The bank closed 18 branches. The payroll is also reduced, especially in positions that, according to González, had been “artificially created.”
Banco del Pacífico, a private entity that is in the hands of the National Financial Corporation, ranked tenth among the banking entities that generated the most profits in 2021. It had $5,009,917.99 in profits, however, these profits were reduced when compared to 2020 since in this year the entity was third in the ranking of the Superintendency of Banks and Insurance.
This decrease has generated questions from assembly members and opponents of the Government for the administration.
Roberto González, executive president of Banco del Pacífico, explains that this drop in profits is due to a restructuring plan and are not signs of a possible bankruptcy. He invites critics to analyze the economic figures of the entity, considering that they are unaware of the subject.
In 2020, the entity was in the third place that generated the most profits, but in 2021 it moved to the tenth position. Why in one year was there such a large drop in earnings?
This fall responds to the restructuring plan that has been carried out in the bank, between the months of August and November 2021, which responds to the process of preparing the bank for its eventual sale. This drop in profits is not that the bank has not generated profits, it is that those profits have been allocated to two main channels: restructuring of the credit portfolio and adjustments of operating expenses. Both chapters have involved more than $60 million in expenses. We have charged to the expected results account.
What does the restructuring plan consist of?
The purpose of this restructuring plan is to create the greatest possible value for the shareholder. How is this achieved? Firstly, by reducing unnecessary expenses, adapting the organizational size to the appropriate level of profitability and, most importantly, creating provisions for future and current delinquencies of the bank that do not harm the shareholder when the bank leaves. to sell. It has an initial phase that is where I assume all those expenses for restructuring, operational restructuring, compensation, closure of agencies.
CFN plans to conduct a forensic audit of Seguros Sucre and Banco del Pacífico
What this whole set of measures allows is to create shareholder value, as of January 1 I already begin to receive the benefits of a smaller structure, lower expenses, a healthier portfolio, lower investment needs, among others.
This decrease in profits occurs in the context that the current government wants to sell the bank. Critics say they want to lower the value of the bank. What is true?
The actions taken are precisely for the opposite, to improve the value of the bank. A bank is more attractive the more profitability it generates and the more efficient it is. The bank became the most inefficient in the market in 2019 and 2020, according to data from the Superintendence of Banks. With these measures you will see how this same 2022 we will return to leadership positions in efficiency and profitability and what is more important, the value does not suffer, the bank’s equity value has closed at $820 million, well above any consideration or bad effect that any of those measures could have.
And the heritage value that will be created in the future is going to be even greater. In other words, the bank with these measures is much more attractive for sale than it was a year ago.
So what can you say to bank users who have expressed concern and seen comments on social media that the bank is being devalued?
Clients are very calm because they know that what is being done is to protect their interests. All those former officials, politicians or people interested in making a comment, the first thing they have to do is analyze the figures, not from now but from the past, and see how this bank has managed in the last nine or ten years where the bank was forced to hire a lot of people, to carry out credit operations that they did not need, to create a very expensive structure, to give away money in sponsorships, advertising, favors, etc., instead of dedicating themselves to improving organizational efficiency.
I’m not saying it, the bank in 2008 was the first for operational efficiency in the country. In 2019 I was the last in line, there was never anyone on social media making the slightest comment on why the value had dropped. So, customers understand and know that what is being done is to improve and increase the value of the bank. Now, there will always be opposing opinions, most of them unfounded, because they don’t understand how a bank works, worse yet how a bank’s income statement is built.
That lack of understanding that you mention can generate panic…
There is no panic, the bank has closed with more than $5,000,000,000 in deposits, it is the bank with the highest liquidity index, we have safeguarded liquidity to very high levels. It is the first bank with technical capital constituted in the country, more than 15%. There is no reason for doubt, any information that you can hear or that someone interestedly says does not respond to the truth.
In this restructuring plan, the closure of agencies began. What was the criteria for this decision?
A very detailed analysis has been made that the agencies and all those that do not reach the desired profitability or that are in loss, or those whose operation is very expensive for the bank, should be closed. In addition, the bank entered a process of digital transformation and progressive adoption of virtual channels a few years ago, which makes it a contradiction to expand physically when I am making a commitment to a digital bank.
Salaries of directors of Banco del Pacífico are no longer fixed and may be determined by the Board of Directors
So it makes no sense to open offices that lose money. The operating cost of these agencies meant a loss of more than $2 million per year. And these agencies barely represent 2% of the bank’s client base and the weight of the business. We were losing money on just 2% from the bank, which is crazy.
How many closed?
Eighteen, between agencies, branches and windows distributed throughout the national territory. There are offices on the Coast, Sierra, Amazon, and it is also a process that is not only carried out by Banco del Pacífico, but also by any bank on a recurring basis. When an agency does not earn money or is an operational burden, it simply closes or relocates. In our case, we have preferred that customers who used to operate, and are a minority in that area, access the bank and their accounts through virtual channels. . We have the Intermático, mobile application, telephone channel, and also all the non-banking correspondents of the bank, which are more than 15,000 nationwide.
There are people who are interested in trying to link the fact of a closure of agencies with the loss of value of a bank. On the contrary, I am eliminating losses for the bank, which will be a profit for the following year.
With this closure it also reduces the payroll, how has this process been?
The bank abnormally grew its number of employees to 3,760, many of whom had jobs created artificially and for other reasons, but were not doing more business. The bank today has approximately 2,600 people, after a 30% reduction in its workforce. The Banco del Pacífico had a significant excess of numbers of officials who also did not contribute with more business, but really with expenses.
What is the position of the entity in the granting of mortgage loans?
The bank continues to support mortgage customers, which we think is a very interesting customer segment. It is the second most important bank in terms of credit portfolio in the country and it is a sector that we are going to continue supporting with interesting offers and with the necessary liquidity that the bank has today.
And what about credit cards?
It is one of the main engines of the bank’s dynamism and we are reviewing the levels of consumption, of debt, and we intend to launch campaigns that are more attractive and that the bank continues to have leadership, especially in some of the cards that today already we are and increase that leadership and expand the base with more clients.
What is the growth projection for 2022?
We are estimating a portfolio growth close to 10% and this distributed in sectors of small, medium and large companies, personal consumption and credit card.
In short, are you looking for an entity with greater value, not taking it away?
Everything that is being done has a purpose, it is to create greater value for the bank. The current government is determined to return the bank to private hands. A private bank in the hands of a state ends up becoming political spoils.
One detail is that the Central Bank has already recovered the aid it gave us in our previous administration, between 2001 and 2008, the $121 million it received for its rescue. And during all these years the bank has received neither funds nor loans nor any type of money from the State, all the money here belongs to 92% of private depositors. So, my obligation is that it has the best credit quality and the highest degree of efficiency, so that those resources are always in the bank, they are lent and returned. Using a bank like this for political purposes is a business disgrace and it is a disgrace as a country. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
