BISA Leasing S.A.

What it is

BISA Leasing S.A. has one purpose only: financial leasing in all its permitted forms under Bolivia’s Financial Services Law and ASFI regulations. It specialises in commercial property leasing, vehicle and equipment finance, and lending for office equipment and furniture, operating from offices in La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija.

In plain terms, a business that cannot afford to buy a truck or a machine outright comes to BISA Leasing, which buys the asset and rents it back under a contract — typically ending with the customer buying it at a residual price. The company was founded on 6 April 1993.

Who owns it

BISA Leasing S.A. is a subsidiary of Grupo Financiero BISA S.A., the holding company that, from 1 November 2017, became the controlling entity of the group — a restructuring carried out in compliance with ASFI Resolution 1248/2017 of 30 October 2017. The group also comprises Banco BISA S.A., La Vitalicia Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., BISA Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., BISA Sociedad de Titularización S.A., BISA S.A. Agencia de Bolsa, BISA Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Inversión S.A., and Almacenes Internacionales S.A. RAISA.

Not published: the exact percentage of Grupo Financiero BISA S.A.’s stake in BISA Leasing, and the public free-float, are not disclosed in the BBV ficha (bbv.com.bo/Media/Default/Archivos/Fichas/BIL_CAR.pdf), the ASFI bond prospectuses, or the group’s half-year financial statements. Bolivian securities regulations under ASFI’s Recopilación de Normas para Servicios Financieros require listed companies to disclose the ownership structure in their annual report (memoria anual); the 2024 memoria (bisaleasing.com/documentos/MEMORIA_2024.pdf) was located but could not be parsed due to an SSL certificate failure at time of writing.

Who runs it

Hugo Sarmiento Kohlenberger serves as President of the board (Directorio) of BISA Leasing S.A., as confirmed in the company’s 2024 annual report. Jorge Luis Fiori Campero chairs the Supervisory Board (Supervisores de Negocios).

Not published: the name of the Gerente General (chief executive) is referenced in ASFI bond prospectuses as the officer who, jointly with a board director, sets the terms of each bond issuance, but the individual’s name does not appear in the web-accessible portions of those prospectuses or in the group’s published filings. The ASFI tarjeta page (appweb.asfi.gob.bo) for BISA Leasing was not accessible at the time of writing.

The money, in plain words

At year-end 2022 — the most recent audited year whose figures are verifiable from the company’s own filing — BISA Leasing held a gross lease portfolio of US$61.69 million (≈ Bs 423 million at then-prevailing rates), with loans in arrears of only US$0.45 million and a full-year accumulated profit of US$196 thousand. That razor-thin profit on a $62 million book reflects the high cost of bond-funded borrowing in a tight-margin, regulated sector.

Not published: full income-statement figures (revenue, net profit, net margin, return on equity) for 2023 or 2024 could not be extracted from primary sources. The ASFI-filed Bonos BISA Leasing VI prospectus and the BBV company card both exist as PDFs, but neither was parseable from the web.

A commercial data aggregator (EMIS) notes that BISA Leasing reported net-income growth of approximately 17% in 2025, while total assets contracted by 5.7% — directional signals, not audited figures. The 2024 annual report, when fully accessible, should carry the definitive balance sheet and income statement.

What it is doing now

The most recent publicly confirmed transaction is the 100% placement of the first issuance under the Bonos BISA Leasing VII programme, celebrated at the Bolsa Boliviana de Valores — structured and placed by BISA S.A. Agencia de Bolsa, the group’s in-house capital-markets arm. The preceding programme, Bonos BISA Leasing VI, carried a maximum authorised amount of US$60 million.

Across the BISA group, the 2024 operating environment was demanding — Bolivia’s GDP grew only 1.6%, foreign-currency reserves were tight, and inflation hit 9.97% by year-end — yet group companies reported solid results by leaning on digitisation and a disciplined credit strategy. BISA Leasing’s ability to keep tapping the bond market for fresh funding suggests investors remain comfortable with its credit quality.

What to watch

• Portfolio quality in a stressed economy. Bolivia’s GDP growth slowed sharply in 2024 and inflation nearly hit double digits; businesses under pressure delay equipment payments, raising the risk that non-performing leases climb from their historically low levels.
• Funding cost versus lease rates. BISA Leasing borrows in the bond market and lends those funds as leases. If bond yields rise while regulated lease rates stay capped, the spread — and therefore the profit — shrinks.
• Asset base trajectory. A reported 5.7% contraction in total assets is worth monitoring in the forthcoming 2024 full financials: shrinkage can reflect deliberate portfolio pruning or weakening demand.
• Bonos BISA Leasing VII rollout. The pace of drawdown on the new bond programme will signal whether the company is growing its lease book or simply refinancing existing obligations.
• Disclosure. Bolivia’s financial leasing sector is regulated by ASFI, which mandates annual audited financial statements and regular filings to the BBV. Investors should monitor the BBV ficha and ASFI’s Registro del Mercado de Valores for the 2024 memoria anual once its PDF becomes web-accessible.

This is news, not investment advice.