Know the 2 main drivers of the consumer credit in Panamanian Banks

The purchase of housing in conjunction with personal loans are the main drivers of the consumer credit in Panamanian Banks, according to a report by the Superintendency.

Compared to the previous year, mortgage credit increased by 5.2% in the private sector.

According to the Banking Activity Report of April 2018, the sectors that drive the growth of the banking center showed favorable growth indicators, mortgage loans that have an increase of 7.6%, and personal loans, in turn, reach 9.9%.

With this growth, we can note that residential mortgage credit continues to be one of the financings that maintain an increasing demand.

At the time of closing the report prepared by the superintendence, the balance of the mortgage loans granted reached USD $ 16,329 million, recording an expansion of USD $ 1,160 million with respect to the same period of the previous year.

In consumer loans, one of the most dynamic segments was car loans, which grew 3.7% compared to last year.

The credits granted for credit cards on their part also showed significant figures with a growth of 10.3%.

On the other hand, an increase in interim construction financing can be observed in the report, which shows that, to date, disbursements continue to be generated in the commercial construction and residential construction development projects.

The industrial sector continues to show an increase in the granting of credit in its different sectors.

Steel and construction materials show 58% while food, beverages and tobacco registered 28% and production and generation of electricity 25%.

As of April, the industrial sector contributed USD $ 525 million to the increase in private loans compared to last year, being the third activity with the highest contribution.

At the other extreme, a component that has had a significant fall is the public sector credit segment, which is the result of the improvement in the external financing rates of the Panamanian State at this time.

This component has a small participation within the local credits, with which its impact is not greater.

In terms of the quality of the Banking Center portfolio, delinquency is equivalent to 3.3% of total credits.

The dynamics and trend observed in the past due portfolio shows that the growth of bank loans has not meant a deterioration in the quality of the credit portfolio, which suggests that the Panamanian banks have made an adequate management at the moment of granting the credit. to his clients.