Foreign Trade Bank of Latin America Inc (BLX) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Bladex third quarter, 2024 earnings conference call.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 Bladex 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。

A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and is also available on the investors section of the company's website www.bladex.com.

今天的網路廣播附帶了幻燈片演示，也可在公司網站 www.bladex.com 的投資者部分取得。

There'd be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end of today's presentation. Please note today's conference call is being recorded. As a reminder, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Jorge Salas, Chief Executive Officer. Sir, Please go ahead.

在今天的演示結束時，您將有機會提問。請注意今天的電話會議正在錄音。提醒一下，所有參與者都將處於僅聽模式。我現在想將電話轉給執行長豪爾赫·薩拉斯先生。先生，請繼續。

Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us today to discuss our third quarter results.

大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們討論我們的第三季業績。

I'll begin with an overview of another record-breaking quarter for Bladex.

我將首先概述 Bladex 另一個破紀錄的季度。

Following that, Annie, our CFO will provide a detailed analysis of our financial results for the quarter. Right after that, I will update you on the progress of our strategic plan and also provide a revised guidance for the remaining of the year. After that, we will open the call for questions.

接下來，我們的財務長安妮將對我們本季的財務表現進行詳細分析。之後，我將向您介紹我們戰略計劃的最新進展，並為今年剩餘時間提供修訂後的指導。之後，我們將開放提問。

So moving on to slide 2, the summary slide on the balance sheet, the Commercial Portfolio reached $9.7 billion for the first time, representing a quarter-on-quarter growth of 5% in a year-on-year growth of 17%. Deposits also reached a new record of $5.6 billion, growing 34% in the last 12 months. With corporate client deposits nearly doubling compared to last year.

接下來看投影片 2，也就是資產負債表上的摘要投影片，商業投資組合首次達到 97 億美元，季增 5%，年增 17%。存款也創下了 56 億美元的新紀錄，在過去 12 個月中成長了 34%。企業客戶存款與去年相比幾乎翻倍。

This remarkable growth in our most cost-efficient source of funding is the result of the coordinated efforts of our commercial and treasury teams guided by clear deposit growth KPIs in their balance score cards.

我們最具成本效益的資金來源的顯著增長是我們的商業和財務團隊在平衡計分卡中明確的存款增長 KPI 指導下協調努力的結果。

The resulting shift in the funding mix has allowed us to reduce our funding spreads.

由此產生的資金結構的轉變使我們能夠減少資金利差。

We're very pleased with the progress but more importantly, we see significant potential for further expanding our deposit base in the near future.

我們對進展感到非常滿意，但更重要的是，我們看到在不久的將來進一步擴大我們的存款基礎的巨大潛力。

On the P&L side, despite the more competitive lending environment due to increased dollar liquidity, widely open debt capital markets for Latin American stop names with lower local interest rates in most countries. We have once more achieved record results.

在損益方面，儘管由於美元流動性增加而導致借貸環境更具競爭力，但大多數國家的當地利率較低，但對拉丁美洲企業的債務資本市場廣泛開放。我們再次取得了創紀錄的成果。

I would especially like to highlight the evolution of noninterest income. Total fees for the first three quarters are up 45% compared to the same period last year.

我特別想強調非利息收入的演變。前三季總費用較去年同期成長45%。

The letters of credit business also had a record performance generating $7 million in the last three months. A growth of 8% Q on Q and 12% year on year. Syndication fees decreased slightly this quarter. But we feel confident that with the pipeline, we have, we are on track to close the year. Also, with record figures in both number of deals in total syndication fees. Regarding expenses as we have forecasted in previous calls, our costs have increased in line with the anticipated investments required by this second phase of our strategic plan. As a result, in line with expectations, our efficiency ratio rose slightly to 27% which is in line with the guidance we have been providing for the year.

信用證業務在過去三個月也創下了創紀錄的收入 700 萬美元。季增 8%，年增 12%。本季銀團費用略有下降。但我們相信，有了管道，我們就有望結束今年。此外，銀團總費用的兩項交易數量均創歷史新高。關於費用，正如我們在先前的電話會議中所預測的那樣，我們的成本已根據我們策略計畫第二階段所需的預期投資而增加。結果，我們的效率比率小幅上升至 27%，符合預期，這與我們今年提供的指導一致。

This strong financial results culminated in a record net income of $53 million for the quarter, a 16% increase compared to the same period last year, which results in a return on equity of 16.4%.

這一強勁的財務業績最終導致本季淨利潤達到創紀錄的 5,300 萬美元，比去年同期成長 16%，股本回報率達到 16.4%。

Given this stronger than expected performance. I will provide you all with a revised guidance for the year before opening the call for questions. Let me now hand it over to Annie our CFO for a detailed financial analysis. Annie, please go ahead.

鑑於此表現強於預期。在開始提問之前，我將向大家提供修訂後的今年指導。現在讓我將其交給我們的財務長安妮進行詳細的財務分析。安妮，請繼續。

Thank you Jorge and good morning to everyone.

謝謝喬治，大家早安。

Let us now move to slide three. Quarterly profitability continues to be enhanced by sustained top line performance. As Jorge mentioned, driving third quarter net income to $53 million marking an annual increase of 16% and up by 6% quarter on quarter and representing a $1.44 per share. Year-to-date net income for the first nine months of this year reached over $154 million. A solid 29% growth from the same period of last year. In the graph, you can see the growth trend since we started executing our strategy in 2022. With year-to-date results that have more than tripled from 2021's levels.

