Panamanian banks maintain an increase in profits

According to the last report from superintendence, the Panamanian banks maintain an increase in profits.

Reduction in external loans, deposit capture, and growth of domestic credit are the drivers of the profits of the International Banking Center in Panama.

The Panamanian banks recorded a profit of US $ 390 million at the end of February 2018, which represents a growth of 19.1%, compared to February 2017, when reached US$ 327 million.

This result is attributed to the ability to generate profits through operational income, which continues to reflect a positive growth trend, characterized by the capture of local deposits of individuals and a sustained growth of the domestic credit portfolio destined for the private sector, which increased 6.7%, if compared to similar period of the previous year.

It should be noted that the performance of the domestic credit portfolio was driven by the sectors associated with personal banking products, especially in the mortgage (7.8%) and personal loans (10.7%) sectors.

Likewise, building financing reflected growth due to the fact that disbursements continue to be generated in the commercial construction and residential construction market development projects.

Although this good performance, the Panamanian Banks registered $118,083 million in assets which is lower comparing same period of last year that can be due to the reduction of the external loan portfolio, for a more conservative position in markets and customers.

The banks are also looking for the redirection of resources in the search for more profitable operations, a strategy that has allowed banks to improve their levels of profitability, without compromising their financial health.

Proof of this is that the results at the end of February 2018, show that the Panama Banks maintain robust indicators of financial soundness, mainly those of legal liquidity (57.7%) and solvency (16.1%), in almost double the minimum required by the regulation.