Commercial Banking Credit Portfolio of the National Banking System Exceeds US$60,000 Million in 2023

(Panama City-ANPanamá) At the end of August 2023, the commercial banking credit portfolio of the National Banking System (SBN) had a growth of 5% and it is the first time that it exceeded US$60,000 million, reaching a balance of US$60,047.3 million. representing an increase of an additional US$2,882 million compared to 2022 when it totaled US$57,164 million.

According to the results of the Banking Activity Report (IAB) issued by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP), the above suggests that commercial banks continue with a pace of recovery in the granting of credit, despite the increase in interest rates, whose increase continues to focus on the corporate component.

The report explains that this result is due to the improvement in economic recovery expectations, which have been revised upwards, moving the growth projection from 5% to 6%, during the course of the year, which is reflected in several economic sectors. , highlighting the corporate component, the household component and the credit destined for the government sector.

On the other hand, the assets of the International Banking Center (IBC) totaled US$142,591 million, registering an increase of 3.8% or US$5,216.90 million more compared to the same period last year, a performance that responds mainly to the results of the net credit portfolio and the investment component.

Meanwhile, the SBN (general license banks) registered total assets of US$126,217.5 million, with an increase of 4.8% or an additional US$5,822.3 million, compared to the previous year.

CBI bank deposits totaled US$101,445.5 million, which represents an increase of 3.81% or US$3,724 million more, compared to the balance recorded the previous year when it totaled US$97,720 million, which shows that the banks in the area have maintained the trust of the depositor.

Along these lines, it is important to highlight that an important part of these new deposits arises from the growth of time deposits, with a concentration in natural persons and, in turn, improve the funding and liquidity profiles of the entities.