| BGA's recent earnings announcement, provides some good information on Colombian banking at present.....     
     
      
    
Thursday August 6, 8:51 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Banco Ganadero
Banco Ganadero Announces Results
BOGOTA, Colombia, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The following information was 
released today by Banco Ganadero (NYSE: BGA BGAPR): 
Economic And Financial Environment 
Colombian economy has continued to be dominated by the pressure on the 
Colombian peso/US dollar exchange rate during the second quarter of the 
year. The Central Bank has kept its out-and-out defense of the Colombian 
peso by means of a highly restrictive monetary policy which has set 
interest rates at historic levels. As a matter of fact, the top limit of 
this situation was reached last June, coinciding with the end of the 
political election process and the appointment of Andres Pastrana as new 
President of the country. 
Protraction of the liquidity crisis accompanied by high interest rates 
has ultimately, as foreseen, affected in a most negative manner, the 
economic activity and, hence, most surely the main economic policy 
objectives of the Government for 1998 shall no longer be attainable. 
Thus, the GDP shall experience a yearly growth of only 3,2%, while the 
unemployment rate shall continue to grow beyond the current indicator of 
14,5%. On the other hand, the inflation rate, although expecting a 
downward trend over the second half of the year, shall increase up to 
18%, which is significantly above the established objective of 16%. 
The above notwithstanding, a significant reduction of the pressure on 
the peso/dollar exchange rate can already be perceived, which allows for 
a less restrictive monetary policy and a moderate trend towards greater 
stability and interest rate drop. The new Government's economic plan 
provides for a progressive yet substantial reduction of public deficit 
which, doubtless, shall contribute to keeping such trend over the next 
few months. Thus, the main problem for the economy throughout this year 
would be solved and, at the same time, the new Government's success 
possibilities in the economic front would increase. 
In the case of the financial sector, the non-liquidity situation and the 
high interest rates in the overnight market have had serious 
consequences on the income statement for the first half of the year. 
Moderate growth, deterioration of the financial mediation margin and 
increase of past-due loans have determined a material drop of net income 
compared to last year, and a very large number of financial entities 
have recorded loss over this period. 
All factors seem to indicate that, from now onwards, no liquidity stress 
situations shall be repeated, but the negative financial episodes of the 
first half of the year, coming after the great difficulties of the two 
previous years, have seriously damaged some entities of the sector. 
Banco Ganadero During The First Half Of The Year 
The economic and financial scenario described above has been certainly 
difficult for all financial institutions, including our Bank which, 
nonetheless, has successfully overcome this first half of the year, thus 
improving its competitive position within the Colombian banking sector. 
Customers' funds increased by 23% compared to the same month last year. 
The excellent evolution of savings deposits, thanks to the success of 
our financial product ''El Libreton,'' have offset the drop of checking 
account deposits which has occurred at sector level over this period as 
a result of the liquidity crisis. In turn, our loan portfolio recorded a 
30% increase at the same time that the past-due loans level continued to 
decrease and the coverage degree for difficult loans showed improvement. 
The growth of our business with large clients has proved to be balanced, 
always ensuring the necessary contributions of liquidity required due to 
the tightness and high interest rates featured by the overnight market 
throughout the first half of the year. This policy has allowed to 
moderate the deterioration of the financial mediation margin, which is 
the main problem for the sector, and therefore our Bank has been able to 
record in the accounts net income for 29,019 million pesos after 
committing more than 39,000 million pesos to restructure its loan 
portfolio. These results hence compare very favorably to the generalized 
loss situation recorded by the sector over this period. 
Within the framework of the so-called Two-1,000 Program (Programa Dos 
1000), our Bank has continued with its network technology and expansion 
plan, so it already counts on 247 branch offices and 267 automatic 
teller machines. Such an important distribution network shall be 
complemented over the next few months with the incorporation of the 
''Banco Nacional del Comercio'' ''BNC,'' after the merger agreement 
adopted by the Boards of Directors of both Banks. ''BNC'' is a Bank 
whose presence in both the individual and commercial economy segments is 
significant, counting on a 37- branch office network. By means of such 
merger operation, BBV-Banco Ganadero increases its market share by 100 
basic points. 
