These are the ten banks that granted the most loans during 2022 in Ecuador

The December report is still missing and already in 2022 it surpassed 2021 in credit volume by a little more than $474,000, that is, close to half a million. From January to November 2022, there were $28,387.24 million in credit granting by banks, according to figures from Asobanca (Association of Private Banks of Ecuador); Meanwhile he 2021 closed with $27,912.62 million.

Marco Rodríguez, executive president of Asobanca, mentions that the delivery of credits is key “because it has a multiplier effect, since companies demand resources to finance their line of business, which translates into higher levels of sales and therefore more sources of employment.”

And those resources, specifically, some twenty billion dollars were concentrated in the commercial segment. Guillermo Granja, economic analyst, considers that in this branch the volume of credit is always leveraged by working capital. “Sales increased to the same extent as product rotation, which is why capital is needed to satisfy demand,” says Granja.

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However, Juan Daniel Franco, professor of Microeconomics, Elements of Economics and Financial Analysis at the Faculty of Administration and Business at Casa Grande University, believes that the destination of these resources to this segment comes from the figures. For example, the growth of 14 of the 18 productive sectors in the third quarter of 2022, according to data from the Central Bank.

“This makes banks allocate more resources to commercial credit because it has a lower risk”, Franco points out.

Consumption is the second segment in credit volume with $5,286.70 million. In March, May and August 2022 were the months in which there was the most use. For Franco, when there is economic growth, consumption is encouraged. “The more the economy grows, the more income there is, so they start to consume more,” he says.

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On the other hand, the Microcredit is the category with $2,261.91 million and for Farm, this product needs to be developed. “Microcredits for banks are not yet a developed product, but they still contribute to the total number of loans granted,” says Granja.

And below one billion dollars are housing and educational loans. The first with $807.01 and the second with a little over $15 million. Granja asserts that, for both cases, the strength is in the Bank of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (Biess) and other entities where educational financing is sought.

While, Banco Pichincha is the entity that leads this ranking with $7,215.61 million, followed by Banco Guayaquil with $4,769.12 million and closely followed by Produbanco with $4,380.55. Here is the complete list of the ten entities that granted the most credit:

1. Banco Pichincha with $7,215.61 million
2. Banco Guayaquil with $4,769.12 million
3. Banco Produbanco with $4,380.55 million
4. Bolivarian Bank with $3,135.89 million
5. International Bank with $2,810.48 million
6. Banco del Pacífico with $1,079.77 million
7. Diners Club with $1,007.74 million
8. Austro with $834.31 million
9. Citybank with $715.13 million
10. Banco Solidario with $511.10 million

Within the Asobanca figures, January 2022 appears as the month with the lowest credit volume with $2,257.91 million in the commercial, consumer and industrial sectors, where the most loans have been allocated.

“We must remember that by January 2022 there was a strong outbreak of COVID-19 cases, which influenced it to be one of the lowest months with respect to the granting of credit and also taking into account that January is always a difficult month for the movement of businesses, for all the spending that is made for the December festivities”, says Franco.

In the Coast and Sierra commercial credit predominates

The commercial segment is the one that covers the most in the volume of credit allocated from January to November 2022. Obviously, Guayas is the province with the most resources with $10,571.67 million and only $9,034.51 are focused on commercial. And in the Sierra is Pichincha with $9,797.98 million and $6,296.45 million in the same segment.

Santa Elena is the only province on the coast where more consumer credit has been allocated. Here, in general, people request it to finance a trip, buy household appliances, among other things, through a credit card. And Esmeraldas, the only one, but with a microcredit.

In the Sierra, only in the provinces of Chimborazo, Carchi and Bolívar stands out the volume of credit in the microcredit sector, which is usually used for the development of a project or small business.

What happens in the Amazon?

Although in the Amazon there are more provinces where the microcredit is destined, the largest amount in dollars is concentrated in the commercial sector. For example, Sucumbíos and Orellana total $59.76 million in the commercial segment from January to November 2022; while the four remaining provinces only reach $44.45 million in microcredit.

What happens in Galapagos?

According to the Association of Private Banks of Ecuador (Asobanca), Galapagos registers a credit volume of $5.10 million, where the commercial segment covers $1.87 million and consumption closely follows with $1.55 million.

Here is the Banco del Pacífico that prevails the most in credit with $3.45 million, that is, more than 67% and 26% with Banco Pichincha, which translates into $1.33 million.

For Rodríguez, the annual increase in the delivery of new credits is essential for economic recovery. “This growth reflects the commitment of private banks to support micro, small, medium and large companies,” he says. (YO)