The Superintendent of Banks, Amauri A. Castillo, presented to the Budget Commission of the National Assembly the budget of USD 22.073 million for the fiscal year 2022.
During his presentation, Mr. Castillo explained that the entity’s investments are focused on strengthening technology-supported supervisory processes, in full compliance with the strategic objectives of the Superintendency for the 2020-2024 period, and on strengthening the staff’s technical skills.
The banking regulator pointed out that it has reinforced its information campaign on social networks and radio, focused on the protection of banking consumer rights, promoting informed decision-making, as well as educating and raising awareness on frauds, cyber risks, and related crimes. He also referred to strengthening banking consumer service, through an easy, convenient and biosafe system called Fluyapp; to the uninterrupted reception (24/7) of complaints and inquiries through the bank customer service portal, and the implementation of electronic means applied to certain stages of the claim management process. In turn, the leadership of the Superintendency of Banks was highlighted in the National Strategy for Financial Education (ENEF, for its acronym in Spanish) initiative.
As for the International Banking Center (IBC) performance, it was informed that the current economic juncture is affecting the loan portfolio both domestically and externally, which decreased USD 3.66 billion or 4.9%. As of June, the loan portfolio totaled USD 71.14 billion.
On the other hand, Banking Center deposits reached USD 95.31 billion. The increase in deposits shows the confidence of savers, which, as of June, increased by USD 3.93 billion or 4.3%, compared to 2020.
The new loans granted during the first half of 2021 shows a slight recovery, when compared to the same half of 2020, well below pre-pandemic levels. The flow of new loans accumulated by banks from January to June 2021 stood at USD 7.80 billion, which represents a 5.7% increase, USD 6 billion less than in 2019.
