Latin America's Business Information Leader
"The new BNamericas.com is already available for you, Get to know it here"
http://www.bnamericas.com/
Friday, January 15, 2010
Today's News Headlines
* Deadline approaching for suits against banks stemming from economic plans - Brazil
* BancoSol sees US$12mn in profits, 20% loan growth in 2009 - CEO - Bolivia
* Deutsche Bank revises estimates, price targets on four banks - Regional
* Moneygram, Western Union offer reduced fees for earthquake relief - Haiti
* Vehicle financing grows 12% in 12 months to end-November - Brazil
* Infonavit issues nearly 450,000 loans worth over US$11bn in 2009 - Mexico
* Credit cards attracting more legislative proposals in lower house - Brazil
* Fitch rates Banco Ahorro Famsa - Mexico
* Sale of Credit Agricole unit postponed for two more weeks - paper - Uruguay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Deadline approaching for suits against banks stemming from economic plans - Brazil
Savings account holders at Brazilian banks from March to June 1990 have until the end of February to file lawsuits stemming from the government's economic plans at that time, according to a release from local law firm Innocenti Advogados Associados.
There are an estimated 180bn reais (US$102bn) in claims currently pending against the country's banks from 1987-91, when successive governments tried to implement measures to tame inflation, improve capital flows and bring back the capacity for controlling monetary policy under the so-called Bresser, Verão, Collor I and Collor II plans.
The statute of limitations will expire at end-February for those affected by the Collor I plan, but those affected by Collor II plan in January-February 1991 have until end-February 2011, the release said.
The losses being claimed by Brazilians were the result of government-mandated lost interest and other costs for bank clients holding savings accounts, known as poupança accounts. By law, poupança savings accounts must be remunerated at 6% plus an inflation-related rate, called TR, but during certain months in the 1987-91 period these accounts' interest payments were frozen.
Banking federation Febraban has fought the claims for decades and expects a federal court decision sometime this month, the group's chief economist Rubens Sardenberg told BNamericas. Febraban notes that banks were following instructions from central bank BCB and also saw interest rates on some assets frozen during the period.
The head of Febraban's law department, Antonio Carlos de T. Negrão, told BNamericas in an emailed statement that the federation is not expecting a large increase in new suits, but that those planning on filing lawsuits should present their documentation before the end of February to avoid possibly missing the somewhat unclear deadline.
By James Newman
Business News Americas
* BancoSol sees US$12mn in profits, 20% loan growth in 2009 - CEO - Bolivia
Bolivian microfinance bank BancoSol saw profits of US$12.1mn and growth in its loan portfolio of just under 20% in 2009, CEO Kurt Koenigsfest told BNamericas.
That growth would put the bank's loan book at a bit more than US$350mn at the end of the year, based on figures from microfinance association Asofin.
The bank reached 130,000 loan clients, he said, up from just under 110,000 at end-2008, and in the process passing Banco Los Andes for the number one spot in clients in the microfinance industry. The latter held onto first place in terms of loan book, holding US$374mn in loans as of the most recently available figures at end-November.
Koenigsfest said, however, that BancoSol's focus is on small loans to large numbers of people, while other microfinance institutions have started to make bigger loans and serve the SME market as well.
The bank had a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 1.05% at the end of the year, the CEO said. Asofin members' average NPL ratio was 1.24% and commercial banks' averaged 4.45% as of end-November, according to the association.
Bolivia's microfinance industry reached US$1.6bn in loans at the end of the year, compared to commercial banks' US$3.2bn, showing the penetration of microfinance in the country, he said.
The full interview with Kurt Koenigsfest will be published in this week's Banking Perspectives, for subscribers only.
By William Schatz
Business News Americas
* Deutsche Bank revises estimates, price targets on four banks - Regional
Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) has revised its estimates and price targets for the four banks under coverage in Chile, Colombia and Peru following its team's recent trip to the region.
In a report, the bank said it expects earnings for the banks to rebound in 2010 with an average growth of 14%, much improved from a decline of 8% in 2009, with a recovery in loan growth and improved asset quality being the main earnings drivers, the report reads.
Peru's Credicorp (NYSE: BAP) remains the bank's top pick, with the fastest earnings growth expected for this year and discount price/earnings valuation.
