Costa Rica Cooperatives Back US$3.6B Merger
COSTA RICA · BANKING
Key Facts
- —The country Costa Rica, a Central American country that uses the colón, supervises its savings and credit cooperatives through the financial regulator Sugef alongside its banks.
- —Why it matters The merged group would be the largest cooperative lender in the country and bigger than some private banks, which changes competition for savers and borrowers in colones.
- —Why now Delegates of both cooperatives voted on Saturday 17 October 2026, and the regulators have not yet ruled.
- —What happened The assemblies of Coopenae and CoopeAnde each approved a merger by absorption, with Coopenae as the surviving entity and CoopeAnde dissolved.
- —The numbers Combined assets are about 1.62 trillion colones (about US$3.58 billion), made up of 948.2 billion colones (about US$2.09 billion) at Coopenae and 674.2 billion colones (about US$1.49 billion) at CoopeAnde in July 2026.
- —What it means for you Members, depositors and borrowers keep their products and contract terms while approvals are pending, and US readers with money or loans in Costa Rica should expect no change yet.
- —Still open Approval by Sugef, Conassif and Coprocom, the exact timing, the branch and staffing plan, and the future role of the CoopeAnde manager.
- —Power Index Costa Rica ranks 9th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 36.5 points (October 2026 edition).
The Costa Rica cooperatives merger moved a step closer on Saturday 17 October 2026, when delegates of Coopenae and CoopeAnde voted to join the two savings and credit cooperatives into one. Coopenae would absorb CoopeAnde, and the combined group would hold about 1.62 trillion colones (about US$3.58 billion) in assets on the regulator’s July 2026 data.
For US readers with money, a mortgage or a business in Costa Rica, the deal would create the country’s largest cooperative lender and a bigger rival to private banks. The sources reviewed do not say how many members are foreign residents, so any effect on them is not known.
The approval came from two extraordinary assemblies at the Costa Rica Convention Center, according to La Nación, which said the result was announced after five in the afternoon. CRHoy, Diario Extra and El Financiero all report the vote and the same regulatory path.
What Delegates Approved
The vote was for a merger by absorption, in which one company takes over another, the absorbed company is dissolved and its assets, rights and obligations pass to the survivor. Coopenae is the surviving entity, CoopeAnde would disappear as a legal entity, and the combined organization would operate under the Coopenae brand.
Delegates of each cooperative voted in their own assembly, and the reports confirm the approval in both. The sources reviewed do not publish the vote counts or the number of delegates present.
Adrián Álvarez, general manager of Coopenae, called the approval a concrete step toward consolidation and said the cooperatives now move through the regulatory stages with responsibility. Alexandra Márquez Massino, general manager of CoopeAnde, said the decision answers a long-term vision in the face of technological change.
The Size of the Combined Group
On Sugef data for July 2026, Coopenae holds 948.2 billion colones (about US$2.09 billion) in assets and CoopeAnde holds 674.2 billion colones (about US$1.49 billion). La Nación says the merged group would be the largest savings and credit cooperative in Costa Rica.
Added together they reach 1.62 trillion colones (about US$3.58 billion), which El Financiero says would make the merged cooperative the fourth-largest private financial intermediary in the country. That would put it ahead of Banco Promérica at 1.35 trillion colones (about US$2.98 billion) and Grupo Mutual at 1.06 trillion colones (about US$2.34 billion).
La Nación uses a different cut-off date, 1 August, with 952.5 billion colones (about US$2.10 billion) for Coopenae and 664.0 billion colones (about US$1.46 billion) for CoopeAnde, and rounds the total to about 1.6 trillion colones (about US$3.5 billion). The two sets agree within rounding, and this article uses the Sugef July figures as its main set.
Conversions in this article use the central bank’s reference selling rate of 453.48 colones per US dollar for Sunday 18 October 2026. Dollar figures are rounded and move with the exchange rate.
What Happens Next in the Costa Rica Cooperatives Merger
The delegates’ vote lets the cooperatives formalize their request to Sugef, the financial regulator, which reviews the plan and then sends it to Conassif, the national council that supervises the financial system, for approval. The merger also needs clearance from Coprocom, the competition commission.
