Best bank: BBVA
Overall 2023 was a challenging year for Colombia’s economy and most of its large banks would have felt reasonably happy with their static performance. But BBVA managed to outperform the market in most banking segments. The firm ended last year as the leading foreign bank in the country and the fourth largest in the financial sector, with an 11.2% market share in terms of assets. However, it was the growth in the difficult conditions that sealed the award for Colombia’s best bank. BBVA grew total loans by 6.4% in the year and increased its market share by 50 basis points to 11.6%, led by an 8.5% increase in loans to individuals, which took market share of that segment to 14.9%, a 106bp rise.
BBVA also had a solid year in the corporate sector, growing total loans to companies to Ps31 trillion ($7.4 billion), up 3.6% and equivalent to a market share of 8.7%. BBVA also managed to increase its share of the financial system’s total deposit funding base, growing its market share 45bp to 11.9%. The standout performance in this segment was the increase in market share of savings deposits, which grew 103bp to 11.3%.
The bank’s digital drive underpinned all these efforts and the bank launched its new SingleApp last year to enable customers to manage personal and business banking on a single, integrated digital platform. The impact has been positive with more than two million unique monthly users and an increase in the bank’s app rating to 4.6 (from 3.6) in Android markets and an iOS score of 4.8.
BBVA also launched a Zero Worries account that is targeted at Colombia’s 2.3 million self-employed workers, offering cost-free digital banking services.
The bank’s efficiency ratio actually nudged up 14bp in the year, reaching 58.5%, but the bank should see that number head downwards this year as the investments made in 2023 bear fruit.
In total, BBVA was one of the few banks in Colombia that maintained positive earnings, with net profit increasing 6.7% to Ps244 billion.
Best investment bank: BofA Securities
BofA Securities confirms its domination of Andean investment banking by claiming the award for Colombia’s best investment bank. In a relatively quiet year for capital markets activity the firm managed to generate the most fees from the mandates that were on offer. According to data from Dealogic, BofA generated more than $8 million in fees, 12.5% more than its nearest rival, JP Morgan, and more than double that of third placed Citi.
This leadership was largely thanks to BofA’s work on the most prominent M&A deals during 2023, including its role as exclusive financial adviser to Grupo Sura on its sale of its stake in Grupo Nutresa through an all-stock transaction with investment consortia. The resulting framework agreement was the culmination of several tender offers launched for Nutresa and was a complex deal given the multiple pre-existing owners of Nutresa and the multiple parties involved in the buying consortia. It’s a particularly notable transaction because unsolicited tender offers are scarce in the region; and this was the first such deal in Colombia for more than a decade.
With no equity activity from Colombian issuers during the awards period the capital markets competition fell upon fixed income. BofA won the senior dealer mandate for Gran Tierra’s $488 million issuance of senior secured amortizing notes due in 2029, which were part of an exchange offer for Gran Tierra’s senior notes due in 2025 and 2027 – a key liability management trade for one of Colombia’s largest companies.
BofA was also sole deal manager on Ocensa’s tender offer for $100 million of its outstanding 2027 notes – the deal’s cash offer was 1.9 times oversubscribed. BofA was bookrunner on two large deals for regional development bank CAF and was also active in the private markets.
The bank led a $1.4 billion private placement for Abra, the holding company of Avianca and Gol airlines. Given the financing challenges in the aviation industry, the deal was a liability management highlight for the sector globally and materially de-risked Gol’s balance sheet, providing the airline with liquidity while lowering total debt and extending its maturity profile.
BofA also provided confidential information pertaining to FX swaps transactions that demonstrated the bank’s leadership in structuring complex derivatives programmes for Colombian clients, setting it apart from many of the other investment banks in the country.
Best digital bank: Davivienda
Last year was a transformative one for Davivienda, marked by the launch of a number of solutions that contributed directly to user growth.
The bank introduced its super app in November 2023, offering services from external partners through application programming interfaces. It attracted over a million downloads and more than 750,000 active customers in a few months. The app, also available to non-clients, converted 30,000 new users into clients.
Growth was also observed in the bank’s DaviPlata digital wallet with monetary transactions increasing by 28% to 415 million in 2023.