Credicorp is expected to post 20% higher earnings in 2010, driven by strong loan growth of 20% as well as lower provision charges, tight cost control and continued strong performance at its subsidiaries.
Deutsche Bank has a buy recommendation on Credicorp, which is trading at 11.3x 2010E P/E, an 11% discount to the Latin American bank median of 12.7x.
Chilean banks should also post double digit earnings growth - 18% for Banco de Chile (NYSE: BCH) and 12% for Santander Chile (NYSE: SAN) - as loan growth recovers to 12%, asset quality improves, and a pick-up in inflation in the second half of the year should benefit margins.
"Finally, we expect Bancolombia [NYSE: CIB] to post the weakest earnings growth of 7% in 2010, given a slower economic recovery, pressure on margins from a low interest rate environment and increased competition, and investments in IT," Deutsche Bank said.
REVISED PRICE TARGETS
Deutsche Bank also increased its price targets by 27% on average, reflecting its revised earnings estimates and lower country risks.
The bank's new price targets imply potential upside of 14% for Banco de Chile (at US$66/ADR), 15% for Santander Chile (US$78/ADR), 5% for Bancolombia (US$48/ADR), and 30% for Credicorp (US$98/share).
Deutsche Bank also said the main upside risks for the banks in the region include stronger loan growth than expected and further improvements in asset quality, while main downside risks include net interest compression from lower rates and upcoming presidential elections.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Moneygram, Western Union offer reduced fees for earthquake relief - Haiti
In response to the earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday (Jan 12), MoneyGram International (NYSE: MGI) is offering fees of US$1 or its equivalent in other currencies for money transfers to Haiti from any MoneyGram agent location worldwide.
The pricing is valid though January 24th, and in the US is also available on MoneyGram's website, the company said in a press release.
Additionally, US consumers can send funds through MoneyGram locations in the US to the American Red Cross for no fee through February 13.
Similarly, Western Union (NYSE: WU) will offer no-fee transfers for any amount sent to Haiti from the US, Canada and France for a period of seven days once service is reestablished throughout the country, the company said in a release.
Western Union also has set up an account in the US benefitting Mercy Corps in support of disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Consumers in the US can send no-fee money transfers of up to US$5,000 to the account for the next 30 days, from any Western Union agent location or the company's website.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Vehicle financing grows 12% in 12 months to end-November - Brazil
Brazil's total vehicle loan book hit 156bn reais (US$88.3bn) at end-November, up 12% from 12 months prior, according to vehicle finance trade group Anef.
Traditional financing, known as CDC, totaled 91.8bn reais, up 10%, while leasing grew 14.9% in the period, reaching 64.1bn reais at the end of November, a statement from Anef said.
The average annual interest rate was 18.6% in November, compared to 18.86% in October and 24.2% in November 2008. The 90-day non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for CDC came in at 4.6% in November, down from 4.8% in October, but still higher than 4.1% in November the year before.
Anef head Luiz Montenegro said in the statement that government measures and consumer confidence had been key to the expansion, but that the full-year 2009 growth figures could vary between 10% and 15%.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Infonavit issues nearly 450,000 loans worth over US$11bn in 2009 - Mexico
Mexico's largest mortgage lender Infonavit issued 447,481 loans worth a total 144bn pesos (US$11.3bn) in 2009, the state-run institution said in a statement.
In 2008, Infonavit issued a record 494,073 loans worth 152bn pesos.
In December 2009 alone, Infonavit issued 61,893 loans, its highest ever in a month, signaling a reactivation of the market, the statement said.
Lending picked up in the second half of the year after a slow first half. Even with the improvement, a lack of new available housing in all income segments prevented Infonavit from reaching its official target of 500,000 loans despite having funds available.
In the face of this deficit in new homes, the number of loans for existing housing units increased 17.5% in 2009 to 24.3% of the lender's total in the year.
Of total lending, 105,820 loans worth nearly 42bn pesos were co-financed or issued through subsidy schemes with banks and specialized mortgage lenders.
