Banorte’s recent third-quarter results confirm the bank is the outperformer in the Mexican market and that even the uncertainty surrounding the North America Free Trade Agreement could not take the gloss off its success story.
In late October, CFO Rafael Arana revealed that Banorte achieved its best-ever efficiency ratio – coming in at 40.4%. This result reflects tight cost control after recent capex spending that is now producing strong revenue growth.
If it maintains this momentum, which has seen its return on equity (ROE) in the third quarter hit 18% (within striking distance of management’s target of 20%), the bank is set to overtake BBVA Bancomer as the most profitable in the country.
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“Nafta and elections pose risks that are hard to price in and, as a result, could lead to weaker lending activity and major volatility in FX and stock performances, but none of that stops us reiterating our positive view,” says BTG Pactual’s equity analyst Eduardo Rosman. “Sure, the stock isn’t cheap, but the trends for its results remain very favourable, leaving us comfortable with our buy rating. At the end of the day, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that the ROE expansion story is still playing out.”
