Credicorp Group estimates that Chilean economy will grow 2.1% in 2024

This is an automated translation of the original release published in Spanish.

PRESS RELEASE from Credicorp
February 12, 2024

During its quarterly presentation to investors, the Credicorp Group, a leading financial holding company in Peru with presence in Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and Panama, reported on the positive results that its diversified business platform has been showing, strengthened by a successful transformation digital strategy. Likewise, it projected that the Chilean economy will grow around 2.1% in 2024.

The Credicorp Group, made up of BCP, BCP Bolivia, Mibanco, Mibanco Colombia, Grupo Pacífico, Prima AFP, Credicorp Capital and Krealo, presented the results for the year 2023, a period in which a net profit of 4865.5 billion soles was recorded (US$1.312 billion), which translated into an ROE of 15.8%.

César Ríos, CFO of Credicorp, highlighted that the company's results in the last part of the year continued to demonstrate resilience in the face of a context marked by a greater-than-expected GDP contraction. “We maintained capital levels above internal targets in our Peruvian banking businesses and advanced our strategic investments to strengthen our competitive position,” he noted.

Digital transformation

Ríos indicated that during the fourth quarter of 2023, important advances were recorded in digital transformation. Monetary and non-monetary transactions through BCP digital channels grew 116.5% and 87.8%, respectively. Likewise, 56% of the amount of monetary operations was cashless and 61% of the sale of financial products of the BCP Retail Banking was carried out through digital channels.

On the other hand, Gianfranco Ferrari, CEO of Credicorp, revealed that, thanks to the great growth of Yape in the Peruvian market, it is expected to reach the breakeven point in 2024. In addition, the results showed that, at the end of 2023, Yape reached more than 14.2 million users, who carried out 2.918 billion transactions, which means a growth of 143% compared to 2022.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, based on the new functionalities added to this application, 4.6 million users made 50.7 million mobile recharges, as well as 18.1 million service payments. Likewise, thanks to the new exchange rate tool, more than 139,000 transactions were recorded. Finally, 285,500 microcredits were granted, equivalent to 65.3 million soles disbursed.

As part of its commitment to continue investing in technology and disruptive initiatives in the region, Ferrari also highlighted the progress of Tenpo, a fintech in the Chilean market, part of the Krealo portfolio, which hopes to become the first digital bank to operate in the country. “We are positioning Tenpo as one of the main issuers of digital credit cards and we hope to soon obtain the license to establish a new banking entity in the country,” he said.

Sustainable impact

At the end of 2023, Credicorp continued to promote environmental sustainability from the financial sector and ESG risk management. Along these lines, the first TCFD Credicorp Report (Task force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures) was published, which describes the measures adopted until June 2023 as part of the holding company's environmental strategy. In addition, the document covers issues related to climate change in areas such as corporate governance, business strategy, operations, risks and metrics, both at the corporate level and in subsidiaries.

On the social front, BCP continued to promote better financial behaviors in 214,000 clients thanks to its Business Education initiatives. Likewise, Mibanco Perú managed to train more than 13,000 representatives of more than 1,000 social organizations through its Mujeres Poderosas program. For its part, Prima AFP relaunched the educational website Ahorrando a Fondo and Pacífico carried out training campaigns for the management of humanitarian aid in the districts with the highest risk index due to the effects of the El Niño Phenomenon.

Organizational changes

At the close of the presentation, Gianfranco Ferrari highlighted the upcoming organizational changes in the holding company, which will become effective as of July 1, 2024: Alejandro Pérez-Reyes, who currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer of Credicorp, will be the new central manager of planning and finance of BCP and Credicorp (CFO). He will replace César Ríos, who will leave this position to assume the role of central risk manager of BCP and corporate risk manager of Credicorp (CRO). Reynaldo Llosa, current central risk manager of BCP and corporate risk manager - a position that will be assumed by César Ríos - will leave his positions after 30 years of an impeccable career.