Infonavit said 61.3% of its loans in the year went to workers making less than 6,664 pesos per month, or 4 minimum salaries.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Credit cards attracting more legislative proposals in lower house - Brazil
A committee of Brazil's lower house of congress is looking into new legislation on prohibiting credit card companies from charging certain fees on points programs, as congress gears up for further review of the country's card industry, according to congressional news service Agência Câmara.
The bill, proposed by Porto Alegre representative Beto Faro of the ruling PT party, would end charges for transferring points or receiving prizes from customer loyalty programs, the report said.
Faro said there currently is a regulatory gap for credit card companies, even as they rack up large numbers of consumer complaints, coming in just behind telecoms in national rankings.
The representative also said the central bank BCB and the national monetary council CMN had put caps on bank fees, but seemed to have ignored credit card fees, despite the fact that they are generally run by banks.
The bill will first go to the consumer defense committee and the constitution and justice committee, the report said. The government has been working since last year on wide-ranging reform to take on the vertical integration of the card industry.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Fitch rates Banco Ahorro Famsa - Mexico
Fitch has assigned national scale long and short-term counterparty credit ratings of BBB- and F3 to Mexican bank Banco Ahorro Famsa (BAF), with a stable outlook, the agency said in a release.
The ratings reflect the implicit support of its parent company Grupo Famsa, which Fitch rates at BBB/F3, as well as its large loan portfolio, which allows for solid margins and adequate efficiency levels.
On the negative side is weak financial performance, pressured by high provisions, which should improve as loan growth slows and non-performing loans decrease.
BAF started operations in 2007 and focuses primarily on consumer credit for customers of the retail stores of Grupo Famsa.
The bank had 8.73bn pesos (US$686mn) in loans as of end-November, 0.45% of the system's total loans, according to preliminary information from banking and securities regulator CNBV.
To see the full statement in Spanish, go to this link (http://www.bnamericas.com/reports/133290.pdf)
By Business News Americas staff reporters
* Sale of Credit Agricole unit postponed for two more weeks - paper - Uruguay
The imminent sale of the Uruguayan unit of France's Crédit Agricole has been pushed back for another two weeks, Montevideo daily El País reported, citing sources close to the deal.
UK bank HSBC (NYSE: HBC), Brazil's Itaú Unibanco (NYSE: ITUB) and Spain's BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) presented their bids in the last days of December, after accessing Crédit Uruguay's data room.
Once Crédit Agricole chooses one of the three offers, a due diligence process will begin, which will take no less than two months, El País said. BBVA seems to be ahead in the race, but if HSBC wins it would then become the country's second largest private sector bank with a 17.2% market share in terms of loans.
Crédit Agricole entered Uruguay in 1998, when it founded Banco ACAC Crédit Agricole in tandem with cooperative ACAC. Then in 2004 it became Crédit Uruguay.
Crédit Uruguay is the fourth largest private sector bank in the country, with 24.2bn pesos (US$1.21bn) in assets and 1.71bn pesos in equity as of end-November, according to central bank figures.
By Business News Americas staff reporters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In-deph interview
* BES follows Bradesco's bet on Brazil
Ricardo Espírito Santo
CEO
BES Investimento do Brasil
Brazil
http://www.bnamericas.com/interviews/banking/Ricardo_Espirito_Santo_,BES_Investimento_do_Brasil,/170072955
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Main companies covered in today's news
* Banco Central do Brasil
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Banco_Central_do_Brasil-BCB/170072955
* J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/J,P,_Morgan_Chase_*_Co,-J,P,_Morgan_Chase/170072955
* Fitch México S.A. de C.V.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Fitch_Mexico_S,A,_de_C,V,-Fitch_Mexico/170072955
* Banco de Chile S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Banco_de_Chile_S,A,-Banco_de_Chile/170072955
* Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.
http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Grupo_Financiero_Galicia_S,A,-Grupo_Financiero_Galicia/170072955
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our Products
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click Here to subscribe Now!
http://www.bnamericas.com/web_subscribe_now.jsp?idioma=I&login=atlantm1210@ukr.net&idForm=95
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Share the news, give your friends and colleagues a two weeks free trial
http://www.bnamericas.com/share_the_news.jsp?idioma=I&Act=
Business News Americas Ltda.
Latin America's Business Information Leader
eMail: info@BNamericas.com
© 1996-2010 All Rights Reserved.