The quarterly analysis of the system by the banking regulator and supervisor indicates that the return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) fell by 0.11 percentage points and 1.54 percentage points year-on-year, to 1.29% and 13.94%, respectively.
This trend in indicators “reflected the reduction in the financial margin, particularly the decrease in interest and similar income from loans to non-financial corporations and individuals,” while on the other hand, there was a notable reduction in provisions and impairments.
A 0.37 percentage point drop in operating results as a percentage of average assets, to 1.74%, “resulted from the reduction in financial margin and the increase in average assets.”
In the analysis, the central bank notes that between January and March the cost of credit risk decreased by 0.05 percentage points year-on-year, to 0.14%, due to the “decrease in credit impairments, although registering a slight increase compared to the end of 2024.”
The efficiency ratio (costs to income) increased by 3.5 percentage points to 42.8%. This variation is attributed to an increase in operating costs (by 2.2 percentage points) and a reduction in banking product (by 1.4 percentage points).
Regarding asset quality in the first quarter, the ratio of gross non-performing loans (NPL) decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 2.3%, amid a stabilizing productive loan framework.
The NPL ratio for companies dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 4.0%, while the ratio for personal housing loans decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 1.2%. In consumption and other purposes, the ratio increased by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2%.
The total assets of the banking system increased by 1.6%, with notable contributions from debt securities (1.6 percentage points) and loans to individuals (0.6 percentage points), while central bank liquidity decreased by 1.0 percentage point.
The data on bank solvency is expected to be released in August, following the extension of supervisory reporting deadlines under the new regulatory framework.
