BEST BANK
Banco Popular Dominicano
In Argentina, the government collapsed and, in doing so, devastated the banking system: the new government got some excellent results very quickly, but the banking system remains hobbled to this day.
In the Dominican Republic, the banking system collapsed and, in doing so, devastated the government: the new banking system has got some excellent results very quickly, but the government has only recently managed to restructure its debt.
The lesson seems to be that given the choice, it's worse to be sinned against than to be the original sinner.
In any case, the best bank in the Dominican Republic is Banco Popular Dominicano, which made $50 million in 2004 on assets of $2.6 billion. With a return on equity of more than 20% and a return on assets of more than 2%, the bank is not only well respected in the country but is also quite clearly profitable.
No-one thought the banking system in the Dominican Republic could rebound as quickly as it did – but then no-one thought the Argentine economy would rebound as quickly as it did, either.