As explained by Banco General, the transaction, the amount of which was not disclosed, includes a portfolio of more than 1,000 clients, while Citi explained that the sale meets its goal of refocusing its business to corporate and consumer customers.
With this purchase, Banco General now has more than 2,000 customers in Costa Rica, $200 million in assets and $45 million in equity.
Customers will keep the conditions and benefits they previously enjoyed, said the General.
Source: Nacion.com
More on this topic
December 2011
G & T Continental has acquired, at $64 million, Citibank de Guatemala’s housing portfolio.
Flavio Montenegro, general manager of G & T Continental, said the payment was in cash and Citibank de Guatemala has already handed over the records of the respective accounts.
For its part, Crista Kepfer, public relations officer of Citibank, told Prensalibre.com,"The decision was made to sell the FHA mortgage portfolio as part of Citi's strategy of focusing on a global scale in other banking segments and using those resources to invest in other lines of business. "
November 2011
As a consequence of the boom in the Panamanian economy, the domestic credit portfolio has accumulated 14.5% growth so far in 2011.
When an economy grows the way Panama is doing, private sector credit becomes a dynamic engine that propels it even more.
At the end of the third quarter, the private sector’s credit portfolio has grown by 15% compared to the same period in 2010.
November 2010
Until September there was a reported growth of 6.87%, less than the 12% of 2009 and the 25% of 2008.
According to the Superintendence of Banks, from January to September 2010 total mortgage loans totaled $ 2.07 billion.
Mauricio Alvarez, strategic planning manager of Banco de los Trabajadores, told Prensalibre.com, "The economy has barely recovered and the most affected sector has been construction, so one of the reasons for this behavior is a lower housing demand."
December 2011
The Panamanian Credit Association reported that in October there were a total of 204,000 active mortgages, 6.46% higher than in the same month in 2010.
Meanwhile the balance of the total outstanding mortgage loans on the same date (October 2011), increased by 19.48%.
"This year, banks have begun to further consolidate their participation in relation to mortgage loans.