The uncertainly of the international context due to geopolitical threats has not prevented the International Banking Center (IBC) from recording better results. Proof of this is that the Banking Activity Report (IAB, for its acronym in Spanish), as of April 2022, reported an accumulated net profit of USD 648 million, a 54.6% growth versus April 2021, when it recorded USD 419 million.
This result is attributed to a better performance of most of the extraordinary income margins of banks, the lower provisioning for credit losses, and a sustained interest income recovery, because a greater percentage of clients are honoring their rearranged debts.
Another indicator that recorded a sustained growth was the net loan portfolio reaching USD 77.95 billion, a 9.3% increase compared to the same period a year earlier, when it totaled USD 71.34 billion, which responds to the boost given by banks to the placement of productive loans and preferential interest rate mortgages.
Regarding the performance of the external loan portfolio, it grew by 26.3% on a year-on-year basis and highlights the IBC’s key role in meeting, from Panama, the financing needs of Latin American and Caribbean countries, which we estimate, can keep improving.
This good performance impacted positively the Balance Sheet and Income Statement by recording total assets of USD 136 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.9% or an additional USD 7.52 billion versus April 2021, which was the result of the net loan portfolio and securities portfolio.
Another positive indicator was the result shown in the deposits obtained by the market, which recorded a total of USD 98.21 billion, a 3.3% or USD 3.11 billion more than the same period of 2021. If we focus on the domestic deposits, they recorded an increase, as of April 2022, of USD 63.44 billion, a 1.64% increase versus April 2021. On the other hand, external deposits recorded a USD 2.09 increase to reach USD 34.77 billion.
As for the figures of the modified [loan] portfolio, as of April 2022, they reflected an amount of USD 6.01 billion. The sectors with the greatest shifting towards the regular portfolio, governed by the Rule 4-2013, were the household and real estate segments.
IBC results, as of the end of April 2022, show that banks maintain robust financial soundness indicators, especially legal liquidity (58%) and solvency (15.46%), at almost twice the regulatory minimum, which means that the Panamanian financial system continues to show resilience and an overall solid position, since it can support the pace, scope, and robustness necessary for economic recovery.
For further information on the results of this report, please visit our website www.superbancos.gob.pa / Financial & Statistical.
