The award for best bank in the Dominican Republic is both very easy and very difficult to make. There's no doubt which is the best bank. Banco Popular Dominicano dominates the sector, with more than 26% of total loans and by far the largest assets, loans, deposits and equity. Its return on equity in 2002 was 24.9%, and it is well placed to consolidate its top position.
But the banking sector is in something of a shambles in the wake of the collapse of the second-largest private commercial bank, Baninter [see Republic brought to the brink, this issue]. A $2.2 billion black hole was discovered in Baninter's accounts, plunging the nation's finances into enormous problems. The losses account for about 15% of GDP. Recently, the third-largest commercial bank, Bancredito, was sold in a distressed state to Grupo Leon Jimenes. No one really knows what's been going on in the banking system over the course of the republic's recent years of rapid growth, and there could yet be further nasty surprises.
Given what's happened of late, it's just as well that it came to market when it did, in January, with a $600 million 10-year bond yielding 9.04%.