SANTO DOMINGO.-The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banco Popular, Marino D. Espinal, reported that as of December 31, 2022, the assets of Banco Popular Dominicano closed at RD$634,223 million, showing an increase over the closing of 2021, which was RD$606,918 million.
The net loan portfolio balance ended at RD$402,807 million, increasing credit facilities for clients by RD$34,431 million. 45% of that increase in loans was directed to business activities in the productive sectors.
Total deposits reached RD$487,176 million, exceeding the previous year's figure by RD$12,383 million. Espinal presented these results during the BPD's Extraordinary Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, where he also announced an increase in shareholder capital.
Good performance
Espinal reported on the excellent performance obtained in 2022, maintaining the quality of its assets, high levels of liquidity and solvency, and the lowest risk index in the national banking sector, thus contributing to the development of the country's productive and commercial sectors and supporting thousands of families.
The entity also stated that these positive results were achieved by following the objectives of the financial organization's Strategic Plan, which includes the continuous improvement of the efficiency of its operations, the extension of its leadership in the digital and technological transformation of financial services, and the constant strengthening of its corporate governance, its values-based culture, and the training of its teams of collaborators, the entity said in a press release.
A high solvency level of 15.83% was achieved, exceeding the limit stipulated by the regulation, and maintaining the lowest non-performing loan ratio in the Dominican banking sector, which stands at 0.59%, with a provision coverage of 5.5 times the non-performing loan portfolio.
Furthermore, the bank continued to strengthen its technical capital, increasing by 12.8% to RD$81,147 million. Likewise, the bank maintained its path of efficiency, accelerating its digital, operational, and human talent transformation and becoming the most efficient in the market, with an indicator of 54%, 11 percentage points lower than three years ago and 10% lower than the market average.
Meanwhile, gross profits reached RD$23,771 million, which resulted in net profits of RD$18,178 million, after deducting the RD$5,593 million paid in Income Tax.
Qualitative results
Marino D. Espinal highlighted as qualitative achievements the ratification of AA+ awarded to Banco Popular by the risk rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Feller Rate, which highlighted the bank's strengths in the market with a stable outlook, its ability to generate business with diversified income and consistent results, and the prudent management that has characterized the financial organization over time.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banco Popular also highlighted the national and international awards received by the bank.
Regarding the responsible banking model and sustainable vision that Banco Popular is developing in Dominican society, he highlighted the third anniversary of the bank's adherence to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, emphasizing actions such as the increased coverage of renewable energy consumption, which covers on average 80% of all energy used in the 56 photovoltaic branches and the buildings that make up the Torre Popular Complex; or the expansion of its green finance portfolio for clients with three new sustainable loan products.
In the area of financial education and inclusion, Banco Popular continued to expand the offering of digital and in-person courses at the Finance with Purpose Academy, reaching more than 154,000 trained individuals.