現在讓我們轉到第三張投影片。持續的營收業績使季度獲利能力持續增強。正如 Jorge 所提到的，第三季淨利達到 5,300 萬美元，年增 16%，季增 6%，每股收益 1.44 美元。今年前 9 個月迄今的淨利超過 1.54 億美元。較去年同期穩健成長 29%。在圖中，您可以看到自 2022 年我們開始執行策略以來的成長趨勢。今年迄今的業績比 2021 年的水準增加了兩倍多。

The bank has sustained its profitability for the last three quarters at an ROE level above 16% and an ROA of 1.9%. When compared with the levels observed at the inception of our strategic plan, ROE has tripled from the same period of 2021 while ROA has more than doubled.

過去三個季度，該銀行的獲利能力保持在 16% 以上，ROA 為 1.9%。與我們戰略計劃開始時觀察到的水平相比，ROE 比 2021 年同期增長了兩倍，ROA 增長了一倍多。

Let me now go into more detail over balance sheet growth and other profitability drivers into more detail, starting with the asset's composition on slide four. Total assets reached $11.4 billion up by 13% from last year and 5% quarter on quarter.

現在讓我更詳細地討論資產負債表成長和其他獲利驅動因素，首先從第四張投影片上的資產組成開始。總資產達114億美元，比去年成長13%，比上一季成長5%。

This was mainly the result of strong loan growth surpassing the $8 billion mark for the first time in Bladex's history, up by 17% from last year and 9% from the preceding quarter.

這主要是由於貸款強勁成長，Bladex 史上首次突破 80 億美元大關，比去年成長 17%，比上一季成長 9%。

The commercial portfolio which includes loans and off balance sheet items reached $9.7 billion as our significant loan growth was coupled by a letter of credit business continuing to grow in scale.

包括貸款和表外項目在內的商業投資組合達到 97 億美元，貸款大幅成長，信用狀業務規模持續擴大。

A liquidity position of $1.7 billion mostly placed with the New York fed represented 15% of total assets and 30% of deposits. Reflecting a prudent liquidity management aligned with Bladex's liquidity coverage ratio as can be seen in slide number five, on the left-hand side, the securities portfolio amounting to $1.2 billion is mostly placed with investment grade, non Latam issuers mostly from the US. Therefore, providing further country diversification to our overall credit exposure.

17 億美元的流動性部位主要存放在紐約聯邦儲備銀行，佔總資產的 15% 和存款的 30%。如第五張投影片左側所示，反映了與Bladex 流動性覆蓋率一致的審慎流動性管理，價值12 億美元的證券投資組合主要投資於投資級非拉丁美洲發行人，其中大多數發行人來自美國。因此，我們的整體信貸風險進一步實現國家多元化。

Most of this portfolio is booked in our New York Agency and is therefore eligible to be discounted with the Federal Reserve allowing for contingent liquidity funding if needed.

該投資組合的大部分都在我們的紐約機構登記，因此有資格在美聯儲打折，以便在需要時提供或有流動性融資。

The portfolio has a relatively short duration with an average remaining tenor of approximately two years.

此投資組合的期限相對較短，平均剩餘期限約為兩年。

The composition of the commercial portfolio on the right denotes a well-diversified country exposure across Latam. Brazil and Mexico represent strategic markets for Bladex. Given the size of their economies and relevance to the trade activity of the region.

右側商業投資組合的組成顯示整個拉美地區的國家風險敞口高度多元化。巴西和墨西哥是 Bladex 的策略市場。鑑於其經濟規模以及與該地區貿易活動的相關性。

They're among the bank's top country exposures at 14% and 11% of the total, respectively. Along with other relevant country exposures in South America such as Colombia at 11% and Peru at 9%.

它們是該銀行風險敞口最大的國家之一，分別佔總數的 14% 和 11%。以及南美洲其他相關國家的風險敞口，例如哥倫比亞為 11%，秘魯為 9%。

We are also focusing our growth strategy in certain Central American and Caribbean countries, particularly the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, both with good economic fundamentals where we continue to execute on solid risk reward opportunities. Each representing 10% of total exposure at quarter end, the commercial portfolio remains short term in nature with 75% scheduled to mature within the next year having an average remaining tenure of 12 months at quarter end.

我們也將成長策略重點放在某些中美洲和加勒比海國家，特別是多明尼加共和國和瓜地馬拉，這兩個國家都有良好的經濟基本面，我們將繼續抓住可靠的風險回報機會。每個商業投資組合均佔季末總風險的 10%，商業投資組合仍屬於短期性質，其中 75% 計劃在明年內到期，季末平均剩餘期限為 12 個月。

In fact, the portfolio has a high rotation of about two times in a year. This means that more than half of the portfolio matures every quarter and new loans are placed.

事實上，該投資組合一年內的輪換率很高，大約有兩次。這意味著超過一半的投資組合每季都會到期並發放新貸款。

This agile business model allows us to quickly react to market conditions and be able to jump on profitable opportunities as they arise.

這種敏捷的業務模式使我們能夠快速對市場狀況做出反應，並能夠在獲利機會出現時抓住機會。

This agile short term business model with a top tier client base of banks and corporations across Latin American countries and industries is the foundation of Bladex's strong asset quality as shown on slide 6. At quarter end 95.7% of the credit portfolio including loans, investment securities and of balance sheet items were classified as low risk or stage one as defined by IFRS 9, only 4.1% of the portfolio was classified as stage two down from close to 6% in the preceding quarter as we collected maturities of exposures that had been classified in stage two during prior quarters.

這種靈活的短期業務模式擁有拉丁美洲國家和行業的銀行和企業的頂級客戶群，這是 Bladex 強大資產品質的基礎，如幻燈片 6 所示。截至季末，95.7%的信貸投資組合（包括貸款、投資證券和資產負債表項目）被歸類為低風險或IFRS 9 定義的第一階段，只有4.1% 的投資組合被歸類為第二階段，這一比例從接近6% 下降在上一季度，我們收集了前幾季分類為第二階段的風險暴露的到期日。

Although stage two exposures represent credit with increased risk since origination, all of them are currently performing.

