Best bank: Banco Itaú Paraguay
Paraguay continues to prove that a raft of business-friendly economic policies can pay off in Latin America, with the small landlocked country enjoying GDP growth of 4.5%. Part of that bump was due to the recovery from the previous year’s drought, but economists are confident of another year of growth above 3% in 2024.
AfE 2024
The financial system is also well run and solid, and Banco Itaú Paraguay, led by chief executive José Luis Britez, continues to power ahead to a degree that should allay fears that its parent could be tempted to sell the business after it disposed of its bank in Argentina. Despite not being the biggest Paraguayan bank – it ranks as third in terms of total loans and assets and has the second most deposits in the sector – the bank generates significantly more net income than any other.