Guillermo Avellán has been at the helm of the Central Bank of Ecuador since June 2021, implementing a host of changes that the country’s government has been passing to modernise and grow the economy. He spoke to The Banker about deepening financial inclusion and implementing reforms to maintain a solid financial system.

Ecuador’s banks expect a banner year in 2022 stimulated by an unexpected source — the government.

Guillermo Lasso discusses his plans for Ecuador’s battered economy.

The Banker’s Top 200 Latin American banks ranking for 2014 sees Brazilian institutions stay on top, while Argentina maintains its status as most profitable, despite mounting challenges. 

Ecuador is striving to re-establish ties with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, tap international capital markets and embrace orthodox economic policies. However, when it comes to banking, the country's new direction is not proving to be universally popular.

On the eve of his re-election, Ecuador's president Rafael Correa spoke exclusively to The Banker about why his new economic model is giving the country a more sustainable alternative to the "social holocaust" unleashed by capitalism. 

Ecuador’s banks have undergone sweeping changes, as the Rafael Correa-led government seeks to redress the balance between lenders and their customers. Officials say the interventions are necessary, but with big banks hit the hardest, bankers are asking just how this regulation benefits the market.

Increasing tariffs on luxury goods and social sector government spending may not be conventional economic policy moves, but they have worked for Ecuador’s finance minister, Patricio Rivera, who has helped the country's gross domestic product to grow while reducing its poverty rate, decreasing unemployment and increasing the country's energy capacity.