Chinese banks continue to expand in Latin America, reflecting the Chinese Government's high interest in infrastructure projects and in strengthening commercial, as well as political ties with countries in the region, Moody's stressed in its latest report.
Apart from ICBC's Argentine subsidiary, ICBC S.A., which ICBC bought from Standard Chartered Bank and includes a retail business, and China Construction Bank S.A.'s portfolio of payroll-deductible loans, the other Latin American subsidiaries of Chinese banks focus exclusively on wholesale banking.
Most of them are relatively recent start-ups, and aside from ICBC Argentina, which has a 3.6% share of the Argentine loan market, they all have market shares well below 1%.
Thanks to their Argentine and Brazilian operations, both of which have about US$5.8 billion in assets, ICBC and CCB have the largest presences in the region.
In addition to its Argentine subsidiary, ICBC has smaller subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico, and
Peru, while CCB launched a Chilean business in May 2016, but its business remains minimal.
BOC's regional footprint includes subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico, Panama and Grand Cayman, as well as a representative office in
Peru, and in January 2018, Chilean regulators authorized it to open another subsidiary.
For now, BoCom has operations in Brazil only, making it a good candidate to expand elsewhere in Latin America.
Note: Based on information provided by Moody's.
(END) NDP/MVB