26°C
Dominican Banks Post RD$114.5 Billion in Seven-Month Profits
Dominican financial institutions accumulated RD$114.48 billion in profits through July, although the sector’s strong overall performance masked losses at three entities and lower earnings at 15 others.
The Dominican Republic’s financial sector recorded RD$114.48 billion in profits during the first seven months of the year, with earnings rising 16.9% before taxes and 15.1% on a net basis. The results point to continued profitability across much of the banking system, although performance varied significantly among individual institutions.
Data from the Superintendency of Banks show that 47 financial intermediation entities were active during the period. The group included 18 multiple banks, 14 savings and credit banks, 10 savings and loan associations, three credit corporations and two public entities.
Despite the sector-wide increase, three institutions reported losses while another 15 recorded lower earnings. The remaining entities posted increases in gross and net profits after taxes.
Three Financial Institutions Report Losses
Qik Digital Bank, Gruficorp and Oficorp together accumulated losses of RD$579 million through July, according to the Superintendency of Banks. The figures illustrate the wide differences in financial performance among institutions operating in the Dominican market.
Gruficorp recorded the largest proportional deterioration, with profitability falling 9,823.7% and resulting in a loss of RD$41 million. The percentage change is particularly large because it is measured against the institution’s previous profitability, while the absolute loss remains comparatively modest within the overall sector.
Oficorp reported a 2,208.1% decline in earnings, equivalent to an absolute loss of RD$13 million. Qik Digital recorded a 174% reduction in profits, which translated into a loss of RD$525 million given the institution’s larger scale.
Popular, BanReservas and BHD Lead in Net Earnings
The largest banks continued to account for the biggest absolute amounts of net profit. Banco Popular led the sector with RD$31.495 billion in earnings through July, representing a 12.2% increase.
State-owned BanReservas followed with RD$27.536 billion in net profits, up 7.9%. BHD ranked third, recording RD$17.337 billion and an annual increase of 30.9% during the seven-month period.
The ranking highlights the effect of institutional size when comparing absolute earnings. Larger banks can generate substantially higher profit totals even when their percentage growth is more moderate, while smaller institutions can post much stronger percentage increases from a lower base.
Smaller Institutions Record the Fastest Growth
Several smaller entities posted much sharper increases in earnings when measured proportionally. Asociación Bonao recorded the strongest percentage growth, with profits increasing 917% to RD$87 million.
Banesco followed with a 241.5% increase and RD$31 million in earnings, while Lafise reported a 148.4% increase, reaching RD$199 million.
The contrasting results underline the uneven performance within the Dominican financial system. While the sector as a whole continues to generate higher profits, the July figures show that growth is concentrated differently across institutions, with some of the largest banks producing the highest absolute returns and smaller entities registering the fastest percentage gains.