儘管第二階段風險敞口代表自發起以來風險增加的信用，但所有這些風險敞口目前都表現良好。

Finally, only a minimal 0.2% of total exposure is classified as stage three impaired credits or NPLs amounting to $17 million with a total reserve coverage of close to five times.

最後，只有最少 0.2% 的總風險敞口被歸類為第三階段減損信貸或不良貸款，金額達 1,700 萬美元，總準備金覆蓋率接近五倍。

During the third quarter, a $7 million loan was classified from stage two to stage three.

第三季度，一筆 700 萬美元的貸款從第二階段分類到第三階段。

This represents an isolated Colombian exposure in the oil and gas supply chain sector which has been in runoff mode since before the pandemic and which in our assessment has recently further deteriorated. Credit provision charges for the third quarter were $3.5 million mostly relating to individual reserves in stage three, partly offset by a $1 million recovery from a loan charged off several years back.

這代表了哥倫比亞在石油和天然氣供應鏈領域的一個孤立的風險敞口，該領域自大流行之前就一直處於徑流模式，並且根據我們的評估，該領域最近進一步惡化。第三季的信貸撥備費用為 350 萬美元，主要與第三階段的個人準備金有關，部分被幾年前沖銷的貸款收回的 100 萬美元所抵銷。

Overall, the quality of the portfolio remains strong with a robust reserve coverage. Now moving to slide seven, our well diversified funding sources continue to support strong asset growth.

整體而言，投資組合的品質依然強勁，儲備覆蓋率強勁。現在轉到第七張投影片，我們多元化的資金來源繼續支持強勁的資產成長。

Our deposit base carries on with a strong growth trend, reaching yet another record level at $5.6 billion at quarter end. Representing a notable 34% annual growth and 7% quarter on quarter. Deposits now account for 59% of total funding.

我們的存款基礎持續保持強勁成長趨勢，季末達到 56 億美元的另一個紀錄水準。年增長率高達 34%，季增率高達 7%。目前存款佔資金總額的59%。

Our class A shareholders mostly central banks who plays part of their US dollar international reserves with us account for 43% of total deposits, a very stable source of funding over time. The remaining 57% comes from our client banks and corporations. A source that has been showing a positive growth trend over the last several quarters, as a result of our cross-selling efforts. 24% of total deposits at the end of September came from our Yankee CD program which operates out of our New York Agency predominantly through broker, dealers' distribution and continues to provide both volume and granular.

我們的A類股東主要是中央銀行，他們將部分美元國際儲備存放在我們這裡，佔存款總額的43%，隨著時間的推移，這是一個非常穩定的資金來源。剩下的 57% 來自我們的客戶銀行和企業。由於我們的交叉銷售努力，該來源在過去幾個季度一直呈現出積極的成長趨勢。 9 月底總存款的 24% 來自我們的 Yankee CD 計劃，該計劃主要透過經紀人、交易商的分銷在我們的紐約代理機構之外運作，並繼續提供數量和粒度。

The bank's equity position presented on slide 8 continues to be enhanced by strong earnings generation, remaining within our target capitalization levels despite strong balance sheet growth.

投影片 8 中顯示的該銀行的股本狀況繼續因強勁的盈利能力而得到增強，儘管資產負債表增長強勁，但仍保持在我們的目標資本水平之內。

Our board recently declared a $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, marking the third consecutive quarter at this level, on the back of strong financial performance. We expect earnings generation to continue to support business growth as well as dividend distribution as decided and declared by our board on a quarterly basis.

在強勁的財務表現的支持下，我們的董事會最近宣布派發每股 0.50 美元的季度股息，這是連續第三個季度保持這一水平。我們預計獲利將繼續支持業務成長以及董事會每季決定和宣布的股息分配。

Moving on to P&L performance on slide 9, you can see the evolution of net interest income and margins, net interest income of $66.6 million for the third quarter was up by 10% from the year before and by 6% from the preceding quarter.

接下來看投影片 9 上的損益表，您可以看到淨利息收入和利潤率的演變，第三季淨利息收入為 6,660 萬美元，比去年同期成長 10%，比上一季成長 6%。

This top line growth is mostly explained by the net effect of higher average loan balances which were up by 9% annually and by 3.5% quarter on quarter, improving the mix of average interest earning assets and positively impacting net interest spread and net interest margin.

收入成長主要是由於平均貸款餘額增加的淨效應，平均貸款餘額年增 9%，環比增長 3.5%，改善了平均生息資產組合，並對淨利差和淨息差產生了積極影響。

Despite a more competitive market environment, as Jorge pointed out, we have been able to sustain lending credit spreads over the last several quarters. As we continue to emphasize on pricing optimization coupled with improved levels of funding spreads benefiting from increased deposits. Hence net interest spread and net interest margin for the quarter reached 1.78% and 2.55% respectively.

正如豪爾赫指出的那樣，儘管市場環境競爭更加激烈，但我們在過去幾季仍能夠維持貸款信用利差。我們繼續強調定價優化以及受益於存款增加的資金利差水準的改善。因此，本季淨利差和淨利差分別達到1.78%和2.55%。

Year-to-date NIM at 2.49% reflects our stated target levels.

年初至今 2.49% 的淨利差反映了我們既定的目標水準。

As showcased in slide 10, the bank had a solid fee income performance reaching $10.5 million for the quarter and $32.5 million for the first nine months of the year.

如投影片 10 所示，該銀行的手續費收入表現穩健，本季達到 1,050 萬美元，今年前 9 個月達到 3,250 萬美元。

This represents a 45% increase compared to the first nine months of last year.

