR GUATEMALA

BANCO INDUSTRIAL

The lender managed
political turbulence and
continues to set its sights
on a US initial public
offering
Despite strong economic growth in
Guatemala, many of the country's biggest
banks have had to contend with fallout
from a corruption scandal that toppled
Guatemala's president last year.
Former President Otto PĂ©rez Molina
resigned and was jailed in September in
connection with a customs fraud scandal
that plunged the country into a political
crisis. Fortunately for Guatemalan banks,
the impact on the economy was limited.
Banco Industrial, the winner
of LatinFinance's Bank of the Year
Guatemala award, successfully managed
the political turbulence. At the end
of June, Industrial recorded 1.1 billion
quetzales ($147 million) in net profit, a
0.3% increase from the same period a

LUIS JORGE SIFONTES
BANCO INDUSTRIAL

LISTING "WOULD GIVE
US THAT EXTRA BIT
OF MUSCLE TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF ANY
ACQUISITION
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE
REGION THAT COULD
HELP US GROW"
44 LATINFINANCE.COM - November/December 2016

year earlier. Return on equity was down
slightly to 23%, but non-performing loans
stood at 0.73% compared to a system
average of 1.73%.
"We've been very focused on finding
efficiencies," says Luis Jorge Sifontes,
assistant director of external financing.
"And we've been very careful in our loan
risk analysis."
Around 75% of Industrial's lending is
to corporate clients, Sifontes says. Loans
to small- and medium-sized business rose
40% over the last year through June, he
adds. The bank's microcredit portfolio is
around 2% and officials are looking at ways
to grow it.
In January, Industrial took another
step in its regional expansion, opening an
office in Panama to add to its operations in
Honduras and El Salvador.
The political turmoil forced Industrial to
postpone plans for an initial public offering
on the New York Stock Exchange, Sifontes
says.
Through its holding Bicapital
Corporation, Industrial became the first
Guatemalan lender to file documentation
with the Securities and Exchange
Commission to list shares on the exchange.
At the time, the bank had hoped to raise up
to $300 million.
"The markets were too volatile and there
was a lot of noise around Guatemala and
what was happening politically," Sifontes
says.
"We're looking at possibly next year,"
he says. Listing in New York "would give us
that extra bit of muscle to take advantage of
any acquisition opportunities in the region
that could help us grow." LF

BANK OF THE YEAR JAMAICA

NATIONAL COMMERCIAL
BANK

The Jamaican financial
institution is expanding in
regional capital markets
and insurance

Jamaica's success in getting its finances
back on track and meeting IMF targets
is setting an improving backdrop for the
country's banks. For National Commercial
Bank, the sovereign's success is, in part,
its own: 47% of the lender's assets are in
government securities, according to Fitch.
Now, with sovereign debt restructurings
from 2010 to 2013 behind it, NCB's capital
position compares well with regional peers.
The lender has consolidated its position
in the Jamaican market, being the country's
largest financial institution with a market
share of 41% by assets and 37% by deposits,
Fitch says. The importance of the bank has
resulted in the Bank of Jamaica requiring
NCB to have a regulatory capital ratio of
12.5%, compared to the 10% regulatory
minimum.
Now NCB is on an expansion footing. In
May, National Commercial Bank Jamaica
finalized the acquisition of 29.99% of
Guardian Holdings, the Caribbean's leading
insurer, Fitch says.
The bank has grown further this year
by launching National Commercial Bank
Capital Markets Barbados.
Profits hit $6 billion ($47 million) in the
first two quarters, an
11% increase yearRapid growth
on-year, thanks to
Total assets at National Commercial Bank Jamaica (JAD, 000)
growing loan and
600,000,000
deposit portfolios
complemented by the
bank's insurance and
500,000,000
wealth management
subsidiaries.
400,000,000
The bank is also
performing better as a
300,000,000
result of a digitization
initiative using new
technologies to
200,000,000
entice new clients.
The bank's 2016 NCB
100,000,000
Digital innovation
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
challenge, a
Source: National Commercial Bank of Jamaica
competition to foster


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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LatinFinance - November/December 2016

Contents
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - Cover1
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - Cover2
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - Contents
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 2
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 3
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 4
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 5
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 6
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 7
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 8
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 9
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 10
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 11
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 12
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 13
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 14
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 15
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 16
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 17
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 18
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 19
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 20
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 21
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 22
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 23
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 24
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 25
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 26
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 27
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 28
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 29
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 30
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 31
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 32
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 33
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 34
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 35
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 36
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 37
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 38
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 39
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 40
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 41
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 42
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 43
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 44
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 45
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 46
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 47
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LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 49
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 50
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 51
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 52
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - Cover3
LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - Cover4
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