MFI Report

In 1984, a group of Bolivian entrepreneurs linked to the micro-enterprise sector in the country create a non-profit institution that would support the development of micro enterprises in our country, among other things, that the lack of access to resources, and chiefly the lack of access to credit through the formal financial system was the main factor limiting micro enterprise growth. From that perspective, on November 17, 1986, international and Bolivian investors inititiate a Foundation structured like as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO). This entity provided small working capital loans to groups of three or more people dedicated to similar activities who were jointly and severally liable for and guarantors of their obligations. As of January 1992, this NGO had a portfolio of 17,000 clients with loans amounting to 4 million dollars, and four branches located in La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. At that point, the positive development of NGO and the existence of huge unsatisfied demand for financial services were the main reasons that led the Board of the institution to expand its activities to meet credit demand in the large and growing sector of micro enterprises. The most promising alternative and most viable instrument to reach this objective and overcome the limitations arising from the legal and financial structure of an NGO was the establishment in 1992 of a commercial bank that became Banco Solidario S.A. better known as BANCOSOL.
Since BancoSol started operating, the volume of its operations has increased rapidly. Today BancoSol has attracted more than 160 thousand clients with a loan portfolio more than US$ 300 million for microentreprise sector. BancoSol has been leading institution of microfinances since its beginning, nowadays has a 22% over total loan microfinance portfolio and has 23% of total credit clients linked to microentreprise sector in the country, through a wide array of products and services aimed at satisfying their needs. More than 75% of total loan clients until December 2007 have operations less US$ 5,000, which means our credit activities are focused to lower income sectors. Our past due loans level at december 31, 2008 was 0.81%. At December 2007 past due loans coverage increased to 709%, being another index that show us BancoSol is one of the banks in bolivian financial system with higher level of solvency. Actually, BancoSol has more than US$ 260 millions in deposits from the public disbursed in saving accounts and time deposits, distributed among more than 210 thousand clients. Our success in atractting resources from the public permits it to obtained more than 88% of credit for microentreprise sector.
Today one of the most important challenges for BancoSol is maintaining higher levels of solvency and liquidity, so we can guarantee clients deposits and reach for more efficiency and improvements for qaulity control for loan portfolio so we can decrease cost of our products and services for our clients. On the other hand, the need to increase new products, credt as well as non credit products is no less important than opening new markets as in the case of VISA DEBIT card, automatic teller machines, PDA’s, scorings, life, health and accident microinsurance, certificates of deposits to guarantee contracts performance, international wires, loan home credits for bolivian migrants, cell phone banking, among others. After over sixteen years in business, BancoSol has disbursed more than US$ 1,700 million to more than a 1,35 million micro-enterprise projects. The Bank is present in eight major cities (La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Oruro, Sucre,Tarija, Potosí y Trinidad) through a network of more than 100 branches. Hide