The implementation of the bank’s MicroApps tool was also important. It allows clients to access Davivienda’s services in third-party ecosystems and contributed to 10,000 accesses of the bank ‘s products, 200,000 credit evaluations for non-client Colombians and more than 8,000 new product openings.
The bank also ventured into generative artificial intelligence by launching its AI-powered virtual assistant, Vivi. Featuring multiple communication options such as video calls, chats and co-browsing, the tool achieved a 70% resolution rate for clients’ inquiries on first contact.
Best bank for SMEs: Bancolombia
Bancolombia made advances in digital adoption and lending activity last year.
Approximately 64.9% of the bank’s small and medium-sized enterprise clients used its digital channels, with more than 35,000 SMEs migrating to the bank’s mobile app. This shift facilitated over 207 million transactions through its app and virtual branch.
The bank disbursed over Ps16,208 billion ($3.9 billion) to SMEs in Colombia, providing domestic enterprises with critical capital in a challenging macroeconomic environment. The lender also issued loans to 4,504 SMEs in central America, with disbursements totalling $477 million.
Additionally, the bank rolled out specialized financing products tailored for micro, small and medium-sized enterprise clients, reducing processing time for new credits by 33 days.
Best bank for ESG: Banco de Bogotá
Banco de Bogotá expanded its green portfolio during the review period, reduced carbon emissions in its operations and provided targeted support for social housing and female entrepreneurs.
The green portfolio saw good growth, expanding 8.7 times and exceeding disbursement goals by 150%. Green loans stood at $689 million at the end of the awards period. This portfolio had substantial environmental impact, contributing to the avoidance of 1,370,354 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, saving 1,249,687 megawatt hours of energy and generating 1,735,532 megawatt hours of renewable energy.
The bank’s commitment to carbon neutrality was also evident in its internal operations, where it implemented plans to mitigate and reduce direct greenhouse emissions and compensate for residual emissions through reforestation and ecological restoration programmes. This commitment resulted in a 22% reduction in Scope 2 emissions and a 44% reduction in Scope 1 emissions, as well as a reduction of location-based emissions by 24%.
Banco de Bogotá was also active in the social space, where it issued 116,284 Unicef debit cards and provided Ps3.1 billion ($750 million) in loans for social housing. Its microfinance portfolio, focused on female entrepreneurs and female-led small and medium-sized enterprises, reached $51 million.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: BBVA
BBVA has supported communities across Colombia with important volunteering efforts and donations for populations affected by natural disasters.
The bank’s volunteer programmes in the country have focused on education, environment and humanitarian support. Its 767 mobilized volunteers have dedicated over 6,000 hours and benefited more than 30,000 people. The environmental impact of these efforts was telling, with 1,630 trees planted and 2,200 seedlings propagated.
The bank has also provided humanitarian support in response to climatic emergencies across Colombia. The bank donated Ps1,155 million ($280,000), delivered 19,700 humanitarian aid items and benefited 78,800 people.
Specific examples of the bank’s emergency relief efforts from the first half of 2023 include delivering 12,000 grants to populations affected by extreme weather in Cauca, Nariño and Bogotá, and providing 2,000 grants to communities in Caldas and Tolima displaced due to the Nevado del Ruiz volcanic activity.
In the second half of the year, the bank focused on supporting communities affected by emergencies in Quetame, delivering 1,200 grants to families affected by avalanches and landslides, and providing 2,000 grants to families in La Guajira affected by a humanitarian emergency.
Best bank for corporates: BBVA
BBVA advanced its corporate banking business in Colombia through an increased focus on the agricultural sector and expanded international integration. It has also acted on some of Colombia’s most important corporate financings.
The bank strategically identified agro-industrial clients with short and long-term financing needs and disbursed more than Ps350 billion ($84.7 million) under a model aimed at providing advance payments and technical assistance to primary producers.
The lender also expanded its cross-border and pivot programme by integrating its business in Colombia with its operations in other countries. By providing customers with solutions from its global channels, the bank was able to support multinational clients more effectively.
In addition, the bank acted on several landmark deals. In one of the most important transactions in Colombia during the awards period, the bank lent Ps650 million to Transportadora de Gas Internacional through a club deal with Bancolombia for up to Ps1.5 billion. BBVA also signed a long-term financing agreement with Isagen to convert long-term financing of $368 billion into sustainable loans linked to an environmental indicator.
