Although in Colombia there are a good number of people who still prefer to have their money ‘under the mattress’, lThe high interest rates offered by some financial establishments for public resources -in some cases close to 16 percent effective per year- It is motivating more and more Colombians to have these savings in the different mechanisms offered by banks, including Term Certificates of Deposit (CDT) and savings accounts.
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This is corroborated by the most recent figures of the balance sheet of the Colombian financial system revealed by the Financial Superintendence, which indicates that until last April the CDT registered a real annual growth of 39.2 percent and that only between March and April the balance of resources in that instrument grew by 1.2 trillion pesos until reaching a total of 268 billion pesos, that is, 97 billion pesos more than the record for April 2022.
“The balance with a maturity of more than one year reached 155 trillion pesos, of which 91 trillion corresponded to deposits with a term of more than 18 months, that is, 58.7 percent of the total. The possession of CDT was distributed 67.5 percent in legal persons and official entities and 32.5 percent natural persons“, says the report of the surveillance and control entity.
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According to statistics from the Superfinanciera, until last May the interests that financial institutions recognized for people for depositing their resources in CDT fluctuated between 1 and 8.03 percent effective per year for a term of 30 days; from 0.05 and 9.74 percent at 60 days; between 8.83 and 14.13 percent at 90 days; between 7.06 and 15.36 percent at 120 days; between 8.05 and 14.96 percent at 180 days; between 8.82 and 15.37 percent for a one-year term, and between 11.25 and 15.53 percent for terms of more than one year.
The entity also presented that at the end of the fourth month of 2023 the balance of the savings accounts reached 269.8 trillion pesos, slightly above the balance obtained in the CDT.
earnings affected
In its report, the Financial Superintendency also highlights that although the system’s profits are in positive territory, its growth continues to be impacted by the cost of the higher provisions that entities have been making to offset the deterioration of the consumer portfolio.
At the end of April, the financial system as a whole, which includes credit institutions, trust companies, insurers, pension fund administrators and official entities, among others, reported profits of 9.81 trillion pesos, close to 4.5 percent. hundred more than those reached a year ago.
Of that amount, the banks contributed 4.34 trillion pesos. However, compared to the results of April last year, a drop of 42.3 percent was recorded.
The second largest profits registered last April correspond to the group of official entities such as Findeter, Fogafín, Bancóldex and the National Savings Fund (FNA), among others, which obtained more than 2.14 trillion pesos in that month. It was followed by insurers with just over 2 trillion pesos.
Non-performing consumer loans grew at a real annual rate of 57.5 percent last April, making it the worst-performing portfolio.
Archive EL TIEMPO / Courtesy
Portfolio in negative territory
After 20 months of positive growth, the credit portfolio of the financial system once again registered negative dynamics, as reported by the Superfinanciera, after noting that the real annual variation in April was -0.49 percent in its gross jump, which reached 678.5 billion pesos.
Consumption and housing were the modalities that fell the most in that month, 2.73 and 0.98 real annual percent, while the commercial and microcredit portfolio grew.
As reported by the entity, the consumer portfolio is deteriorating more strongly. The total balance of the nonperforming portfolio was close to 31 trillion pesos in April, of which half corresponds only to nonperforming consumer loans, which also grew 57.5 percent in real terms per year at the end of last April.
This led financial entities to have to reinforce provisions to cover this deterioration, which grew 23.1 percent to reach close to 19 trillion pesos, only in consumption.
