Loans to the construction sector increased by 1.2%, marking the first positive outcome since May 2018.
The operations of the International Banking Center (CBI, for its acronym in Spanish) continue to recover, as evidenced by the sustained growth of the credit portfolio for all types of financing, according to the results of the Banking Activity Report (IAB, for its acronym in Spanish), issued by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP) as of the end of the first half of 2023.
The report highlights that all components of the credit portfolio show positive performance; evidence of this is corporate banking recording a 5.3% growth compared to June 2022, reaching a total of USD 59.62 billion.
The IAB also emphasizes that loans to the construction sector experienced a year-on-year increase of 1.2%, the first positive performance recorded since May 2018. With this result, all segments of the credit portfolio show positive figures in their annual evaluation.
This positive result aligns with several economic indicators of the sector published by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC, for its acronym in Spanish), showing significant improvement. Construction is one of the activities with the highest number of productive chains with other sectors, which is why it has been an important economic driver and employment generator in the country.
The assets of the CBI totaled USD 142.95 billion, a USD 5.65 billion increase compared to June 2022 and a year-on-year growth of 4.1%, due to the accelerated expansion rate of the net credit portfolio of 6.7%, totaling USD 85.26 billion, an increase of USD 5.35 billion.
The deposits of the CBI remained positive, recording a total of USD 100.93 billion, which is USD 2.11 billion or 2.1% more. Cumulative profits added up to USD 1.44 billion, reflecting a 5.1% growth compared to June 2022, boosted by the evolution of financial margins and commissions stemming from the continuous growth of the credit portfolio, quality of asset management, expense control, and reductions in credit risk provisions.
For further information on this report, please visit our website https://www.superbancos.gob.pa/en/estadisticas-financieras/estudios.
