Grupo Cibest S.A. (Bancolombia holding)

What it is

Grupo Cibest is the holding company that sits above Bancolombia and its regional subsidiaries, providing a full spectrum of banking, insurance, investment banking, and digital financial services across Colombia and internationally. The group owns Bancolombia, the digital payment platform Nequi, fintech companies Wenia and Wompi, vehicle-leasing arm Renting Colombia, and regional banks Bancoagrícola (El Salvador), Banistmo (Panama, being sold) and BAM (Guatemala).

Formerly known as Bancolombia S.A., the company changed its name to Grupo Cibest S.A. in May 2025; the underlying banking institution traces its founding to 1875. Bancolombia alone processes 70% of all monetary transactions in Colombia and 40.8% of amounts transacted, according to the national financial regulator.

Who owns it

The single largest identified shareholder is Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana (Grupo SURA), which holds approximately 24.71% of Grupo Cibest. Grupo SURA is itself part of the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (GEA), the Medellín-based industrial-financial conglomerate that has controlled the Bancolombia franchise for decades; GEA founded the Banco Industrial de Colombia in 1945, which merged with the Banco de Colombia in the late 1990s to become Bancolombia, and the current group was shaped by a further union with Conavi and Corfinsura in 2005.

Grupo Cibest has more than 51,000 individual shareholders, with the remaining free float traded on the BVC and NYSE. Common shares outstanding total 509,103,132 and preferred shares 444,111,532.

Who runs it

Juan Carlos Mora Uribe serves as President and CEO of Grupo Cibest. Mauricio Botero Wolff holds the title of Vice President of Strategy and Finance — the group’s chief financial voice.

Ricardo Jaramillo Mejía, President of Grupo SURA, sits on the board, cementing GEA’s strategic influence at the governance level.

The money, in plain words

In 2025 — the first full year as a holding company — consolidated operating income reached COP 43.7 trillion (~USD 12.7 billion), total assets COP 379.8 trillion (~USD 110.1 billion), and equity COP 39.8 trillion (~USD 11.5 billion). Reported net profit was COP 3.82 trillion (~USD 1.11 billion), a net margin of ~8.7% (our calculation) — but this number is distorted by a one-time accounting hit.

Net income attributable to shareholders fell 39% versus 2024, almost entirely because of a COP 3.5 trillion (US$1.0 bn) goodwill write-down tied to the agreed sale of Panamanian subsidiary Banistmo; return on equity fell from 15.77% to 9.09% for the same reason. Strip out Panama and net income from continuing operations actually rose to COP 6.9 trillion (~USD 2.0 billion), up 13.7% — a net margin of roughly 15.8% on the same revenue base (our calculation), solid for a regional bank.

What it is doing now

During 2025 Grupo Cibest also ran a COP 1.35 trillion (~USD 391 million) share buyback, repurchasing 8.6 million shares, a tool only available after separating the bank from the holding company. The Superintendencia Financiera authorised Nequi to operate as an independent financing company, and it is in the process of becoming Nequi S.A. Compañía de Financiamiento — a structural separation that could eventually unlock a standalone valuation for the digital wallet.

Nequi already has more than 26 million customers, 80% of them active users, and a loan book above COP 1.3 trillion (US$377 mn). Management guides for 2026 loan growth of 7–8%, a net interest margin of 6.8–7%, and a return on equity of 18–18.5% — a meaningful step up from the distorted 2025 reported ROE of 9.1%.

What to watch

• Banistmo sale close. The COP 3.5 trillion (US$1.0 bn) goodwill impairment driving the reported profit drop is tied entirely to the agreed-but-not-yet-closed sale of Banistmo. Once complete, the reported numbers will look much cleaner.
• Nequi spin-off. If Nequi trades independently, investors could value it separately from the banking core — a potential re-rating catalyst for the whole group.
• Colombian tax risk. Planned tax surcharges and pension reforms in Colombia could affect the group’s funding markets and effective tax rate.
• ROE recovery. Management’s own target of 18–18.5% ROE for 2026 implies roughly doubling the reported 2025 figure — a credible claim given the one-off Panama hit, but one the market will want to see in the actual quarterly numbers.

This is news, not investment advice.