Thanks to a substantial capital expansion, Banco General has climbed to the top of The Banker’s ranking of Central American banks, displacing compatriot BAC Panama. While BAC’s Tier 1 capital marginally shrank to $1.93bn, Banco General’s grew by more than 25% to $1.99bn.
As always, the frontrunners in the regional ranking hail from Panama, although some owe this status to foreign ownership. Following Banco General and BAC Panama come Bancolombia Panama and foreign trade specialist Bladex. Credit card specialist BAC Panama is part of Colombia’s Grupo Aval, the owner of Banco de Bogotá, while Bancolombia Panama belongs to Grupo Bancolombia.
