Despite ideological differences with president Evo Morales and his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) ruling party, Bolivia’s banking system – comprising 13 commercial or full-service banks and 11 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)- and microfinance-focused banks – is generally in rude health: solvent, liquid and well-capitalised. Indeed, the system’s overall capital adequacy ratio stood at 12.1% at the end of 2015, with all the major banks above the regulatory minimum of 10%, according to the country’s financial supervisor, the Autoridad de Supervision de Sistema Financiero (ASFI).
The strong expansion of the national economy and a pragmatic relationship between the government and the financial sector have also resulted in credit and deposit levels breaking records year after year, while delinquency rates remain low (see chart). Meanwhile, the risks associated with the dollarisation of deposits and credits have steadily diminished, with 84% of deposits and 95% of loans denominated in the domestic Boliviano currency at the end of December 2015.
