Colombia’s financial institutions posted a combined net profit of 4.48 trillion Colombian pesos ($2.28 billion) in the first nine months of the year, up 17% from COP3.84 trillion in the same period in 2008, the country’s banking regulator said Wednesday.
Locally owned private-sector banks reported COP2.6 trillion in profits in the January-September period, up 0.8% from COP2.57 trillion in the same period last year.
Non-consolidated net profit of Bancolombia SA, the country’s largest bank, fell 6% to COP775 billion in the first nine months of the year, down from COP824 billion in the same period a year ago.
Banco de Bogota, the country’s second-largest bank, posted a net profit of COP578 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 12% from the same period last year when it booked a net profit of COP518 billion.
The net profit of foreign banks with operations in Colombia rose 34% in the first nine months of the year from the same period last year to COP618 billion.
The local unit of Spain’s BBVA reported the biggest profit among foreign banks, posting a net profit of COP309 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 10% from COP280 billion registered in the period last year.
The net profit of the Colombian unit of U.S.-based Citigroup Inc. jumped 59% to COP183 billion in the first nine months of the year from COP115 billion in the same period of last year.
The local unit of HSBC Holdings PLC reported a net loss of COP13.3 billion, compared with a net loss of COP16.9 billion in the first nine months of last year. (Dow Jones)
