Banco de la Producción, S.A.

What it is

Banpro is the largest bank in Nicaragua, as measured by total assets, loan portfolio and deposits. It is a commercial bank focused on consumer banking, private banking, corporate banking and electronic payment services, serving several customer segments.

The bank was founded on 11 November 1991 with the stated purpose of intermediating public deposits and investing them across a wide variety of productive and service-sector businesses, to act as a development agent for the country. During the Nicaraguan banking crisis of 2000–2002, BANPRO absorbed the performing loan portfolio of the failed Banco Intercontinental (INTERBANK), while the Central Bank took over the non-performing loans — a move that cemented its leading position.

Who owns it

As of August 2024, the capital of Nueva Tenedora Banpro — the holding company that owns 100% of BANPRO — is distributed approximately as follows: 90.2% belongs to Nueva Holding Banpro, whose principal shareholder is Promerica Financial Corporation, and 9.8% belongs to Activos Financieros de Centroamérica, whose principal shareholder is Grupo ASSA.

Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga is Chairman of Grupo Promerica, the second-largest privately-owned financial group in Central America, with assets of USD 22.67 billion and equity of USD 1.92 billion, present in ten countries. Stanley Motta is Chairman of Grupo ASSA, which holds assets of USD 3.6 billion and equity of USD 1.2 billion and is a regional leader in insurance, mortgages and banking.

Who runs it

Luis Rivas is the CEO of Banpro. The bank’s financial statements are audited by KPMG, S.A., with the board’s approval disclosed in Nicaragua’s official gazette, La Gaceta.

The CFO and board chair are not disclosed in available public sources.

The money, in plain words

In full-year 2024, Banpro earned NIO 1,911 million (USD 52.2 million) in net profit — 14.3% more than it made in 2023. That is a solid result in a small economy: for every córdoba of total financial income the bank generated in the first half of 2024, it kept roughly 18 cents as profit — a net margin of ~17.9% (our calculation from Moody’s Local data), high for a Central American commercial bank.

For every córdoba of shareholders’ equity, the bank earns back about 12 cents a year — a return on equity of 12.1%, which trails the Nicaraguan banking system average of 13.8%. Total income in the first half of 2024 reached NIO 4,677 million (USD 127.7 million), with the net interest margin — the gap between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits — averaging 8.1%, up 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier.

Despite the modest scale of Nicaragua’s economy — the smallest in Central America — the country’s banking system as a whole posts profitability that outpaces regional peers. Analysts attribute this partly to two central-bank policy decisions: the rates the BCN pays banks on sovereign debt they hold, and the rates banks are permitted to charge borrowers.

What it is doing now

In mid-2024, Grupo Promerica and Grupo ASSA completed a corporate reorganisation that created Nueva Tenedora Banpro, a new holding company that owns 100% of both BANPRO and the Banco de Finanzas (BDF) — described as the largest M&A transaction in Nicaragua’s financial sector in recent years. Both banks continue to operate under their own brands and banking licences.

In early 2025, Banpro also launched a new public bond offering (BPRO-24-2025-1) on the Bolsa de Valores de Nicaragua, rated by Moody’s, as part of its fixed-income financing programme of up to USD 20 million. Revenue growth of 9.29% was reported for 2025’s most recent available figures, consistent with the bank’s own mid-2024 projection of approximately 9.6% earnings growth for the full year.

What to watch

• ROE gap: At 12.1%, the bank’s return on equity trails the system average of 13.8%; management has flagged the need to diversify income sources to close that gap.
• Political risk: Analysts note that Nicaraguan banking profits reflect not just market dynamics but also the country’s concentrated banking oligopoly and government economic policy decisions — a structural advantage that could reverse if the political landscape shifts.
• BDF integration: The corporate reorganisation is intended to leverage the combined strengths of Banpro and BDF to deliver a more competitive range of products and services; how well the two cultures merge will be a key test for management.
• Bond market: As an issuer rather than an equity listing, Banpro’s creditworthiness — tracked by Moody’s Local Nicaragua — is the primary lens for debt investors holding the bank’s NIO/USD-denominated bonds.

This is news, not investment advice.