Top 200 Latam Banks 2024: Highlights

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Latin America and the Caribbean experienced an economic slowdown last year, growing just 2.2 per cent following a 3.9 per cent expansion the year prior, according to the World Bank. The deceleration was the result of strong inflation, subdued global trade and the impact of tighter monetary policies aimed at curbing inflation.

Despite these challenges across the board, economic growth in Brazil and Mexico was above average, with the former expanding 2.9 per cent and the latter by 3.2 per cent.

The Banker’s latest ranking of Latin American banks, based on year-end 2023 financial results, has seen the majority of banks increase their Tier 1 capital.

Sudameris Bank from Paraguay stood out as one of the two banks growing the metric the most at 130.09 per cent, mostly due to the absorption of Banco Regional during the year. The other was Colombian Banco Popular (+370.55 per cent) which expanded following its acquisition of merchant bank Corficolombiana.

Out of the 200 banks in the ranking, only 26 of them, mostly based in Argentina, recorded a drop in Tier 1 capital. In Brazil, only Banco C6 recorded a drop of 11.6 per cent in Tier 1 despite adding 53.49 per cent to its assets base.

Looking at pre-tax profits, 57 lenders recorded a drop in profit growth, with an additional 10 moving from profit to loss. Five banks moved instead from loss to profit, including Brazil’s Banco Inter and Nubank. Overall, in 2022 Latam banks seemed to have fared a bit better when only 50 banks saw a pre-tax profit, only one lender moving from profit to loss and seven moving from loss to profitability.

In this year’s ranking, most banks maintain their relative position compared to last year, with Brazilian and Mexican banks dominating the table as the biggest lenders. A number of Colombian banks are higher up in the list, including Banco de Bogotá, which moved from 31st to 25th position. This was due to the high appreciation of the Colombian peso relative to the dollar (a 20.54 per cent increase on a yearly basis), which has boosted results in dollar terms.

Nubank was also among the lenders that moved higher up in the ranking, rising from 99th to 31st position on the back of a 161.5 per cent Tier 1 capital increase. The bank continued its expansion over 2023 adding 19.3mn customers year-on-year, reaching a total of 93.9mn globally by end of 2023.

Looking at performance Based on performance, six out of the top 10 best-performing banks overall in Latin America were Mexican. The performance rankings measure improvements across several indicators. The top performer was Intercam Banco, the “nearshoring bank”, mostly focused on providing payment and foreign exchange services to importing and exporting businesses. The Mexican bank recorded a 63.9 per cent Tier 1 increase with a 58.9 per cent jump in pre-tax profits. Panama’s Banco General and Peru’s Banco de la Nación are also among the top five.

Brazilian banks dominated the top 10 list of banks for the region under the “growth” metric, which is derived by combining annual percentage growth in assets, loans, deposits and operating income. Two neobanks from South America’s largest country, Nubank and Agibank, sit at the top followed by Mexican Banco Invex. Brazilian Banco C6 and Banco Mercantil do Brasil also feature in the list.

Looking at the “profitability” indicator, which encompasses return on assets, return on equity, profit margin and asset utilisation, Banco de la Nación has the highest score with return on assets equalling 3.56 per cent. It was followed by Uruguay’s Banco de la República which managed to expand pre-tax profits by 86.77 per cent to $782mn, its highest ever figure.

Nubank, Banco de la Nación and Mexico’s Banco Inbursa are the top three banks in terms of operational efficiency, which looks at the cost-to-income ratio, while Banco de la Nación also tops the return on risk table.

Banco de Chile retains its position as the best-performing bank in Chile, despite a 10.56 per cent decrease in pre-tax profits. The lender was followed by Banco Falabella, which was fifth in last year’s ranking. Chile’s economic environment was not favourable, yielding an estimated zero per cent real GDP growth for 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund. Out of the 14 Chilean banks in the Top 1000 ranking, nine recorded a decrease in pre-tax profits with an additional one, Banco Ripley, moving from profit to loss.

In Ecuador, Banco Bolivariano tops the best-performing table, followed by Banco Guayaquil and Banco del Pacifico which was in pole position last year. Banco Bolivariano reported pre-tax profits of $101mn, recording a 17.55 per cent increase. The lender is also best-in-class in terms of asset quality.

In Guatemala, Banrural places first this year again, after recording the country’s biggest increase in pre-tax profits, jumping by 23.98 per cent to $418mn, while recording a solid 26.16 per cent return on capital. Banco de los Trabajadores is the second-best performing bank in the country.

Panama’s biggest lender, Banco General, tops the country’s best-performing table on the back of a 11.92 per cent increase in Tier 1 capital and having added 29.2 per cent to its pre-tax profits. Banco General is best-in-class in profitability, asset quality, return on risk, soundness and leverage. It is followed by Bladex, which is focused on offering foreign trade services across the region.

In Peru, Banco de la Nación tops the country’s best-performing ranking, following a 82.55 per cent jump in pre-tax profits and 25.26 per cent increase in Tier 1 capital at the end of 2023, putting it in first place in all metrics except soundness and leverage. The lender also scored an impressive 67.47 per cent return on capital. Banco de Crédito del Perú is the country’s second-best performing bank.

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