Banco de Bogotá S.A.

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What it is

Founded by Salomón Koppel on 15 November 1870, Banco de Bogotá is the oldest commercial bank in Colombia — and it has used that 155-year head start to build a business covering personal loans, mortgages, corporate credit, brokerage, leasing, trust management, and pensions across Colombia and Panama.

It is the universal bank of Grupo Aval, with the third-largest individual market share in Colombia at around 14%; the bank itself says it holds second place overall in Colombia, having gained 98 basis points of market share in 2024.

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Who owns it

Grupo Aval holds a 68.9% ownership stake in Banco de Bogotá — meaning the listed shares are a minority float inside a tightly controlled conglomerate. Grupo Aval is itself controlled by Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, who indirectly owns roughly 80% of Grupo Aval’s shares.

His control — calculated at 81.2% of total shares in circulation — has been registered at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce since February 2003. The Sarmiento family therefore sits at the apex of a two-tier pyramid: they control Grupo Aval, which controls the bank.

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Who runs it

César Prado has been President (CEO) of Banco de Bogotá since 2023, and sits on the boards of Porvenir, Multi Financial Group, and Multi Financial Holding; previously he was President of Banco de Occidente, Administrative Vice-president of Banco de Bogotá, and — critically for a bank — Financial Superintendent of Colombia.

Juan Carlos Echeverry serves as Chairman of the Board, while the role of Chief Financial Officer and Strategy is held by an executive who has served in the bank since 2017, leading Strategy and Profitability before being appointed Vice-president of Finance and Strategy in 2023. The auditor is KPMG S.A.S.

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The money, in plain words

In 2024, the standalone bank earned a net profit of COP 1.129 trillion (≈ USD 327 million), up 10.1%; on a fully consolidated basis — pulling in all subsidiaries — the figure was COP 1.090 trillion (≈ USD 316 million), up 14.3% on the year.

The profit improvement was driven by a 4.2% rise in net interest income, supported by disciplined loan growth and a loan-loss provision bill that rose by only 1.1% — the bank’s relatively conservative loan book keeping credit costs contained. Annualised return on average equity stood at roughly 10.2% in early 2024 — for every 100 pesos of owners’ equity, the bank earns about 10 pesos a year, a return that trails pre-2022 levels but is recovering.

Total consolidated assets reached COP 146.97 trillion (≈ USD 42.6 billion) by the third quarter of 2024, up 6% year-on-year, and the market put a value of COP 9.56 trillion (US$2.8 bn) on the listed shares as of December 2024 (≈ USD 2.77 billion at that date) — though the stock has since recovered, with current market capitalisation near COP 14.49 trillion (≈ USD 4.2 billion, our calculation). In 2024, the bank closed the year with a sustainable-loan portfolio of more than COP 19 trillion (US$5.5 bn), up 37% — a rapidly growing line that speaks to ESG investor interest.

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What it is doing now

The single biggest recent move is an acquisition that reshapes the competitive map: in December 2024, Grupo Aval completed internal restructuring moves, and separately, the bank announced it had acquired Itaú’s retail banking division in Colombia and Panama, adding 270,000 clients to its portfolio — its largest inorganic step in years. Meanwhile, management is targeting 14% total loan growth for 2026 and aiming for a net interest margin of roughly 4.7%, with CEO Echeverry pointing to digital channels as the engine.

On the green-finance side, the bank’s climate-aligned loan book reached COP 4.8 trillion (US$1.4 bn) in 2024, an 84.6% jump from 2023, positioning it ahead of Colombian peers on sustainability metrics tracked by MSCI and S&P Global’s CSA.

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What to watch

• Rate cycle: Funding costs are expected to ease only gradually as the central bank cuts its benchmark rate; a faster easing would expand the bank’s net interest margin and push ROE back toward historical highs.
• Itaú integration: Absorbing 270,000 new retail clients in two countries is an operational test; execution risk is real and will show up in cost and credit-quality ratios through 2025-26.
• Pyramid discount: With Grupo Aval holding 68.9% and Sarmiento controlling Grupo Aval, minority shareholders are two steps from the decision-maker; any change in family strategy — or in Colombian financial-conglomerate regulation — lands directly on the share price.
• Colombia macro: Low GDP growth and persistent inflation remain ongoing challenges for loan demand and asset quality across the entire Colombian banking sector.

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This is news, not investment advice.