Context: How Bolsa Boliviana de Valores works, and what it makes issuers disclose · Bolivia on the LatAm Power Map
Bolivia’s smallest listed bank was bleeding for six straight years — and then a little-known holding company quietly bought control and became its lifeline. Whether that is rescue or gamble is the question every investor in this tiny institution must now answer.
| Key Facts | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. |
| Ticker / exchange | BCO.BO — Bolsa Boliviana de Valores (BBV) |
| Headquarters | Av. Ballivián No. 0576, Cochabamba, Bolivia |
| Sector | Small and medium-enterprise banking |
| Employees | 186 (31 Dec 2024); 181 (30 Jun 2025) |
| Total assets | Bs 621.7 m (~$63.1 m) at 31 Dec 2024 |
| Financial income (H1 2024, annualised) | ~Bs 52.5 m (~$5.3 m) — our calculation |
| Net result, full year 2024 | Bs +1.1 m (~$112 k) — marginally positive; our calculation from audited equity movements |
| Net return on equity (ROE), 2024 | ~2.1% — our calculation; structurally weak |
| Shareholders’ equity | Bs 52.4 m (~$5.3 m) at 31 Dec 2024 |
| Credit-loss ratio (mora) | 15.1% (Sep 2025, AESA Ratings) vs. ~3% system average |
| Issuer credit rating | BB+ “en desarrollo” — AESA Ratings (Sep 2025) |
| Dividend yield | Nil — no dividend paid; accumulated deficit of Bs 13.1 m (~$1.3 m) |
| Website | bco.com.bo |
What it is
Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. was founded on 12 July 1996 as a private financial fund, receiving its operating licence on 5 September 1996 and opening its first branch in Cochabamba nine days later. Under Bolivia’s Financial Services Law No. 393, it converted into a full Banco PyME in July 2014.
Its core purpose is lending to small and medium-sized businesses — though it may also serve microentrepreneurs without restriction. Of the 14 banks that list securities on the Bolsa Boliviana de Valores, it is the only one currently reporting losses.
The bank operates offices in Cochabamba, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and La Paz, with a network of two full branches and seven agencies across the country — a notably thin footprint for a nationally licensed institution.
Who owns it
On 22 September 2025, COBOCE R.L. transferred 3,300,290 ordinary shares to NESAB S.R.L., representing 54.16% of the bank’s capital; Bolivia’s financial regulator ASFI acknowledged the operation on 26 September.
Combined with earlier purchases, NESAB thereby consolidated an 80.26% stake in the bank.
Eduardo Valdivia Zambrana is the majority owner of NESAB, holding 99.25% of that holding company. COBOCE R.L.
had been trying to sell its position since 2019 — the same year losses began — and it took six years to find a buyer, against a backdrop of documented erosion of the bank’s net worth.
Who runs it
The General Manager is Samuel Rodríguez S., and operations are led by Nilda Sotéz V. as National Operations Manager (acting).
The controlling shareholder NESAB is itself majority-owned by Eduardo Valdivia Zambrana, making him the effective principal of the institution. The board composition was updated following the September 2025 ownership transfer and is subject to ASFI approval of new directors.
The money, in plain words
The bank recorded uninterrupted net losses from at least 2019 through 2023, with a cumulative deficit over that span of Bs 73.1 m (~$7.4 m); shareholders’ equity shrank 42.6% — from Bs 91.2 m to Bs 52.3 m — between 2018 and 2024. The year 2024 itself produced a bare recovery: the audited accounts show net equity rising by roughly Bs 1.1 m (~$112 k) — a return on equity of about 2.1% (our calculation) — a fragile turnaround supported partly by capital injections, not by operating strength.
Rating agency AESA Ratings assigns the bank a BB+ issuer rating “en desarrollo” (under review), flagging a loan default rate of 15.1% and a loan-restructuring rate of 43.3% — both far above the Bolivian banking system’s average. The share of written-off loans stands at 6.3% against an industry average of 3.6%.
In the first half of 2025, interest income grew only 3.2% to Bs 27.1 m; but administration costs held at Bs 21.5 m and fresh bad-debt charges reached Bs 9.5 m, producing a net loss of Bs 3.4 m (~$345 k) for the half-year. The interest margin does not yet cover operating costs — the fundamental problem the new owner inherited.
What it is doing now
The shareholders approved a Bs 34.3 m capitalisation plan in 2023; only two tranches — Bs 3.7 m and Bs 5.5 m — have actually been paid in as of July 2024, with the remainder not yet materialised. NESAB had Bs 23.4 m (~$2.4 m) in segregated “transit deposits” on its own balance sheet at end-2024, which appear earmarked for future injections, suggesting the new owner intends to keep funding the bank through 2025–2026.
As of February 2026, the bank had not yet convened a shareholder meeting to approve its 2025 full-year financial statements — unlike every other entity in the Bolivian banking system; that silence is itself a signal.
What to watch
- Capital completion. The unpaid tranches of the Bs 34.3 m plan are the single most important near-term test of NESAB’s commitment and financial capacity.
- Shrinking balance sheet. Total assets contracted from Bs 621.7 m at December 2024 to Bs 596.9 m by September 2025 — a Bs 24.8 m (~$2.5 m) reduction in nine months. A further slide would raise solvency questions.
- Loan quality. A 15.1% default rate and 43.3% restructured portfolio must improve before the bank can earn its way back to health; watch ASFI’s quarterly bulletins for trend direction.
- Rating trajectory. AESA Ratings’ “en desarrollo” outlook means the next review could move the BB+ either way; a downgrade would raise the bank’s borrowing costs and tighten its room to manoeuvre.
- Full-year 2025 accounts. Their delayed publication is the immediate litmus test of governance quality under the new ownership structure.
Sources
- Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. — Audited Semi-Annual Financial Statements, 30 June 2025 (with 31 Dec 2024 comparatives) — primary source, balance sheet and income statement data used directly.
- Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. — Audited Annual Financial Statements, 31 December 2024 — primary source, capital and audit opinion.
- Bolsa Boliviana de Valores — Ficha de Emisor: Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. (as at 31 Jan 2026) — shareholder structure and registered details.
- ASFI (Autoridad de Supervisión del Sistema Financiero) — Registro del Mercado de Valores — Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. — regulatory filings and management disclosures.
- Bermejo Informa — “Banco Pyme de la Comunidad, el único que pierde” (20 Feb 2026) — investigative report based on public financial statements, ASFI filings, shareholder records and AESA Ratings data.
- Market data: EODHD. FX rate: 1 USD = 9.85 BOB (live rate supplied).
This is news, not investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Banco PyME de la Comunidad and when was it founded?
Banco PyME de la Comunidad S.A. is a Bolivian bank focused on lending to small and medium-sized businesses, headquartered in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It was founded on 12 July 1996 as a private financial fund and converted into a full Banco PyME in July 2014 under Bolivia's Financial Services Law No. 393.
How has Banco PyME de la Comunidad performed financially in recent years?
The bank suffered six consecutive years of losses before returning to marginal profitability in 2024, posting a net result of approximately Bs 1.1 million (~$112,000). Despite this, it carries an accumulated deficit of Bs 13.1 million (~$1.3 million), pays no dividend, and achieved a structurally weak return on equity of roughly 2.1% in 2024.
What are the key credit risk concerns for Banco PyME de la Comunidad?
The bank's credit-loss ratio (mora) stood at 15.1% as of September 2025, compared to a system average of approximately 3%, signaling significantly elevated loan default risk. AESA Ratings assigned the bank an issuer credit rating of BB+ 'en desarrollo' as of September 2025, reflecting its ongoing financial vulnerabilities.
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