與去年前 9 個月相比，成長了 45%。

Our letter of credit business continues to perform well, with fees for the third quarter of close to $7 million. As we have mentioned before, the continued growth in this business has been the result of streamlined processes and client additions.

我們的信用證業務持續表現良好，第三季的費用接近 700 萬美元。正如我們之前提到的，該業務的持續成長是流程簡化和客戶增加的結果。

We are currently in the process of implementing our new LC platform which should start to bear fruits towards the end of next year, when we should be able to further scale this important fee revenue stream. Structuring syndication fees decreased during the third quarter to $1.5 million having closed two transactions after a stellar second quarter when we were able to close five transactions. As this is a transaction-based business, we see some quarterly fluctuations but, in any case, we foresee a strong performance for the remaining of the year with a solid pipeline of transactions on the way. On slide 11, even though expenses for the third quarter increased by 15% quarter on quarter and 8% from last year, our cost to income ratio stood at 27% right on target.

我們目前正在實施新的信用證平台，該平台應該會在明年年底開始取得成果，屆時我們應該能夠進一步擴大這一重要的費用收入來源。在我們能夠完成五筆交易的第二季表現出色之後，第三季的結構銀團費用下降至 150 萬美元，完成了兩筆交易。由於這是一項基於交易的業務，我們看到了一些季度波動，但無論如何，我們預計今年剩餘時間將表現強勁，並有穩定的交易管道。在投影片 11 上，儘管第三季的費用較上季成長 15%，比去年成長 8%，但我們的成本收入比仍達到 27% 的目標。

The main driver in expense growth is a higher salary base due to increased head count aimed at enhancing business volumes through product deployment and client additions, as well as new functions supporting our strategy. Personnel expenses for the quarter also increased on the account of higher provisions for performance-based compensation.

費用成長的主要驅動力是工資基數的提高，這是由於人員數量的增加，旨在透過產品部署和客戶增加以及支援我們策略的新職能來提高業務量。由於基於績效的薪資撥備增加，本季的人員費用也有所增加。

Given yet another year of earnings growth above our initial projections. Let me leave it here for now and turn the call back to Jorge. Thank you.

鑑於另一年的獲利成長高於我們最初的預測。讓我先把這件事留在這裡，然後將電話轉回給豪爾赫。謝謝。

Thank you, Annie. Let me now take a step back and give you a bigger strategic picture on the successive phases of our five-year plan that we started executing in 2022.

謝謝你，安妮。現在讓我退後一步，向您展示我們於 2022 年開始執行的五年計劃的連續階段的更大策略藍圖。

As I have mentioned in previous calls, we are transitioning from the optimization phase to the expansion phase of our plan.

正如我在之前的電話會議中提到的，我們正在從計劃的優化階段過渡到擴展階段。

Phase one objectives have been achieved. We have optimized our balance sheet leverage; we have expanded our customer base preserving the risk profile.

第一階段目標已經達成。我們優化了資產負債表槓桿；我們擴大了客戶群，維持了風險狀況。

We have significantly increased deposits. We have strengthened our teams, and we have improved operational efficiencies.

我們大幅增加了存款。我們加強了團隊實力，提高了營運效率。

The results have surpassed our initial expectations, unlocking more value than we had anticipated while we have accomplished a great deal, some of our most challenging work still lies ahead as we transition to the second phase of our strategy.

結果超出了我們最初的預期，釋放了比我們預期更多的價值，雖然我們已經取得了巨大的成就，但隨著我們過渡到策略的第二階段，我們仍然面臨著一些最具挑戰性的工作。

Phase two focuses on the expansion of our product offering. This phase involves implementing two new platforms to support our trade finance business and our treasury business.

第二階段的重點是擴大我們的產品供應。此階段涉及實施兩個新平台來支持我們的貿易融資業務和資金業務。

As we have highlighted, we believe that these two areas hold significant upside.

正如我們所強調的，我們相信這兩個領域具有顯著的上升空間。

The trade platform will not only digitalize our letters of credit unit with a state-of-the-art client interface but also add substantial transactional processing power to our working capital solutions business. I am pleased to report that we are making solid progress in the implementation with our partner CGI announced last quarter. Project is on target; we have already completed close to 30% of the work and we anticipate having the platform up and running in the second half of next year.

該貿易平台不僅將透過最先進的客戶端介面將我們的信用證單元數位化，還將為我們的營運資金解決方案業務增加大量的交易處理能力。我很高興地報告，我們在上個季度宣布的合作夥伴 CGI 的實施方面正在取得紮實進展。專案已達到目標；我們已經完成了近 30% 的工作，預計明年下半年平台將上線並運行。

On the other hand, the treasury platform enabled us to offer derivative products to our clients and to further enhance our capability to provide local currency lending. Always hedging the resulting FX exposures.

另一方面，資金平台使我們能夠向客戶提供衍生產品，並進一步增強我們提供本幣借貸的能力。始終對沖由此產生的外匯風險。

We believe that offering treasury products to our client base will unlock a relevant source of noninterest income that Bladex has never been able to capture.

我們相信，向我們的客戶群提供資金產品將釋放 Bladex 從未能夠獲得的相關非利息收入來源。

These products are a natural complement of the different lines of products that the bank is already delivering such as letters of credit, bilateral and syndicated medium term credit facilities.

這些產品是銀行已經提供的不同產品線的自然補充，例如信用狀、雙邊和銀團中期信貸安排。

Our strong franchise provides an ample regional client platform that will leverage to foster the development of this new line of business which we expect to gradually gain relevance as a source of income.

我們強大的特許經營權提供了一個充足的區域客戶平台，該平台將促進這一新業務​​線的發展，我們預計該新業務線將逐漸成為收入來源。

We are now in the final stages of our vendors selection process for this initiative. So, you can expect to see a joint press release regarding this partnership in the upcoming weeks. To sum up the results we have reported in the last nine quarters are essentially the consequence of the implementation of the initial phase. The optimization phase that is of our strategic plan.