Álvarez told El Financiero he expects the regulatory requirements to be met by December 2026, and the cooperatives say the stages should finish before the end of the year. After that an internal merger process would begin that he said could take one or two years.
Sugef has said the two entities stay under separate supervision until a final decision, according to El Financiero. Both cooperatives say they keep operating normally, with members keeping their current products, services and contracts.
Why the Two Cooperatives Want to Merge
The managers say a larger group could fund investment in technology and corporate governance and meet tougher regulatory demands. The Coopenae manager estimated that winning the same market share on its own could take 10 to 15 years.
CRHoy notes that each cooperative has about 60 years of operating history. The sources do not name a single trigger for the timing beyond the managers’ stated aims of scale and competitiveness.
What Members and Staff Were Told
The managers say that CoopeAnde’s deposits and obligations would move to Coopenae on the terms originally agreed, including term and interest rate. Loans would also move with their agreed conditions, and the two cooperatives together carry a loan portfolio of 1.09 trillion colones (about US$2.40 billion).
Álvarez said CoopeAnde members’ share capital is meant to pass “intact” to Coopenae, with each member’s seniority and assembly rights unchanged. The audited 2025 accounts show member share capital of 100.2 billion colones (about US$221 million) at Coopenae and 85.6 billion colones (about US$189 million) at CoopeAnde.
Coopenae has 798 direct employees and CoopeAnde 437, and the two run 38 branches between them. The Coopenae manager said most staff would stay but that headcount would not stay exactly the same, and that the branches to keep will be decided after the merger is approved because some sit close together.
Álvarez would remain general manager of Coopenae. Márquez Massino is to advise on the integration, and the sources do not say whether she stays afterwards.
What It Means for You
If you hold a savings account, term deposit or loan at either cooperative, the cooperatives say contracts and conditions stay as they are while approvals are pending. Keep your paperwork and watch for notices, because the legal merger comes only after the regulators decide.
For US investors the deal is a sign of consolidation in Costa Rica’s financial sector, where cooperative lenders compete with banks such as Banco Promérica de Costa Rica. Cooperatives are owned by their members, and none of the sources mention a listed security tied to the deal.
Dollar-based savers weigh colón deposits against the exchange rate and local prices, which our reports on the colón against the dollar and Costa Rica’s inflation turning positive track. A larger cooperative changes who competes for those deposits, not the currency they are held in.
What Is Not Known
The sources reviewed do not give the vote counts in either assembly. They also do not say when the cooperatives will file the formal request with Sugef or what the combined staffing will be.
Sugef, Conassif and Coprocom have not ruled, and no decision date has been published. The December 2026 target is the cooperatives’ own expectation and not a regulatory commitment.
How many jobs and which branches will go is undecided, and the future role of CoopeAnde’s manager was not detailed. We could not find the cooperatives’ own statement on their websites, so the account rests on four Costa Rican outlets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Coopenae and CoopeAnde approve?
Delegates of both cooperatives approved on Saturday 17 October 2026 a merger by absorption in which Coopenae survives and CoopeAnde is dissolved. The combined group would operate under the Coopenae brand.
Is the Costa Rica cooperatives merger final?
No, because it still needs approval from Sugef, Conassif and Coprocom. The cooperatives hope to finish those steps before the end of 2026.
How big would the merged cooperative be?
Combined assets are about 1.62 trillion colones (about US$3.58 billion) on Sugef data for July 2026. That would make it the largest savings and credit cooperative and, according to El Financiero, the fourth-largest private financial intermediary.
Do members and depositors lose anything?
The cooperatives say contracts, products and services stay on current terms while approvals are pending. The managers have said deposits and loans would move to Coopenae on the same terms and that members’ share capital would pass over intact.
What does it mean for US readers?
It matters for anyone with money, loans or a business in Costa Rica, because a larger cooperative lender would compete harder with private banks. The sources do not say whether foreign residents are among the members, and none mention a US-listed security.
Sources: CRHoy, 17 October 2026; El Financiero, 18 October 2026; La Nación, 17 October 2026; Diario Extra, 18 October 2026; El Financiero, 17 October 2026; Costa Rica Ministry of Finance, central bank reference exchange rate, 18 October 2026; Sugef, financial regulator of Costa Rica.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error