Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A.

What it is

Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A. is the local holding company listed on the BNV that groups together all of Davivienda’s Costa Rican financial businesses under one roof: a commercial bank, an insurance broker, a leasing company, a securities broker, and a full insurer.

The group traces its roots in Costa Rica to January 2012, when the Colombian parent bought HSBC’s Costa Rican, Salvadoran, and Honduran banking operations for roughly US$801 million — with the Costa Rica franchise alone valued at about US$300 million — giving Davivienda an instant, sizable foothold in the country.

Who owns it

The ultimate controller is Banco Davivienda S.A. of Colombia, itself the main banking arm of Grupo Bolívar, the Bogotá-based financial conglomerate founded by the Michelsen Uribe family in 1939; the group is one of Colombia’s largest private financial groups.

In 2023 the Colombian parent created Holding Davivienda Internacional S.A. (incorporated in Panama) as an intermediate holding layer to structurally unite its Central American subsidiaries — including the Costa Rica corporation — under a single international vehicle; the exact ownership percentage of DAVICORP.CR held through that chain is not disclosed separately in available sources.

Who runs it

Javier Suárez is the President and CEO of Banco Davivienda S.A. (the Colombian parent), the key decision-maker for strategy across the group including the Costa Rica operations; the names of the CEO and chair specifically of Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A. are not disclosed in available sources.

The audited financial statements of the Costa Rica holding are prepared in compliance with CONASSIF, SUGEF, SUGEVAL, and SUGESE regulations, and are audited by KPMG.

The money, in plain words

The consolidated audited financial statements for Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A. are published on davivienda.cr in PDF form but could not be accessed for specific figures in this research session; revenue, net profit, margins, and return on equity for the Costa Rica holding are therefore not disclosed in available sources.

At the group-consolidated level, the Colombian parent Banco Davivienda ended 2024 with a net profit of COP 853,000 million (roughly US$193 million at the year-end rate), a strong recovery after a difficult 2023, driven by lower funding costs and higher income from its currency and derivatives strategy.

What it is doing now

The defining event for the Costa Rica franchise is a landmark deal signed on 6 January 2025: Davivienda agreed to absorb Scotiabank’s operations in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama, with Scotiabank receiving approximately 20% of the combined entity in return and a seat on the board.

If regulators approve — approvals from Costa Rican authorities are still pending as of mid-2025 — the transaction would roughly double Davivienda’s size in Costa Rica and add approximately 2.8 million new customers across all three countries; the Scotiabank brand in Costa Rica would eventually be retired.

What to watch

• Regulatory green light in Costa Rica: local supervisory approval of the Scotiabank absorption is the single biggest near-term event; its timing and conditions will determine how quickly the group can act.
• Integration costs vs. scale gains: merging two banks is expensive and operationally complex; the market will watch whether the combined entity’s efficiency — the share of income consumed by running costs — improves or worsens in 2025–2026.
• Financial disclosure: DAVICORP.CR’s own consolidated revenue and profit figures remain difficult to access in machine-readable form; improved investor-relations transparency on the BNV would close that gap.
• Digital positioning: Davivienda’s parent has flagged Costa Rica as its most digitally sophisticated market; how the combined bank exploits that edge against the state-owned Banco Nacional and BCR will shape medium-term profitability.

This is news, not investment advice.

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Here is the rendered profile:

What it is

Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A. is the local holding company listed on the BNV that groups together all of Davivienda’s Costa Rican financial businesses: a commercial bank, an insurance broker, a leasing company, a securities broker, and a full insurer.

The group traces its roots in Costa Rica to January 2012, when the Colombian parent bought HSBC’s Costa Rican, Salvadoran, and Honduran banking operations for roughly US$801 million, with the Costa Rica franchise alone valued at approximately US$300 million — giving Davivienda an instant, sizable foothold in the country.

Who owns it

The ultimate controller is Banco Davivienda S.A. of Colombia. The BNV describes it as a Colombian company born in 1972, identified as an innovative and solid bank offering efficient financial services to families and businesses across all sectors.

In 2023, the Colombian parent established Holding Davivienda Internacional, based in Panama, to structurally unite and manage its Central American subsidiaries in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras. The exact ownership percentage of DAVICORP.CR held through that chain is not disclosed separately in available sources.

Who runs it

Javier Suárez is the President and CEO of Banco Davivienda S.A., the Colombian parent, and the key strategic decision-maker across the group. In media interviews he has described the Scotiabank integration as representing “the consolidation of an opportunity to deliver better services to our clients.”

The names of the CEO and chair specifically of Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A. are not disclosed in available sources. The consolidated audited financial statements of the Costa Rica holding are prepared in compliance with CONASSIF, SUGEF, SUGEVAL, and SUGESE regulations, and audited under International Standards on Auditing.

The money, in plain words

The consolidated audited financial statements for Corporación Davivienda (Costa Rica) S.A. are published on davivienda.cr but could not be accessed for specific revenue, profit, or balance-sheet figures in this research session; the key financial metrics for the Costa Rica holding are therefore not disclosed in available sources.

At the group-consolidated level, Banco Davivienda ended 2024 with a net profit of COP 853,000 million (US$1.9 bn), reflecting better behaviour in financial costs, higher income from its currency and derivatives strategy, and a favourable trend in non-financial income — a meaningful recovery from a difficult prior year. The consolidated loan book closed at COP 145.5 trillion (US$323.1 bn), up 7.0% year-on-year, driven by commercial and housing portfolios in Colombia and commercial and consumer lending in Central America.

What it is doing now

On 6 January 2025, Banco Davivienda signed an agreement with The Bank of Nova Scotia to integrate Scotiabank’s operations in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama into its business; Scotiabank will remain involved by becoming a shareholder with approximately 20% of the total combined operations, with participation in the board.

The acquisition of Scotiabank Costa Rica’s operations will make Davivienda roughly double its size in the country and diversify its loan portfolio. The transaction is expected to add 2.8 million customers to Davivienda across all three markets.

Implementation is subject to regulatory approvals in each jurisdiction, which were expected in the second half of 2025.