我們現在正處於該計劃供應商選擇過程的最後階段。因此，您可以期待在接下來的幾週內看到有關此合作夥伴關係的聯合新聞稿。綜上所述，我們在過去九個季度報告的結果本質上是初始階段實施的結果。我們戰略計劃的優化階段。

The potential benefits of phase two are not yet reflected in these numbers, which means there's substantial additional upside, particularly in noninterest income generation as we gradually roll out these new capabilities in the coming quarters.

第二階段的潛在好處尚未反映在這些數字中，這意味著隨著我們在未來幾季逐步推出這些新功能，還有大量額外的上升空間，特別是在非利息收入方面。

This additional noninterest income as Annie mentioned will further consolidate and expand the growth trend that we have maintained in the last quarters and will be key to make our results less sensitive to market rate fluctuations further in reinforcing Bladex's capabilities to deliver robust and sustainable profitability levels.

Annie 提到的額外非利息收入將進一步鞏固和擴大我們在過去幾季保持的成長趨勢，並將成為使我們的業績對市場利率波動不那麼敏感的關鍵，進一步增強Bladex 提供強勁和可持續盈利水平的能力。

As far as guidance for the year, we now anticipate our commercial portfolio to grow close to 14%, given the increased demand we're seeing in most markets. In terms of deposits, we also expect to exceed our initial forecast of 12 to 14%. Given our performance thus far, we are now aiming at 30% average deposit growth for the year.

就今年的指導而言，鑑於大多數市場的需求不斷增加，我們現在預計我們的商業投資組合將成長近 14%。在存款方面，我們也預計將超過我們最初預測的 12% 至 14%。鑑於我們迄今為止的表現，我們現在的目標是今年平均存款增加 30%。

We've also made significant strides in operational efficiency, and we now expect to end the year with an efficiency ratio of approximately 26%. A notable improvement from our initial estimate of 30%.

我們在營運效率方面也取得了顯著進步，現在預計今年年底的效率約為 26%。與我們最初估計的 30% 相比，有了顯著的提高。

As a result of these positive trends, we're revising our 2024 ROE guidance upward.

由於這些正面趨勢，我們正在上調 2024 年 ROE 指引。

Our new projected range is 15% to 16% up from the initial forecast of 14% to 15%.

我們新的預測範圍是 15% 至 16%，高於最初預測的 14% 至 15%。

This performance demonstrates two things:

這場表演說明了兩件事：

One, the resilience of a uniquely flexible business model that given the short-term nature of the diversified high quality loan book and essentially a matched balance sheet enables management to profitably navigate through uncertain times. And two, the disciplined execution for almost three years now of a well-crafted strategic plan aimed at maximizing the upside potential of this unique bank.

第一，獨特且靈活的業務模式具有彈性，考慮到多元化高品質貸款帳簿的短期性質以及基本匹配的資產負債表，使管理層能夠在不確定的時期實現盈利。第二，近三年來嚴格執行精心設計的策略計劃，旨在最大限度地發揮這家獨特銀行的上行潛力。

Once again, as we look forward to the future, we are confident that the full implementation of our strategic plan will unlock even greater potential for growth and value creation building on the strong foundation we have established. Thus far, I am going to leave it here and ask the operator to please open the call for questions. Thank you.

展望未來，我們堅信，策略規劃的全面實施將在我們已建立的堅實基礎上釋放出更大的成長潛力和價值創造。到目前為止，我將把它留在這裡並請接線員打開電話提問。謝謝。

Thank you very much for the presentation. We will now begin the Q&A session for investors and analysts. (Operator Instructions)

非常感謝您的介紹。我們現在開始投資人和分析師的問答環節。（操作員說明）

Our first question comes from Ricardo Bush with BTG.

我們的第一個問題來自 BTG 的里卡多·布希。

You can open your microphone.

您可以打開麥克風。

Hi, everyone and thank you for the opportunity of making questions.

大家好，感謝您給我提問的機會。

I have two here on my side. So first we saw that part of the distillery in the commercial portfolio came from higher loans in Brazil. So meanwhile, spreads in the country are a bit more. Meanwhile, we see that spreads in the country are a little bit more compressed due to the higher activity in [DC M,] right? So I want you to understand if you are indeed seeing lower spreads in loan specifically in Brazil and if you should expect a spread compression, at least in this region.

我這邊有兩個。因此，首先我們看到商業投資組合中的部分釀酒廠來自巴西更高的貸款。因此，同時，該國的利差要大一些。同時，我們看到由於 [DC M] 的活動較多，該國的價差稍微壓縮了一點，對嗎？因此，我希望您了解，您是否確實看到巴西的貸款利差較低，以及您是否應該預期利差會壓縮，至少在該地區。

And, and for my second question, I see that there we have the US election approaching. So, I want to hear your thoughts on how do you believe a potential of Trump could negatively impact trade volumes in LA and therefore the commercial portfolio? And also how was Bladex impacted when he was elected in 2016 if there was any significant impact? Thank you.

對於我的第二個問題，我認為美國大選即將來臨。那麼，我想聽聽您的想法，您認為川普的潛力如何對洛杉磯的貿易量以及商業投資組合產生負面影響？如果 Bladex 在 2016 年當選，有什麼重大影響的話，他受到了怎樣的影響？謝謝。

Ricardo. Thank you. Thank you very much for your, for your questions. I'm going to start with the second question first, the US elections upcoming in a few days and then I'm going to, I'm going to pass it on to Samuel or our Brazilian Chief Commercial Officer that better explain the margins and in our exposures in Brazil.

