COOFY LTDA.

What it is

COOFY is a not-for-profit savings, lending and services cooperative dedicated to extending credit across segments including consumer, housing and small-business loans. It also offers credit cards and takes in savings deposits to fund its lending activities.

It started life in 2003 as a staff association with 74 members; growth in membership led to its conversion into a full cooperative, which received legal status from Paraguay’s national cooperative regulator (INCOOP) in March 2006. Its formal name ties it directly to the Entidad Binacional Yacyretá (EBY), the binational dam authority jointly operated by Paraguay and Argentina, and its main office sits inside the dam’s administrative compound in Villa Permanente, Ayolas.

Who owns it

COOFY is a member-owned cooperative — there are no private shareholders or controlling families. Membership is open primarily to permanent and contracted employees of the Entidad Binacional Yacyretá, as well as their spouses, children and siblings.

At December 2024 the cooperative had 1,659 active members across its three locations.

As a cooperative, every member holds one vote regardless of their savings balance; there is no free float, no majority shareholder, and no traded equity. Names of the governing council (Consejo de Administración) are not disclosed in available sources.

Who runs it

The cooperative is governed by an elected Consejo de Administración under Paraguay’s cooperative law. Its strategic plan for 2023–2025 sets four central goals across the dimensions of human talent, internal processes, member relations and financial performance.

The names of the current president of the council and the general manager are not disclosed in available sources.

The money, in plain words

Members’ combined equity — the cooperative’s own capital cushion — grew 6.13% in 2024 to Gs. 31,163 million (~$5.15 million USD), lifting the solvency ratio (equity as a share of total assets) from 18.15% to 18.80%.

That is below the 20% minimum set by the regulator, a persistent pressure point.

The cooperative earned a net surplus of Gs. 2,883 million (~$476,000 USD) in 2024 — a return on equity of 12.50% — meaning for every guaraní of members’ capital, it generated about 12.5 guaraníes of surplus annually, which is adequate for a cooperative of this type.

However, the rating agency flags high administrative costs relative to operating income — administrative spending consumed 63% of the operating margin in 2024 — and an elevated reliance on external financial borrowing.

Loan quality improved sharply: delinquent loans over 60 days fell 36% to Gs. 4,664 million, pulling the non-performing loan ratio from 5.94% to 3.83% — a meaningful cleaning of the book.

Liquidity, measured as available cash and short-term investments as a share of total savings, rose from 19.98% to 22.65%.

What it is doing now

The most material recent move was a deliberate reduction in bond debt. COOFY made an early redemption of Series 1 of its PEG G1 bond programme — buying back Gs.

10,000 million (~$1.65 million USD) in bonds that were not due until December 2026 — cutting the ratio of bond debt to total liabilities from 35.37% to 26.34%.

The Superintendencia de Valores (Paraguay’s securities regulator) imposed an automatic suspension on COOFY’s ability to place new bonds in the primary market in April 2024, after the cooperative failed to submit its audited annual accounts for year-end 2023 on time. The December 2024 credit rating — which draws on fully audited 2024 figures — suggests the filing backlog has since been addressed, but the episode is a governance flag investors should not ignore.

What to watch

• Solvency floor: Equity/assets of 18.80% sits below the regulatory minimum of 20%; any asset growth not matched by retained surplus will widen this gap.
• Cost discipline: Administrative costs at 63% of operating margin leave thin room for error; the strategic plan’s “human talent” and “internal processes” pillars will be tested here.
• Membership ceiling: Eligibility is limited to EBY employees, their spouses, children and siblings — a structural cap on growth that no strategy document can override.
• Filing compliance: The 2024 regulatory suspension was a serious warning; timely submission of the 2024 audited accounts is the clearest near-term signal of improved governance.
• Bond refinancing: The early buyback of Series 1 removed a 2026 liability; whether COOFY re-taps the bond market — and at what cost — will reveal how credit markets now price its pyBBB standing.

This is news, not investment advice.