Although in the first quarter of 2021 there was already a slight recovery in the demand for credit, Manuel Rivero, general director of Regional, a group to which Banregio belongs, considers that growth will resume gradually and pre-pandemic levels would be reached up to 2022.
“I feel that credit growth should gradually resume; It is not going to be explosive; the problem is not going to be remedied abruptly, it is going to be gradually integrated ”, he pointed out.
In an interview, he stressed that the pre-pandemic rhythms will not be reached in 2021, but probably until the following year.
In the case of Banregio, he stressed, they estimate that this year credit growth will be between 4 and 8 percent. “We already have 2% growth, so in a way everything tells us that if we go this way, we will reach the top of our forecast, and that is very positive because we are only in the first part of the year.”
He stressed that in the coming quarters there will be greater demand for credit.
He added that a low interest rate environment would also help boost credit.
According to its most recent report, at the end of March Regional’s loan portfolio registered a balance of 110.847 million pesos, the same level as the first quarter of 2020, but with a 13 percent growth in consumer credit. The NPL ratio was 1.7 percent.
The Regional director stressed that from this institution, there is already some demand for credit in certain industries and regions, such is the case in the north of the country, and everything that has to do with manufacturing.
In the case of Banregio, they have registered positive credit numbers in sectors such as real estate, agriculture, mortgage, automotive, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
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