里卡多.謝謝。非常感謝您的提問。我首先要從第二個問題開始，幾天后美國大選即將到來，然後我將把它轉交給塞繆爾或我們的巴西首席商務官，以更好地解釋利潤率和在我們在巴西的曝光中。

First thing I have to say is, as you mentioned, it is clear that the Presidential elections in the US are very relevant for the region.

首先我要說的是，正如你所提到的，美國總統選舉顯然與該地區非常相關。

Yeah, the resulting effects for the overall region are hard to predict. I mean, you have so short term effects, you have long term effects, you have direct, indirect, you have, you know, depending on the country and the economic dynamic of the country you may have in the part in the trade partners, you may have a different reality.

是的，對整個地區產生的影響很難預測。我的意思是，你有短期影響，你有長期影響，你有直接的，間接的，你知道，這取決於你在貿易夥伴中可能擁有的國家和國家的經濟動態，你可能有不同的現實。

Having said that we see primarily three impacts. One is remittances flows especially relevant for Central American countries. Also, overall trade flows are particularly relevant for South American countries in Mexico. And of course, you know, inflation and interest rates, which is relevant for everyone.

話雖如此，我們主要看到三個影響。一是匯款流動，尤其與中美洲國家相關。此外，整體貿易流量與墨西哥的南美國家尤其相關。當然，你知道，通貨膨脹和利率與每個人都有關。

We are, we're monitoring the effects of remittances flows, particularly in countries where we have relevant exposures like Guatemala, for example, where we have close to 10% of exposure and remittances, they represent close to 15% of GDP or the Dominican Republic or in Mexico where remittances are 3.5% of GDP on, on the trade flows. We are, you know, vigilant on the ongoing tensions with China. Keeping in mind also that in the not so long term, you know, additional disruptions in the global supply chains could potentially accelerate the near showing trend as companies are potentially move to Mexico or some other Central American countries looking for more resilient suppliers closer to the US. In any case, and having in having said all that, we feel confident that the short-term nature of the business model will allow us to navigate the potential volatility that will for sure, take place and also take advantage of the opportunities that for sure will, will arise.

我們正在監測匯款流的影響，特別是在我們有相關風險敞口的國家，例如危地馬拉，我們有接近 10% 的敞口和匯款，它們代表了多明尼加國內生產總值的近 15%共和國或墨西哥的匯款佔GDP 的3.5%，取決於貿易流量。你知道，我們對與中國持續的緊張關係保持警惕。還要記住，在不久的將來，全球供應鏈的額外中斷可能會加速即將顯現的趨勢，因為公司可能會遷往墨西哥或其他一些中美洲國家，尋找更接近供應鏈的更具彈性的供應商。無論如何，話雖如此，我們相信商業模式的短期性質將使我們能夠應對肯定會發生的潛在波動，並利用肯定會發生的機會。

Yeah, on Brazil. Thanks for the question, Ricardo and you are right, Brazil, we are seeing more competition particularly from the international DCM side and that is obviously putting pressure on spreads.

是的，關於巴西。謝謝你的提問，里卡多和你是對的，巴西，我們看到更多的競爭，特別是來自國際 DCM 方面的競爭，這顯然給利差帶來了壓力。

Brazil is probably the most competitive market of Latin, the one that we compete. On the other hand, Brazil is still, I would say quite underrepresented in our portfolio given its potential.

巴西可能是拉丁市場競爭最激烈的市場，也是我們競爭的市場。另一方面，鑑於其潛力，我想說，巴西在我們的投資組合中的代表性仍然相當不足。

Our growth in Brazil has more to do with the fact that we are now as, as we've been rolling out our new strategy, we've been, we have a better or more suited product offering for Brazil or for how sophisticated Brazilian clients are.

我們在巴西的成長更與這樣一個事實有關：我們現在一直在推出新策略，我們為巴西或複雜的巴西客戶提供了更好或更適合的產品是。

So we are basically capturing some share on, on, on that and that is driving our growth. So, everything to do with the new strategy, particularly on the structured trade finance side and, and our growth in Brazil will not be necessarily correlated with the, the low market conditions as well as the GDP. Because again, we are, as we roll out our new strategy, we are able to onboard clients that in the past we do not have the right product to onboard.

因此，我們基本上在這方面獲得了一些份額，這正在推動我們的成長。因此，與新策略有關的一切，特別是在結構性貿易融資方面，以及我們在巴西的成長不一定與低迷的市場狀況和國內生產毛額相關。因為，當我們推出新策略時，我們能夠吸引過去沒有合適產品的客戶。

Hey, very clear guys. Thank you very much.

嘿，非常清楚的人。非常感謝。

Our next question comes from Daniel Mora with Credicorp Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Credicorp Capital 的 Daniel Mora。

You can open your microphone.

您可以打開麥克風。

Hi, good morning and thank you for the presentation. I have also a couple of questions. The first one is regarding margins. We have seen a very positive performance not only in recent quarters but in the last couple of years.

你好，早安，謝謝你的演講。我還有幾個問題。第一個是關於利潤。我們不僅在最近幾個季度而且在過去幾年都看到了非常積極的表現。

But I would like to understand what will be or what is the current NIM sensitivity to interest rates? And what can we expect of NIM given the decreases in interest rates coming from the fed? And how can we bring this under the analysis that you normally present considering the volume effect and the interest rate effect? Because we can initially think that we should observe a normalization of margins going forward considering the decreases in rates.

但我想了解當前淨利差對利率的敏感度是什麼？考慮到聯準會降息，我們對淨利差有何預期？我們如何將其納入您通常提出的考慮數量效應和利率效應的分析中？因為我們最初可以認為考慮到利率的下降，我們應該觀察到未來利潤率的正常化。

And I would like to understand what the effect of this will be also on profitability given that we currently observe as at 16% ROE, that would be my first question.

