Latin American regional awards
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Best Bank: Banco de Crédito del Peru |
A flourishing economy and a stable financial sector are helping to attract foreign institutions to Peru. The latest is Santander. The Spanish bank, which in 2002 sold its Peruvian operations to Banco de Crédito del Peru, was granted authorization to start operations again in June. The bank joins other foreign institutions such as BBVA, Citi, Scotiabank and HSBC to have a presence in one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. Success
Yet these banks will have to displace locally owned BCP if they want to become the country’s leading financial institution. BCP, which retains its best bank crown, is by far the dominant player in Peru. It is the biggest bank in terms of total assets, total loans and total deposits. Size is not a guarantee of success. But BCP can point to a number of achievements in the past year. Its net earnings reached $248 million in 2006, the highest in the bank’s history. Its return on equity hit 28.6% from 23.3% during 2006 and further to 31.5%