Venezuela

Banco de Venezuela, a part of Spain’s Grupo Santander, turned in a strong all-round performance in 2003, despite Venezuela’s continued political turmoil and one of its worst economic recessions ever. Last year, the bank posted a 32.1% gain in net profit, and increased its ROE to 40.6% from 38.8% the previous year. At the same time, its cost:income ratio dropped to 51.2% and it posted gains in Tier 1 capital of 35.5%. Banco de Venezuela continued to build on its overall market leadership position throughout the year, in consumer as well as corporate banking. The bank boosted its share of loans to 15.8% of the Venezuelan market, deposits were up to 12.9% and total assets grew to 12.5%. At the same time, the group managed to reduce its non-performing loan ratio to 2.4%, well below the market average. Consequently, the bank’s net interest margins increased by 32.8% during the year, despite a sharp reduction of market interest rates. “We welcome this new recognition from The Banker to the continued dedication of our staff, to our prudent and transparent banking practices, to the flexibility of our business model, and to our unwavering commitment towards service excellence and customer satisfaction,” says chairman and CEO Michel J Goguikian.