鑑於我們目前觀察到的 ROE 為 16%，我想了解這對獲利能力有何影響，這是我的第一個問題。

And the second one is given the fact that we are now in the expansion phase with the deployment of the new two initiatives and the increase of not interest income. Do you have a target of what percentage can that no interest income represents of the total income compared to, to what we are seeing right now? And if given the strong results that we are seeing right now, we can expect of a higher ROE above the, the current guidance between 13% and 15% For 2026. Thank you so much.

第二個事實是，我們現在正處於擴張階段，部署了新的兩項舉措，並且增加了非利息收入。與我們現在看到的相比，您是否有一個目標，即無利息收入佔總收入的百分比是多少？如果考慮到我們現在看到的強勁業績，我們預計 2026 年 ROE 將高於目前指導值 13% 至 15%。太感謝了。

Thank you, Daniel for your, for your questions on, on interest. Rate sensitivity. I am going to let the Annie or Co speak to that and then I will, I will tackle the second question.

謝謝丹尼爾提出的關於興趣的問題。速率敏感性。我會讓安妮或同事談談這個問題，然後我會解決第二個問題。

Yes, thank you. So, you are, you are right. And, and we have mentioned on several occasions that we are, to market us dollar market interest rates. So as to, to talk about the sensitivity or our sensitivity to interest rates in net interest margin is a, every 100 basis points movement in interest rates could have like a 12 basis points impact on our net interest margin that all translates into like 100 basis points of ROE as well.

是的，謝謝。所以，你是，你是對的。而且，我們已經多次提到，我們正在推銷美元市場利率。因此，談論淨利差中利率的敏感性或我們對利率的敏感性是，利率每 100 個基點的變動可能會對我們的淨利差產生 12 個基點的影響，全部轉化為 100 個基點ROE 點也是如此。

You know, that, that's basically because we have a, a floating book in both sides of the balance sheet. And so the, you know, assets and liabilities reprised very similarly, although we do have some short-term positions, and at the end, you know, the overall asset yield that diminishes and that is invested by our in our equity.

你知道，這基本上是因為我們在資產負債表的兩側都有一本浮動帳簿。因此，你知道，資產和負債的重新定價非常相似，儘管我們確實有一些短期頭寸，最後，你知道，整體資產收益率會減少，並且由我們投資於我們的股權。

It has an impact and then, you know what we see going forward is that definitely the strategy that we have in place and that pretty much relates to your second question that Jorge is going to address, but we do anticipate through the structured trade transactions that if some mentioned and the deployment of new products, both non interest and also margin related, it should be able to enhance our lending spreads and, and sustain the profitability, but I leave it for, for him now to continue.

它會產生影響，然後，你知道我們未來看到的肯定是我們已經制定的策略，這與豪爾赫要解決的第二個問題非常相關，但我們確實預計通過結構性貿易交易如果有人提到部署新產品，無論是非利息還是與保證金相關的，它應該能夠提高我們的貸款利差，並維持盈利能力，但我現在讓他繼續。

That's exactly right, Annie. The platforms are exactly geared to, to generate additional not noninterest income are currently. Our noninterest income represents about 13% of total revenues and we expect this to gradually climb up to 18% by the end of 2026.

完全正確，安妮。目前，這些平台的目的正是為了產生額外的非利息收入。我們的非利息收入約佔總收入的 13%，我們預計到 2026 年底這一比例將逐步攀升至 18%。

That's our target as of today.

這是我們今天的目標。

Perfect. Thank you so much. Very clear.

完美的。太感謝了。非常清楚。

Our next question comes from Miruna Chirea with Jefferies. You can open your microphone.

我們的下一個問題來自傑弗里斯的 Miruna Chirea。您可以打開麥克風。

Hello. Thank you very.

你好。非常感謝。

Thank you much for the presentation and for taking my question. I just had a quick one on loan growth, please. I can see that you are growing your lungs 5% this quarter on what looks like very good margins as well. So, I was wondering, where do you see this growth over the next two years? And how, how do you think about the longer-term growth opportunity and capital management? Thank you.

非常感謝您的介紹並回答我的問題。我剛剛快速了解了貸款成長情況。我可以看到，本季您的肺部成長了 5%，利潤率看起來也非常高。所以，我想知道，您認為未來兩年​​的成長在哪裡？您如何看待長期成長機會和資本管理？謝謝。

Yeah. Well, a long growth for sure has been stronger than we initially expected this year.

是的。嗯，今年的長期成長肯定比我們最初預期的要強勁。

Brazil Guatemala, the Dominican Republic have surpassed our initial growth estimates. Some already talked a little bit about Brazil. Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are also noteworthy. They ranked 4th and 5th. Today in our largest exposure is about 10%.

巴西、瓜地馬拉、多明尼加共和國的成長超出了我們最初的預期。有些人已經談論了一些關於巴西的事情。危地馬拉和多明尼加共和國也值得注意。他們分別排名第四和第五。今天我們最大的敞口大約是10%。

The Dominican Republic in particular portfolio growth has been fuelled, I will say by increased investments in the energy sector which have been supported through a recent recently created a project finance and infrastructure unit along with the country's overall, you know, robust growth dynamics.

我想說的是，多明尼加共和國的投資組合成長受到了能源部門投資增加的推動，最近成立的項目融資和基礎設施部門以及該國整體強勁的成長動力為這些投資提供了支持。

Mexico represents slow and steady growth also very much driven by the new product rollouts as part of the new strategy.