Moreover, our Bank is now entering into the second half of the year with 
an ambitious task and cost rationalizing project (''Practyco'') which 
shall allow it to position itself as one of the most efficient Banks at 
international level in front of the threshold of the year 2000. 
                      BBV - BANCO GANADERO HIGHLIGHTS(1)
    Billions of pesos                           JUNE                % Change
                                        1997          1998
    BALANCE SHEET
    Total assets                    3,968.6         4,907.8          23.7
    Total loans                     2,488.6         3,223.2          29.5
    Customers' deposits             2,006.6         2,471.5          23.2
    Shareholders' equity              827.4           941.7          13.8
    INCOME STATEMENT
    Net interest margin               220.2           247.5          12.4
    Operating income                  128.8           126.5         (1.8)
    Net income before
     inflation accounting              80.2            78.6         (2.0)
    Net income                         35.4            29.0        (18.0)
    CAPITALIZATION
    Technical equity (current)        676.9           771.5          14.0
    Technical equity (required)       290.2           408.6          40.8
    Technical equity surplus          386.7           362.9         (6.2)
    Solvency ratio
     (9% legal minimum required)       21.0            17.0           ---
    DATA PER SHARE (pesos)
    Book value                        228.4           260.0          13.8
    Price on Bogota Stock Exchange*   392.0           457.0          16.6
    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    Number of employees               5,963           5,868         (1.6)
    Number of offices                   206             247          19.9
        *Common shares as of June 30
(1) This report is based on Banco Ganadero's non-consolidated financial 
statements, which are subject to revision by the Banking 
Superintendency. 
Balance Sheet 
The Banks' total assets at 6/30/98 reached 4,907.8 billion pesos, 24% 
higher than those recorded at the same date last year and 7% higher than 
the corresponding balance at December, despite the limited growth the 
banking sector underwent this first half of the year. It is worth 
highlighting during this period the higher growth rate of the loan 
portfolio and customers' funds, along with the increase of fixed assets 
related to the expansion and technology investment process that our Bank 
has been recently developing. 
                                BALANCE SHEET
                             (millions of pesos)
                             Jun. 97        Dec. 97       Jun. 98     % change
    Cash & due from banks
     and Central Bank      354,466       449,328      397,245          12.1
    Financial investments
     and repos             624,462       443,098      505,243        (19.1)
    Net loan portfolio   2,396,533     2,938,217    3,111,307          29.8
    Fixed assets           272,583       299,883      378,155          38.7
    Permanent
     investments           122,323       191,627      211,735          73.1
    Other assets           198,211       248,812      304,096          53.4
    Total assets         3,968,578     4,570,965    4,907,781          23.7
    Banks and repos        333,333       561,099      664,724          99.4
    Rediscounts            415,322       386,577      371,395        (10.6)
    Customers' deposits  2,006,588     2,302,577    2,471,511          23.2
    Local bonds             97,500        97,500       70,400        (27.8)
    Euro medium-term notes 131,506       152,471      153,482          16.7
    Shareholders' equity   827,409       892,019      941,741          13.8
    Other liabilities      156,920       178,722      234,528          49.5
    Total liabilities
     and shareholders'
     equity              3,968,578     4,570,965    4,907,781          23.7
    Complementary
     information:
    Assets f/c*            786,615       956,515    1,075,176          36.7
    Liabilities f/c        769,092       943,285    1,053,603          37.0
    *f/c: foreign currency
Customers' Funds 
Just as in the sector as a whole, the evolution of our Bank's deposits 
has followed a similar trend to that of the first quarter of the year 
and it has been quite determined by the serious monetary crisis of this 
period. The dramatic rise of interest rates has resulted in a continuous 
and intense displacement of deposits towards higher interest-yielding 
alternatives. Therefore, CDs have grown to a greater extent and checking 
account balances, especially those held by the institutional sector, 
have clearly diminished. But our Bank has managed to moderate structural 
deterioration thanks to the excellent evolution of its savings deposits, 
the balance of which is already 60% higher than the existing one at the 
same date last year and 9% higher than the one recorded last December. 
The consolidation of ''El Libreton'' as the leading product of the 
financial market has proved to be the determining factor to such 
evolution, reaching at 6/30/98 a balance for more than 278,000 million 
pesos and counting on more than 700,000 customers. 
