Banco de Guayaquil S.A.

What it is

Banco Guayaquil is a full-service bank based in Guayaquil, Ecuador — the country’s second-largest private bank by assets, behind only Banco Pichincha. Its products span savings and current accounts, credit and debit cards, consumer and business loans, export finance, factoring, mortgages, fixed-term deposits, and securities brokerage.

The bank bills itself as Ecuador’s largest financial-services network, with over 5,000 service points and the distinction of being the only Ecuadorian bank rated AAA. Its signature rural-outreach programme, Banco del Barrio — launched in 2008 — turns neighbourhood micro-businesses into basic banking agents, extending reach into communities that formal branches rarely serve.

Who owns it

Banco Guayaquil is a subsidiary of Corporación MultiBG S.A., a private holding company that is the vehicle of the Lasso family of Guayaquil. Guillermo Lasso Mendoza — the former president of Ecuador — chairs Corporación MultiBG S.A., the bank’s controlling shareholder.

The precise share of MultiBG in the bank’s equity is not disclosed in available sources.

Who runs it

Since October 2023, the bank has been led by Guillermo Enrique Lasso Alcívar as Presidente Ejecutivo (CEO), having previously served as Vicepresidente Ejecutivo Gerente General since 2007; he holds an MBA from IDE Business School and studied Economics and Management at Penn State University. Angelo Caputi, who ran the bank as CEO for eleven years from 2012, now chairs the board; his career at the institution spans 33 years, including earlier roles in Finance.

The money, in plain words

Total financial income grew from $886 million in 2023 to $1.035 billion in 2024 — a rise of roughly 17% — driven mainly by interest on consumer loans and higher service fees as the customer base expanded. About 73 cents of every dollar earned came from interest and discounts on loans, with 16 cents from service fees — a diversified mix that reduces dependence on any single revenue line.

The bank keeps roughly 12 cents of profit from each dollar of income — a net margin of about 11.6% (our calculation) — after funding costs rose sharply: total financial expenses climbed from $297 million in 2023 to $394 million in 2024. For every dollar owners put in, it earned about 17 cents back in 2024 — a return on equity (ROE) of approximately 17%, solid for a dollarised-economy lender operating under Ecuador’s tighter-than-average regulatory burden.

Total assets grew from $7.4 billion at end-2023 to roughly $8.2 billion at end-2024, and reached $9.7 billion by end-2025, with the net loan book — at about 68% of assets — as the dominant driver. Loan default (morosidad) stayed near 2% in 2024, among the lowest in the Ecuadorian banking system.

What it is doing now

By the close of 2025 net profit rebounded strongly to $153 million — the highest level in the period studied — as the funding-cost squeeze reversed, operating expenses fell about 3%, and asset recoveries added to income. Return on equity climbed to 13.50% on a return-on-assets (ROA) of 1.31% for 2025 under the filed statements — though the GlobalRatings credit report, drawing on the same audited numbers, places the 2025 ROE above 19%, reflecting different base-equity calculations.

The bank raised $300 million in medium-term international credit lines in 2024, broadening the funding base beyond domestic deposits. In February 2026, GlobalRatings reaffirmed its AAA rating on the bank’s eleventh green-bond emission, citing robust credit-scoring models and a four-stage lending process — origination, monitoring, administration, and collection.

What to watch

• Leadership continuity: Guillermo Lasso Alcívar is only a year into the top role; how he navigates Ecuador’s volatile political economy will define the next chapter of a 100-year-old institution.
• Asset quality: The loan book grew 18% in 2025; faster growth raises the question of whether the current low default rate holds as the portfolio seasons.
• Regulatory squeeze: Ecuador’s financial sector faces rising tax and regulatory burdens that compress margins; Banco Guayaquil was not immune in 2024, which contributed to the dip in net profit.
• Market-share gains: The bank lifted its share of the national loan market to 13.2% in 2025 from 12.5% in 2024, and its share of deposits to 12.73% — worth watching to see whether organic momentum or price competition drives the next leg.

This is news, not investment advice.