The The Ecuadorian Integration Network of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Icored) reported that its 41 affiliated cooperatives showed a growth trend in the first two months of this year. Icored connects the largest cooperatives in the country, (with the exception of two from Azuay), which were previously controlled by the Supervisory Board of Banks, but are now under the supervision of the Supervisory Board of the National and Solidarity Economy.

Since February this year, the assets of these cooperatives, which belong to segments 1 and 2, were concluded at 13.674 million dollars, representing a growth of 1.02% in this first month of the year compared to the end of December 2022, where total assets reached $13,535 million. In absolute terms, this represents a growth of $139 million.

In accordance with Edgar Peñaherrera, manager of Icoreda, this group of cooperatives represents 60% of the assets of the entire sector. According to figures from the Branch Supervisory Board, co-ops nationally reached a total of $24,915 million in assets as of December 2022 (latest data available).

In addition, total cooperative deposits of Icored rose by 1.15%, as it reached $10,772 million in February 2023, while in December 2022, this value amounted to 10,650 million dollars, which in terms of values ​​represents the amount of 122 million dollars.

Credit portfolio that Icored Group maintains more than 4.8 million members nationwide, reached $10,028 million in February 2023, reflecting an increase of 0.26% as at the end of December 2022 the amount was USD 10,002 million, equivalent to a growth of USD 26 million in the two-month period.

As for the results, Peñaherrera explained that these numbers reflect a positive growth trend. He explained that normally the months of January and February are low in placements and deposits, and therefore moderate growth is recorded.

In any case, he explained that on an annual basis, comparing February 2022 with February 2023, the cooperatives Mr. Icored increased its assets by 1.751 million dollars. This is a growth of 12.8 percent compared to the previous year. In the case of deposits, the growth amounted to 1,390 million dollars, or a growth of 12.9 percent. Additionally, in the portfolio (loans) the result is an additional USD 1,664 million, which is equivalent to an increase of 16.5%.

The savings and credit cooperatives that make up the Icored group confirm with these figures their effective management for the benefit of associates and Ecuadorian society in general, contributing to financial inclusion and confirming confidence in the financial cooperative system of Ecuador, said Peñaherrera.

In relation to the entire system of cooperatives, In its latest report, the National and Solidarity Economy Oversight indicated that total deposits reached $20,000 million in December 2022. This is an increase of 15.92% compared to 2021. While loans where 18.739 million dollars, that is, an increase of 22.16% compared to the previous year.