When it comes to profitability, it is the much smaller and distinctive markets of Argentina and Venezuela that stand out in Latin America, with lenders from these two countries outperforming their counterparts in the larger, more established markets of Brazil and Mexico. Looking at the top five Latin American banks by return on capital (ROC), there is one Argentinian lender and four Venezuelan lenders.
Citibank Argentina leads the ranking by some measure, with 70.26% ROC. The foreign-owned lender also recorded the second highest return on assets in the region, with a 8.49% return. There is not much separating second-placed BBVA Banco Provincial, which recorded ROC of 65.22%, from the third- and fourth-ranked Banesco Banco Universal and Banco Exterior, which recorded ROC of 64.99% and 64.28%, respectively. Fifth-placed Banco de Venezuela recorded ROC of 61.86%.
