In an environment of incipient acceleration of economic growth in Mexico, loans under management grow 10.3% year-on-year, supported by the good performance of consumer finance and commercial loans.
The wholesale portfolio has shown the greatest strength, with an increase over the same time horizon of 14.6% thanks to the positive performance of loans to SMEs, which has maintained double-digit year-on-year increases for the last 24 months (up 23.8% as of 31-Mar-2014). Corporate loans also performed well and increased their year-on-year growth rate to 20.1%.
The retail portfolio, which includes consumer finance, credit cards, residential mortgages and small businesses loans, has increased by 7.0% since the close of the first quarter of 2013. The most notable rise was in small businesses (up 24.3%), a segment that has increased its average loan value per customer by over 50% in the last 12 months, followed by consumer finance (up 18.1%), which was boosted by the pre-approved loan campaign. Bank credit cards have grown by 5.9%, very much in line with the trend for a slowdown in the market, while the Finanzia (own brand) credit card has begun to record lower balances as a result of the conclusion in November 2013 of the commercial financing agreement with Wal-Mart.
Risk indicators show a reduction in the NPA ratio (23 basis points over the quarter) and a rise of the coverage ratio (3.4 percentage points in the same time frame). Proactive risk management has enabled BBVA to stand out from its main competitors in Mexico in terms of the non-performing portfolio and loan-loss provisions (measured using local criteria).
In customer funds, the focus has remained on attracting lower-cost deposits, which increased year-on-year by 14.8%. Overall, the relative weight of these less expensive forms is now 80% of total customer funds, ensuring an increasingly profitable mix.
In the insurance business, the figures for written premiums in the first three months of the year were good, with growth of 25.5% in the amount on the first quarter of 2013, mainly due to the good performance of the “Inversión Libre Patrimonial” product.
