It may come as a surprise that a bank that is the third largest in a country the size of Colombia is classified as one of The Banker’s ‘banks to watch’. However, Banco Davivienda has not only retained its strong market position of late, it has also successfully diversified its business and has more recently expanded abroad, in a move that took observers by surprise, as the lender had never previously ventured in foreign markets.
In December 2012, Davivienda completed the acquisition of HSBC’s businesses in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras in an effort to bolster its global presence. The deal, announced in January 2012, was worth $800m and comes with 136 branches across the three countries – to be added to its 566 outlets in Colombia – $4.3bn of assets and loans of $2.5bn.