Colombia to get a new bank

Colombian financial services company Serfinansa has been authorized to operate as a bank.

The Barranquilla city-headquartered firm currently competes in the loan, credit card, leasing and investment segments.

Serfinansa's controller is retail store chain Supertiendas y Droguerias Olímpica, which has an 81% stake.

Serfinansa shareholders, in March 2016, had voted to convert the company into a bank, watchdog Superfinanciera said in a resolution. In September 2018, company officials formally sought a banking license.

The bank - which will operate under the name Banco Serfinansa - is due to begin offering current accounts and savings accounts products next quarter, local paper El Heraldo reported Serfinansa president Gian Piero Celia as saying. The company has also spent US$10mn in preparation, he said, adding that it may enter the mortgage and remittances markets in the medium term.

Twenty-five banks currently operate in the country.

At the end of September 2018, Serfinansa - which was formed in 1976 - had offices in capital district Bogotá and 14 of the country's 32 departments, according to information on its website.

The company reported total assets of 1.77tn pesos, with its loan portfolio accounting for 1.44tn pesos. Total liabilities stood at 1.54thn pesos.

For the nine months ending September 2018, Serfinansa reported a net profit of 18.5bn pesos, down from 19.2bn pesos in the same period of 2017.

The company also offers, in partnership with insurers, life, unemployment-linked credit and personal accident insurance policies.

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