墨西哥的成長緩慢而穩定，這在很大程度上是受到作為新策略一部分的新產品推出的推動。

That's for 2024 2025. The, the way to think about portfolio or country diversification, I mean, it is relatively correlated with, obviously, with the size of the economy. There are some countries that are underrepresented in that sense, like Brazil and in Mexico, like SAM said, and some countries that are overrepresented, like Guatemala or the Dominican Republic. But it, it will, it's hard to say now what our exposures would be, you know, even by next year, given the short term nature of the portfolio, you want to add something, Sam.

這是 2024 年 2025 年的情況。我的意思是，考慮投資組合或國家多元化的方式，它顯然與經濟規模相對相關。正如 SAM 所說，有些國家在這方面的代表性不足，例如巴西和墨西哥，而有些國家則代表性過高，例如危地馬拉或多明尼加共和國。但是，它會，現在很難說我們的風險敞口是什麼，你知道，即使到明年，考慮到投資組合的短期性質，你也想添加一些東西，薩姆。

I think we, we as part of the new strategy, we favour quality versus quantity. So, we will continue to have our price discipline. If we see that the opportunities are there to continue to grow profitably, we will continue, we have been experiencing that we are still rolling out the new strategy which is opening new markets for us. And, and we believe there is we always strive also to use our capital efficiently and we will, we see there is room to grow as we grow our capital base. That that is the focus but yet maintaining discipline, pricing discipline as we establish since the initial phase of the plan.

我認為，作為新策略的一部分，我們更注重品質而不是數量。因此，我們將繼續實施價格紀律。如果我們看到繼續獲利成長的機會，我們將繼續，我們一直在推出新策略，為我們打開新市場。而且，我們相信，我們始終努力有效地利用我們的資本，我們會看到，隨著我們資本基礎的擴大，還有成長的空間。這是重點，但仍要維持我們自計劃初始階段以來就建立的紀律和定價紀律。

Yeah. Good point.

是的。好點。

Please hold while we pull for questions.

請稍候，我們正在提問。

Our next question comes from William Hayes. You can open your microphone.

我們的下一個問題來自威廉·海耶斯。您可以打開麥克風。

Good morning.

早安.

Congratulations on some superb results.

祝賀取得了一些出色的成果。

But it is interesting to note that these results have not really moved the needle in the marketplace. And I would suggest that a payout ratio of 35% is quite conservative in both your historical and peer comparisons given not only your actual earnings but expectations and especially your focus on noninterest income growth, which does not really require capital allocations. When do you intend to increase your payout of earnings through dividends?

但有趣的是，這些結果並沒有真正改變市場。我建議，考慮到您的實際收益和預期，尤其是您對非利息收入增長的關注（這並不真正需要資本配置），無論是在您的歷史比較還是同行比較中，35% 的派息率都相當保守。您打算何時透過股利增加收益支付？

Good question. And do you want to tackle that? I mean, the, the, the, the let any compliment but as, as, as you well known different policy, it, it, it is an ongoing discussion, broader capital management. I would say it is an ongoing discussion in the case of Bladex, it is, it's a quarterly decision that the board takes in the ongoing discussion revolves around total shareholder value and taking sure that the upside and the stock price is there and that's our job. But also, the did not yield is attractive enough. I do not know. And if you want to complement anything else. Sure.

好問題。你想解決這個問題嗎？我的意思是，這個，這個，這個，讓任何讚美，但是，正如你所熟知的不同政策，它，它，這是一個持續的討論，更廣泛的資本管理。我想說的是，就 Bladex 而言，這是一個持續的討論，董事會在持續的討論中做出的季度決定圍繞股東總價值​​，並確保上漲空間和股價存在，這就是我們的工作。而且，沒有收益率也夠有吸引力。我不知道。如果你想補充其他任何東西。當然。

And Hello, Bill, how are you? Yes, right on Jorge.

你好，比爾，你好嗎？是的，就在豪爾赫身上。

It is always a discussion Sam just mentioned about us always looking at profitable opportunities. So, you know, it is, it is a balance between growth and, you know, returning capital right now, we are performing very well at 16%. ROE. And so that being the case, you know, we think that the current dividend level and that's the board's decision it is pretty good and it's an ongoing discussion at the board level on a quarterly basis. So, you know, I think that is, that is what you can say about that.

山姆剛才提到我們總是在尋找有利可圖的機會，這始終是一個討論。所以，你知道，這是成長和資本回報之間的平衡，我們現在的表現非常好，達到 16%。魚子。因此，在這種情況下，我們認為當前的股息水準以及董事會的決定非常好，並且董事會每季都會進行持續的討論。所以，你知道，我認為這就是你可以說的。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Okay, thank you very much. That is all the questions we have for today. I will pass the line back to Jorge Salas for the concluding remarks.

好的，非常感謝。這就是我們今天要問的所有問題。我將把電話轉回豪爾赫·薩拉斯，讓他作總結發言。

Thank you, Sophia. Before we conclude, I would just like to extend a warm welcome to two prominent sell analysts who have recently initiated coverage on Bladex, CreditCorp and BTG Pactual.

謝謝你，索菲亞。在結束之前，我謹向兩位最近開始關注 Bladex、CreditCorp 和 BTG Pactual 的著名賣出分析師表示熱烈歡迎。

The inclusion of these respected institutions in our coverage universe is a testament. We feel of the growing interest in our renewable we look forward to engaging with our teams and appreciate their commitment to providing valuable insights to the investment community across Latin America in the world.

這些受人尊敬的機構納入我們的覆蓋範圍就是一個證明。我們感到人們對我們的再生能源越來越感興趣，我們期待與我們的團隊合作，並感謝他們致力於為世界各地拉丁美洲的投資界提供寶貴的見解。

With that we'll leave the call there and thank you very much for joining.

我們將在此結束通話，非常感謝您的加入。

This does conclude today's conference call. (Operator Instructions).

今天的電話會議到此結束。 （操作員說明）。