Bolivia government, banks upbeat on health of sector

In terms of the health of Bolivia's banking system, it appears there's not much worrying the government or private financial institutions.

The only area of concern raised at a meeting between lawmakers and commercial lenders was a reduction in the pace of savings growth, finance minister Luis Arce said following the event.

Among those present were President Evo Morales, ministers, and representatives of the country's association of private banks Asoban.

"First, an evaluation was made of the situation of the banks, which went very well, very positive. There is calm within the government and the financial system in terms of system indicators," Arce was quoted as saying by state news agency ABI.

Regarding savings growth, Arce added that, as of May, the trend was positive but that the pace had slowed.

He said there are "mechanisms" that could be used to boost savings in the short term and the medium term.

Bolivians saved more and borrowed more in January-April compared with the same period of last year.

The overall volume of deposits held in the country's financial system grew 3.22% over the first four months as loans expanded 17.4%, financial regulator ASFI said in May.

As of end-April financial institutions held 145bn bolivianos (US$20.0bn) in deposits, compared with 140bn bolivianos at the same time last year.

ASOBAN

Nelson Villalobos, executive secretary of Asoban, was quoted as saying that the "financial system, particularly banks, is solid and solvent" and that the sustainability of the system "is assured."

Villalobos said the loan portfolio grew about 16% in the 12 months through April and that credit quality was "enviable."

He added that delinquency indicators continue to be the lowest in the region.

Villalobos said that deposits had grown 5.4% in the 12 months through May, adding that the amount of money in savings accounts has grown by US$500mn and the amount of money in time deposits by US$1.5bn.