Banco Pichincha

What it is

Banco Pichincha del Perú is a subsidiary of Grupo Pichincha of Ecuador, which backs the bank and is expected to continue doing so. Customer deposits are its main funding source, making up 72.6% of total assets — above the banking-system average of 68.8%.

The bank has been actively shifting its funding mix toward cheaper, more stable current and savings accounts, growing that share from 27.7% in December 2022 to 43.1% by June 2025, though the main challenges ahead include executing its strategic plan in a competitive market and maintaining adequate capital ratios.

In Peru’s highly concentrated banking market — where the four largest banks control more than 80% of loans combined — Banco Pichincha holds a 2.2% share of total lending, ranking seventh by loan book size.

Who owns it

The controlling shareholder group is Grupo Pichincha: Banco Pichincha C.A. of Ecuador holds 43.8% of the share capital, and Confía Capital Holdings S.L.U.

— a Spanish entity also part of Grupo Pichincha — holds a further 36.4%. That leaves roughly 19.8% with public shareholders (our calculation).

The parent has repeatedly injected fresh capital: S/53.8 (US$16)M in 2022, S/186.3 (US$55)M in 2023, and S/83.5 (US$25)M in 2024 — each round underscoring how seriously the Ecuadorian group treats its Peruvian franchise. Banco Pichincha C.A.

itself carries a Fitch international rating of CCC+, a ceiling set by Ecuador’s own sovereign credit standing rather than the bank’s intrinsic strength.

Who runs it

Renzo Ricci Cocchella has been CEO (Gerente General) since 1 June 2024, appointed by the board after his predecessor Gustavo Delgado-Aparicio resigned. Ricci Cocchella brings more than 28 years in financial services, most recently as CEO of Prima AFP within the Credicorp group.

The board chair also holds the presidency of several related entities within the Pichincha ecosystem, including Macrocapitales SAFI. External auditor for 2025 is Velásquez, Loli y Asociados S.C.R.L., a member of Deloitte.

The money, in plain words

Full-year 2024 was a loss year: Banco Pichincha posted a negative return on equity of –5.1%, one of only two banks in Peru’s entire system to end 2024 in the red, alongside Ripley. The 2024 results were hit hard by an unusually large loan-loss charge, which included S/21.6 (US$6)M in voluntary precautionary provisions on top of required amounts.

By the first half of 2025, the bank swung back: net profit of PEN 24.9M (~USD 7.3M), against a net loss of PEN 32.8 (US$10)M in the same period of 2024, with return on equity (ROE) recovering to 4.2% and return on assets (ROA) to 0.5%. That is still well below the Peruvian banking system’s ROE of 19.6% for H1-2025, leaving meaningful ground to recover.

Loan quality remains a pressure point: the bank’s non-performing loan ratio stood at 6.75% at end-2024, nearly double the system average of 3.8%. By June 2025, gross loans were PEN 8,063M (~USD 2.37B), down 3.8% from December 2024 — a deliberate shrinkage, not distress.

What it is doing now

Since 2023 the bank has been running a strategic reset: exiting small-business (MYPE) lending, shedding high-risk consumer loans, and closing non-essential branches — a deliberate trade of volume for quality. Operating costs fell 16.87% year-on-year in H1-2025, pushing the cost-to-income ratio to 33.0%, below both the 36.75% the bank itself recorded in 2024 and the banking-system average of 36.86%.

At the close of H1-2025, the bank reported a net profit of PEN 24.9 (US$7)M, driven mainly by a PEN 244 (US$72)M reduction in loan-loss charges compared to the prior year. Rating agencies project provisioning costs to stabilise, which would support a positive full-year 2025 result.

What to watch

• Capital buffer: Banco Pichincha’s capital ratio stood at 13% at end-2024, among the lowest in Peru’s banking system — serviceable but thin. Any fresh setback in loan quality would revive the need for another parent injection.
• Loan quality: Non-performing loan ratios improved between June 2024 and June 2025 but remain significantly above the banking system average — the strategic clean-up is real but incomplete.
• Parent risk: Grupo Pichincha’s flagship Ecuadorian bank carries a CCC+ international rating, constrained by Ecuador’s sovereign ceiling — a geopolitical or macroeconomic shock in Ecuador could limit how much support flows south to Lima.
• Profit trajectory: 2025 is shaping up as the first full profitable year since 2022; sustaining that will determine whether the stock — currently one of the exchange’s least-traded banking shares — attracts any fresh attention.

This is news, not investment advice.