Corpbanca lending up 14% last year

Chilean bank Corpbanca (NYSE: BCA) reported 14% growth in lending to 2.4tn pesos (US$4.3bn) in 2004 compared to the previous year, local financial daily Diario Financiero reported bank CEO Christian Samsing as saying. Corpbanca's ROE was 15.6% in the period ending December 2004, down from 17.3% registered the same time a year ago. Samsing said the bank aims for 15-20% loan growth this year based on a strong 7% growth projection for the Chilean economy. "Our aim is to consolidate even more the personal and consumer banking segments, as that is where profitability and stability are found," the executive explained. Corpbanca aims to boost its loan market share to 10% in the medium-term from today's 6.5% share, he said. Corpbanca is the sixth largest bank in Chile and is controlled by local financial group Corp Group Banking.