Costa Rica Banks – The biggest, the most efficient and most profitable.

According to the financial data provided by the Superintendencia General de Entidades Financieras (SUGEF) – the regulatory body which oversees all the banks in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s Most Profitable Banks:

1. BAC Credomatic
2. Cafsa
3. Promerica
4. Grupo Mutual
5. Banco Nacional
6. BCT

Costa Rica’s Most Efficient Banks:

This is calculated by examining which banks have the lowest administrative expenses in relation to their assets in which case you find that the most efficient banks are:

1. Banco Popular
2. Promerica
3. HSBC
4. BCT
5. Caja Ande
6. Cafsa

Costa Rica’s Largest State Banks: With assets listed in millions of colones as of 31/12/2008

1. Banco Nacional – 2,981,872
2. Banco de Costa Rica – 2,325,296
3. Banco Popular – 1,276,951
4. Bancredito – 294,766

Costa Rica’s Private Banks: With assets listed in millions of colones as of 31/12/2008

1. BAC Credomatic – 1,100,006
2. BNS (Scotiabank) – 1,086,527
3. HSBC – 817,634
4. Citibank – 646,542
5. Promerica – 458,011
6. BCT – 440,012
7. Improsa – 240,987
8. Lafise – 113,857
9. Cathay – 30,353

Costa Rica’s Largest Credit Unions and Co-Op Banks: With assets listed in millions of colones as of 31/12/2008

1. Grupo Mutual – 323,297
2. Caja de Ande – 217,941
3. Alianza – 94,515
4. Coocique – 63,833
5. Cafsa – 31,464
6. Acobo – 16,842

These 19 banking organizations in Costa Rica employed 21,855 people as of the end of December 2009.

Late Payments in Costa Rica.

Loans which are more than 90 days late with payments have increased but still only represent 1.7% of the total amount of credit in the Costa Rica banking system. (If the level of late payments – morosidad – is below 3%, the SUGEF considers this normal.)

Considering the dramatic increase in interest rates in Costa Rica over the last year, it’s quite amazing that Costa Rica’s 1.7% number is quite so low:

Interest Rate Increases For Home Mortgages in Costa Rica:

• At the state banks, the colones interest rates for home mortgages climbed from 11.57% in January 2008 up to 17.38% in January 2009
• At the private banks, the colones interest rates for home mortgages climbed from 10.91% in January 2008 up to 18.71% in January 2009
• At the state banks, the US dollar interest rates for home mortgages climbed from 9.31% in January 2008 up to 9.93% in January 2009
• At the private banks, the US dollar interest rates for home mortgages climbed from 9.27% in January 2008 up to 10.85% in January 2009

In comparison, according to research firm First American CoreLogic in the USA, “20% of people with mortgages owe more than their home is worth” and “Foreclosure activity skyrocketed in March and the first quarter of 2009 to their highest levels on record as banks lifted moratoria on filings.”

“According to the American Bankers Association, which represents most large U.S. banks and credit card companies, the percentage of consumer loans at least 30 days late rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.22 percent in the October-to-December period from 2.9 percent in the prior quarter.”

“Dann Adams, president of U.S. Information Systems for Equifax Inc, reported that 7 percent of homeowners with mortgages were at least 30 days late on their loans in February, an increase of more than 50 percent from a year earlier.”

Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.