Banco Ganadero S.A.

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What it is

Banco Ganadero is a Bolivian bank headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, focused primarily on corporate employees and formal-sector clients. It provides short-, medium-, and long-term loans under high quality standards, reaching Bolivia’s main productive sectors: commerce, animal husbandry, industry, services, and agriculture.

The bank counts 37 physical branches and 160 ATMs across the country. Its head office is in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, with four full state-level branches in La Paz, Cochabamba, Beni, and Tarija, and agencies in all nine departments of Bolivia, including rural offices in smaller towns such as Montero, Okinawa, and Riberalta.

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Who owns it

The bank is controlled by Sociedad Controladora Ganadero S.A., a holding company whose related entities include Alianza Compañía de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., Nacional Seguros Vida y Salud S.A., and Seguros y Reaseguros Credinform International S.A. Banco Ganadero is linked to the Monasterio family, who own several businesses including the national television network Unitel.

The Memoria Anual 2024 is signed by Fernando Monasterio Nieme as board President (“Presidente del Directorio”), confirming the family’s direct governance role. The exact percentage ownership held by Sociedad Controladora Ganadero S.A. and the free float are not disclosed in available sources.

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Who runs it

J. Ronald Gutiérrez López is the Gerente General — that is, the chief executive — of Banco Ganadero S.A. He has held the post since July 2003.

Gutiérrez holds a degree and master’s in economics from the University of Campinas (Brazil).

In March 2025, Gutiérrez was elected president of Bolivia’s Association of Private Banks (Asoban) for the 2025–2026 term — a sign of the standing the bank holds within Bolivia’s financial system. The senior management team also includes Mauricio Eguez Flambury (Transformation), José Edgardo Cuellar Crespo (Digital Business and Marketing), and Carlos Melchor Díaz Villavicencio (Retail Banking), among others.

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The money, in plain words

The bank’s net profit for 2024 was US$56.2 million — US$31.4 million more than the year before, nearly doubling. The net financial margin — the spread between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits — came to US$197.6 million, up 146% from the prior year.

For every dollar of that financial income, the bank kept about 28 cents as profit after tax — a net margin of roughly 28%, very high for a commercial bank.

For every dollar shareholders have put in, the bank generated about 26 cents of annual profit — a return on equity (ROE) of approximately 26.3% (our calculation: US$56.2m / US$214m equity), well above the Bolivian banking system average. Total equity (patrimonio) reached US$214 million, growing by US$46 million (+27.5%) in 2024 through capitalised profits.

Tax payments — income tax, additional income tax, and uncompensated VAT combined — consumed more than 50% of pre-tax profits, making Bolivia’s fiscal burden one of the bank’s most significant costs.

The capital adequacy ratio at December 2024 was 11.08% — above the regulatory minimum, meaning the bank holds sufficient reserves against its loans. Despite positive results, the bank operated in a challenging environment shaped by Bolivia’s economic slowdown and pressure on bank liquidity, especially in dollar-denominated deposits.

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What it is doing now

In 2023, Banco Ganadero was one of nine banks that received assets from the liquidated Banco Fassil, Bolivia’s most dramatic recent banking failure; integration of that acquired loan portfolio continued through 2024 with selective substitutions of problem credits. A new subordinated bond programme — Bonos Banco Ganadero II — was registered with ASFI’s securities register in early 2026 (ASFI/DSV-ED-BGA-005/2026), raising fresh long-term funding to strengthen the bank’s capital.

By December 2025, net profit had fallen to Bs 299.7 million (approximately US$43.8m at the prevailing rate), down 22% from 2024, driven by lower returns on short-term investments after public-sector yields declined. The average headcount also shrank from 1,391 in 2024 to 1,279 in 2025, reflecting a tighter cost posture as margins came under pressure.

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What to watch

• Bolivia’s dollar crunch. The IMF projected Bolivia’s growth at just 0.6% for 2025, with inflation near 20% and a meaningful risk of stagflation. A bank whose profits rose sharply when financial margins widened will feel the reverse if that gap narrows again.
• Tax burden. Bolivia’s combined tax take — income tax, surcharge, and uncompensated VAT — already consumed over half the bank’s pre-tax profit in 2024. Any further tightening would hit returns hard.
• Loan quality and the Fassil legacy. The bank reported no single borrower in arrears for more than 90 days above the capital-exposure threshold at December 2024, but system-wide non-performing loans are rising; the Fassil-acquired book adds latent credit risk to watch.
• Ownership transparency. The exact shareholding percentages within Sociedad Controladora Ganadero S.A. and the bank’s free float are not publicly disclosed, which limits minority investors’ ability to assess governance risk.

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This is news, not investment advice.