Citigroup Mexico Unit Banamex 2Q Net Profit Slides 15% On Year
July 28 2011 - 02:10PM
Dow Jones News
Citigroup Inc.'s (C) Mexican unit Banamex said its
second-quarter net profit fell 15% on the year to MXN4.49 billion
pesos ($384 million) as sharply lower gains from positions in
financial market securities cut into its bottom line.
Still, the Mexican bank's net profit represents more than 11% of
the $3.34 billion in net profit that Citigroup reported for the
same period.
Banamex approved payment last year of around $1.4 billion in
dividends to Citigroup, its second dividend disbursement since the
U.S. banking giant bought Banamex in 2001.
Executives said Thursday that Banamex paid MXN8 billion of those
dividends during the first six months of the year, which brought
the Mexican bank's capitalization level down to around 18% from
about 20%.
The Mexican unit aims to distribute the remaining MXN8 billion
at a pace that allows it to sustain its current capitalization
ratio.
The bank reported return on equity of 11.3% for the April-June
period versus 6.4% in the first quarter and 12.7% in the second
quarter of 2010.
The main drag on the latest quarter's results came from market
activity. Banamex booked net profit of MXN414 million from trading
in the second quarter versus MXN2.87 billion in the year-ago period
and a MXN1.40 billion trading loss in the first quarter.
Javier Arrigunaga, head of the financial group, attributed
Banamex's year-on-year decrease in trading gains to market
volatility.
"We have a bigger market position than some other banks," he
said.
Banamex, Mexico's second-biggest bank by assets and deposits,
said growth in deposits and loans during the second quarter more
than compensated for the impact of lower commissions and interest
rates.
The bank said its credit portfolio stood at MXN346 billion as of
the end of June, up from MXN332 billion at the end of March and
MXN340 billion a year earlier.
Banamex said it experienced double-digit credit growth in areas
such as personal loans and mortgages, while corporate financing
slid 7% on the year as clients liquidated short-term debt.
The bank said its nonperforming loan rate stood at 1.7%, flat on
the year but up from 1.2% in the first quarter.
Deposits rose 15% to MXN459 billion.
-By Amy Guthrie, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5980-5177;
amy.guthrie@dowjones.com
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