                             CUSTOMER'S DEPOSITS
                             (millions of pesos)
                             Jun. 97        Dec. 97       Jun. 98     % change
    Checking accounts      906,681       937,948      837,793         (7.6)
    Saving deposits        523,090       772,395      837,710          60.1
    Term deposit
     certificates          384,876       409,253      631,173          64.0
    Other deposits and
     payables              191,941       182,981      164,835        (14.1)
    Total customers'
     deposits            2,006,588     2,302,577    2,471,511          23.2
    Complementary
     information:
     deposits l/c*       1,740,412     2,019,627    2,132,488          22.5
     deposits f/c*         266,176       282,951      339,023          27.4
    Investment funds       212,927       205,338      182,821        (14.1)
    Total customers funds
     under management    2,219,515     2,507,915    2,654,332          19.6
    *l/c: local currency
    *f/c: foreign currency
LOAN PORTFOLIO 
Credit growth within the system as a whole has been moderate and has 
followed a trend towards stagnation as a consequence of the monetary 
policy imposed by the Central Bank. Our Bank, however, thanks to the 
favorable evolution of its customers' deposits and the liquidity rate 
with which it opened this year, has been able to successfully satisfy 
credit demand from its customers. At the same time, the Bank has 
maintained its individual economies' segment penetration strategy, and 
that is why consumption and mortgage-guaranteed loans have so strongly 
grown. At 6/30/98, gross loan portfolio reached 3,223.2 billion pesos, a 
figure that is 6% higher than that recorded at last period's closing and 
which exceeds by 29% the one obtained at the same month last year. 
                                LOAN PORTFOLIO
                             (millions of pesos)
                                                                        YTY
                            Jun. 97        Dec. 97       Jun. 98     % change
    Gross Loan portfolio 2,488,602     3,044,788    3,223,219          29.5
    Commercial           1,966,687     2,427,029    2,509,818          27.5
    Consumer               320,709       397,074      450,926          40.6
    Mortgage               199,206       220,685      262,475          31.8
    Loan-loss provisions    92,069       106,571      111,912          21.6
    Net Loan portfolio   2,396,533     2,938,217    3,111,307          29.8
    Complementary
     information:
    Loans f/c              651,919       763,285      820,854          25.9
    Loans with admissible
     collateral          1,668,221     1,850,332    1,917,249          14.9
    Loans with other
     collateral            820,381     1,194,456    1,305,971          59.2
Quality Of Loan Portfolio 
The liquidity crisis has also negatively affected the evolution of the 
sector's past-due loan portfolio during this first half of the year. 
Although the rate of very short-term past-due loans has also increased 
in our Bank, loans past-due over 3 and 4 months, that is, the portion of 
the loan portfolio representing difficult loans, has continued 
decreasing as it can be observed on the following chart. At 6/30/98, the 
percentage that such loans represent over total loans is set at 5.5%, 
which is much lower than that for last year and likewise lower than 6%, 
corresponding to last period's closing, and which compares very 
favorably to the respective indicator of the sector as a whole. The 
improvement of the Bank's loan portfolio quality that can be 
progressively observed is further accompanied by a significant increase 
in its degree of coverage which, in the same manner, is much higher than 
that of the sector as a whole. At 6/30/98, provisions for past-due loans 
over 3 and 4 months (including interest) reached 148,219 million pesos, 
mining a coverage degree of 83.1%, which is higher than the 77.2% 
corresponding to last period's closing. 
                         PAST-DUE LOANS AND COVERAGE
                             (millions of pesos)
                                      Jun. 97        Dec. 97       Jun. 98
    Past-due loans                  197,196         192,132       217,188
    Past-due over 3 & 4 months
     (principal + interest)         173,576         185,293       178,365
    Provisions
     (principal + interest)       (129,310)       (143,066)     (148,219)
    Past-due loans ratio (%)
    Total past-due loans                7.9             6.3           6.7
    Past-due over 3 & 4
     months (principal + interest)      6.9             6.0           5.5
    Coverage ratios (%)
    Total past-due loans               46.7            55.5          51.5
    Past-due over 3&4 months
     (principal + interest)            74.5            77.2          83.1
    Including real collateral         131.4           133.6         140.3
Income Statement 
The Bank's income figures compare very favorably to those of the sector 
as a whole as well as those of the main entities of the sector over this 
first half of the year. Net income reached 29,019 million pesos, and 
78,640 million pesos without considering inflation adjustments, which 
imply a direct contribution to equity charged to the period's income. 
