Banco Financiera Comercial has achieved a greater penetration and concentration in the higher margin retail segment, in an effort to improve shareholder value. Net profits were up 37.26% last year, with a 16.33% growth in assets. RoE stood at 24.8% compared with 20.5% in the previous year. The bank achieved a slight reduction in its cost/income ratio to 74.1%, while trimming its NPL ratio to 2.3% from 2.4% in 2004. It also offers a more complete product and service offering to its corporate customers, in which loans become a commodity and not the main focus of the relationship.
“We have hired an experienced banking expert to work on our operations, processes and technology to improve our efficiency levels,” says corporate vice-president Max Contag. “We have maintained an excellent reputation as a solid financial institution in Honduras and in the region. We have remained in the top four in the local banking system in terms of total assets, deposits, loans, net profit and equity.”
In the 12 years that the bank has been in business, it has maintained a well-established leadership position in innovation and in the implementation of technology-based services and products, which have greatly benefited its customers. It has shown itself to be more than just a financial institution, having founded the Fundación Ficohsa, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated exclusively to helping pre-school children of limited resources.
