Best bank
Banco Industrial
Best debt house
UBS
The biggest bank in Guatemala is Banco Industrial, with $2.1 billion in assets and $23 million in profits. Its return on equity and return on assets, at 16.71% and 1.15% respectively, are well above the averages. Industrial competes strongly with domestic banks such as Banco G&T Continental, and the multinationals in the country such as Banco Cuscatlán.
When Guatemala wanted to issue a global bond in July 2003, it was hard to find banks to take the mandate.
The country had been added to the list of those decertified by the US in its war on drugs, and an election was coming up in which both main candidates made markets nervous.
But UBS lead-managed a $300 million 10-year deal, making sure to sell the bond only to its most sophisticated investors.