Financial income, including dividends obtained from affiliated companies 
and others in which the Bank holds stake, reached 247,497 million pesos 
with an increase of 12,4% compared to the same period last year. The 
structure and stability of our customers' funds have been a determining 
factor to restrain costs and increase interest income during such a 
period characterized by the rise of interest rates. On the other hand, 
income from banking services commissions have followed their sustained 
growth trend, reflecting the material increase of our customers base and 
product range, as well as the increasing distribution capacity of the 
Bank's branch office network. 
Operating costs recorded a 31% increase compared to last year, as a 
result of the strong increase of the Bank's investments in technology 
and expansion of its branch office and automatic teller machine network, 
which have specially influenced the first half of the year. But, surely, 
its growth rate shall moderate more and more over the rest of the year, 
and it shall decisively contribute to the deployment of the new task and 
cost rationalization project that our Bank started up last June. 
Loan quality improvement has meant a reduction of net loan provisions 
compared to last year, as it can be observed on the following chart. In 
spite of the above, 39,282 million pesos have been committed as 
provisions for loans and other balance sheet assets, a very high figure 
which has allowed the Bank to continue increasing its degree of 
difficult loan coverage, according to the Bank's apropos policy. 
The monetary correction debit transaction, which constitutes a 
contribution to equity, reached 54,139 million pesos and increased 11% 
compared to last year, as a result of the rise of the inflation rate 
over the first half of the year and our Bank's high and increasing 
equity volume which, by such means, continues rapidly capitalizing. 
Therefore, our Bank's income statement figures are very positive 
compared to those of the sector as a whole, particularly when taking 
into account the difficulties posed by the environment as well as the 
influence that the Bank's material strategic investments have exerted on 
its short-term exploitation costs. 
                       ACCUMULATED INCOME STATEMENT
                           (million of pesos)
                                               June
                                        1997           1998          % Change
    Interest income and other
     assimilated income               403,912        475,803           17.8
    Interest expenses                 183,686        228,305           24.3
    Net interest margin               220,226        247,497           12.4
    Net commissions                    24,646         31,317           27.1
    Ordinary margin                   244,872        278,814           13.9
    Operating expenses                116,056        152,265           31.2
     Labor costs                       66,982         82,507           23.2
     Sundry                            41,118         57,125           38.9
     Depreciation and amortization
      charges                           7,956         12,633           58.8
    Net operating income              128,817        126,549           (1.8)
    Foreign exchange income             5,717          6,194            8.3
    Net provisions for loans and
     other assets                      48,219         39,282          (18.5)
    Goodwill amortization                   0          2,483            ---
    Other income and costs (net)        8,437         (1,638)           ---
    Net income before monetary
     correction                        94,751         89,341           (5.7)
    Monetary correction                48,774         54,139           11.0
    Net income before tax              45,977         35,202          (23.4)
    Income tax provision              (10,593)         6,183          (41.6)
    Net income                         35,384         29,019          (18.0)
    Complementary information:
     Net income before inflation
      adjustments                      80,236         78,640           (2.0)
Stock Market 
The Bogota Stock Exchange has been affected by the hard economic crisis 
underwent by the country during the first half of the year and, 
especially, by the historic rise of interest rates. All of the above had 
determined the reduction of overall contracted volumes and the 
generalized drop of quotations. Banco Ganadero's stock quotation ending 
in June was 457 pesos per common share, which represents a 19% decrease 
compared to last December. The evolution of our quotation, however, 
ought to be positively compared to the financial sector's index, which 
has diminished by 28%, and to the stock exchange's general index, which 
fell 22%. 
                               BANCO GANADERO'S SHARES*
                                     (pesos)
                                  June-97      Dec.-97     June-98   % change
    Book value                     228.4        246.2       260.0       13.8
    Price on Bogota Stock
     Exchange, Common Share        392.0        565.0       457.0       16.6
    Price on Bogota Stock
     Exchange, Preferred Share     290.0        330.0       228.0      (21.4)
    Market capitalization
     (billion pesos)             1,371.1      1,934.0     1,545.7       12.7
    *Prices and book value correspond to the closing day of the respective
      month.
SOURCE: Banco Ganadero
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