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| Regional Awards for Excellence 2013: Central America and the Caribbean | |
| Central American winners by country Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Nicaragua Panama |
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Best Bank: Banco de Costa Rica |
| Banks in Costa Rica are still digesting new regulations that limit the growth of their credit portfolios to curb the recent rapid expansion in dollar-denominated lending that has been fuelled by the large spreads in local and US interest rates. Total loan growth has been capped by the central bank at 12% a year (9% for dollar-denominated loans). This will affect all the banks, including Banco de Costa Rica, which grew total loans by 15.5% in 2012, taking its market share to 20.4%. The bank delivered across the board: revenues rose by 28.6% to $518 million; net income grew by 25.5% to $63.3 million. Deposits grew by 20.4% and now account for 21.9% of Costa Rica’s financial system. The bank’s return on equity grew from 8.45% to 9.56% and return on assets also rose, reaching 1.03% in 2012, compared with 0.97% | |