Brazilian banks lead the way in this ranking of Latin America’s top banks, occupying the top five spots. And Bancolombia has entered the top 10, with an impressive leap in Tier 1 capital.

Banco do Brasil tops Latin America’s top 200 rankings and pushes last year’s leading bank, Itaú Unibanco, into second place. The former expanded Tier 1 capital by 12.3%, while the latter saw a reduction of 7.88%.

Brazilian banks have very much staked their claim in the top five banks by Tier 1 capital, with Bradesco, Banco Santander Brasil and Caixa Economic Federal comfortably in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively, unmoved from a year ago.

Some excitement is provided, however, further down the list. Bancolombia has jumped to ninth position from 12th it held previously, with a Tier 1 capital of $5.12bn, 42.5% higher than the previous year. Its acquisition of HSBC’s business in Panama in February will no doubt give a further boost to the Medellín-based lender in next year’s rankings. HSBC Bank Panama currently displays a $794m Tier 1 capital and sits in 55th place.

Chile’s Banco Consorcio is the lender with the most improved Tier 1 capital – 179.7% higher than a year earlier. With a 163.8% increase, Mexico’s Banco Invex has expanded its assets the most in the region. Peru’s Banco de la Nación has achieved the highest return on capital with a jaw-dropping 62.4%, followed by the Argentine operations of Santander, Banco Santander Rio (61.9%), and Citibank (61%). The return on assets table also shows some impressive performances: 13.5% by Mexican microfinance specialist Banco Compartamos; 9.42% by Brazil’s Banco Original; and 7.83% by Banco de San Juan in Argentina.

The Top Latin American Banks 2013

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