Informe Sobre Bancos

Thisreport analyzes the situation of the Argentine financial system on a monthly basis.

Summary

• In February, the balance of total financing to the private sector remained practically unchanged
compared to January, accumulating a year-on-year expansion (y.a.) of 33.8% in the segment in pesos and
31.7% considering national and foreign currency. Public banks recorded moderate growth
in lending to the private sector in the month, while private banks and EFNBs showed a
reduction in the period. The increase in credit to companies (33.6% YoY) was greater than that of
loans to households (30% YoY). Thus, in the last 12 months, financing to the productive sectors gained participation in the total credit balance, representing almost 57% in February.
• The NPL ratio of loans to the private sector remained at 1.8% of total loans
in the month, slightly lower than that evidenced a year ago. The financial system continued to exhibit a high coverage of the irregular portfolio with accounting forecasts, reaching 143.1%
in the period.
• In February,
the balance of private sector deposits in pesos expanded 1.2% (28.5% YoY), driven by a 4.3% improvement in time placements (35.7% YoY), while
demand accounts fell 2% (22.5% YoY increase). For their part, in the month public sector impositions
fell and generated a decrease of 0.8% in the balance of total
deposits (in national and foreign currency). However, it accumulated an increase of 27% YoY.
• The liquidity (pesos and dollars) of the financial system fell by 4 p.p. of total deposits in the month
to 24.5%, a movement mainly explained by the decrease in the balance of banks’ current accounts at the BCRA, resources that were partly used by the entities to
acquire LEBAC and NOBAC. As a result, the ample liquidity of the financial system stood at
40.5% of deposits in February, an indicator that showed a slight monthly reduction of 0.6 p.p. The
end of the December-February quarterly period for the Minimum Cash position in pesos, after
the surplus accumulated in the previous months, and the sale of foreign currency made by banks
to comply with the new rules on the Net Global Foreign Currency Position partly explained the evolution observed in the month.
• In February, the broad mismatch of foreign currency registered a significant contraction, decreasing
31.6 p.p. in terms of Computable Patrimonial Liability (CPR) and reaching a
level of 34.1%. This change with respect to what has been observed in recent months was explained by the regulatory modifications implemented by the BCRA, in particular with regard to the limit on the forward position
of foreign currency of financial institutions.
• In the month, the net worth of the consolidated financial system grew 2.3% (43.5% YoY), mainly driven by accounting profits. Regulatory capital integration reached
13.6% of total risk-weighted assets (RWAs), while Tier 1
capital integration accounted for 12.5% of RWAs. Thus, in February, the capital position (excess integration) represented
77% of the regulatory requirement.
• In the period, the financial institutions as a whole accrued gains equivalent to 3.4% of assets
. In February, the financial margin fell compared to January and returned to levels similar to the monthly average of 2013. Thus, the accounting profits accumulated in the last twelve
months for the entire financial system represented 4.3% of assets.