Grupo Cibest S.A. American Depositary Shares (each representing four (4) Preferred Shares) 2026 Q2 Earnings Call
Review the key takeaways and the transcript of this earnings call.
- Grupo Cibest reported second quarter 2026 net income of $2.7 trillion, an 87% increase quarter over quarter, with a historic quarterly ROE of 28.7%.
- Net interest margin (NIM) expanded from 7.0% to 7.9%, supported by higher loan yields and investment portfolio performance.
- Gross loan portfolio grew 5.7% year over year, with commercial loans stable, mortgage loans up 12%, and consumer loans up 7.4%.
- Deposits increased 7% year over year, reflecting ample liquidity and a stable funding base.
- Cost of risk declined to 1.6% annualized, driven by recoveries and stable asset quality, despite some pressure in consumer loans and specific commercial segments.
- Operating expenses declined 10% quarter over quarter, with a consolidated cost to income ratio of 43%.
- Grupo Cibest completed the acquisition of 100% of Avista Colombia, enhancing payroll lending capabilities and expanding inclusive financing solutions.
- Nikki, the digital platform, grew its monetized user base to 18 million with an activity ratio of 81.6%, deposits increased 12% quarter over quarter, and its loan portfolio grew 14%.
- The company announced a proposed extraordinary dividend of 1.2 trillion Colombian pesos for shareholder approval in August.
- Colombia's standalone common equity tier one ratio was 12.1%, and total solvency ratio was 13.9% as of June.
- Grupo Cibest's shareholders equity grew 4.8% over the quarter, mainly driven by net income generation.
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Transcript
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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Grupo Cibest Bancolombia second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. My name is Melissa, and I will be your operator for today's call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. During the question and answer session, if you have a question, please press star then 1 on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference call is being recorded. Please note that this conference call will include forward-looking statements, including statements related to our future performance, capital position, credit-related expenses, and credit losses. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this conference call and future filings, in press releases, or verbally, address matters that involve risk and uncertainty.
Consequently, there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements, including changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products by other companies, lack of acceptance of new products or services by our targeted clients, changes in business strategy, and various other factors that we describe in our reports filed with the SEC. With us today is Mr. Juan Carlos Mora, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mauricio Botero Wolff, Chief Strategy and Financial Officer, Mr. Rodrigo Prieto, Chief Risk Officer, and Ms. Laura Clavijo, Chief Economist. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Juan Carlos Mora, Chief Executive Officer.
Sir, please go ahead. Good morning, and welcome to Grupo Cibest's second quarter conference call.
Please turn to slide 2. Lower political uncertainty following Colombia's electoral process has helped reduce sovereign risk premiums. However, fiscal sustainability remains a key challenge and will require a credible adjustment path. The economy continues to expand at a moderate pace, and we estimate GDP will grow 2.7% in the second quarter, supported by resilient private consumption and sustained public spending. Despite the challenging environment, we deliver strong results. Net income reached COP 2.7 trillion, supported by a NIM close to 8%, solid asset quality that kept cost of risk at 1.6%, and continued efficiency gains. Together, these factors drove a historic quarterly ROE of 28.7%. Moreover, we are pleased to see how these results reflect the success of our strategy and the consistency of our execution.
First, these results highlight the strength of our competitive advantage, which is built on a value proposition rooted in transactional activity, a sustainable source of low-cost funding, and valuable data that enhances credit risk management. Second, they demonstrate the flexibility of our commercial and financial model, which enable us to dynamically allocate resources between the loan and investment portfolios and maximize revenue generation across economic and risk cycles. Third, they prove our commitment to operational efficiency. Ultimately, these results reflect our ability to create value throughout the successful Banistmo divestment, BAM's turnaround, Nequi's growing contribution, the strategic use of capital instruments to strengthen our capital structure, and the extraordinary dividend proposal recently announced for shareholder approval in August. Last week, Grupo Cibest completed the acquisition of 100% of Avista Colombia, strengthening our capabilities in payroll lending and expanding access to more inclusive tailor financing solutions for Colombians.
Avista Colombia strengthens our position in a low-risk lending segment with strong growth and cross-selling potential, complementing our existing offering and expanding our ability to serve this market. By combining Avista's proven technology and business model with Bancolombia's funding advantages, we see a clear path to improve profitability and potentially scale the platform across Central America. I will now hand the call over to Laura Clavijo, our Chief Economist, for an overview of the macroeconomic landscape.
Laura? Thank you, Juan Carlos.
If you could please proceed to slide 4. The Colombian economy likely expanded at a pace of around 2.7% during the first half of the year, showing early signs of a moderation in growth dynamics. Public spending and private consumption continue to support overall growth activity. However, elevated interest rates, persistent inflationary pressures, and weak private investment remain significant headwinds. Reflecting on this backdrop, we have revised downward our GDP growth forecast for 2026 from 2.9% to 2.6%. Inflation remains one of Colombia's most pressing macroeconomic challenges. At the end of the second quarter, inflation surpassed 6.1%, placing it among the highest in Latin America.
Underlying price pressures remain persistent, particularly in the services sector, while the risk of a severe El Niño event poses additional upside pressures on energy and food prices, as well as on inflation expectations. As a result, the central bank raised its policy rate by 75 basis points to 12% at its June meeting. According to the bank's staff projections, inflation is expected to reach 6.9% by year-end and remain above target through 2028, suggesting that further monetary tightening may be required. Accordingly, we continue to expect the policy rate to reach 12.75% by the end of 2026. Alternatively, should the board fail to secure a majority in favor of additional rate hikes, a higher-for-longer interest rate environment is likely to prevail throughout 2027. From an external perspective, Colombia continues to benefit from several important strengths.
Favorable commodity prices, resilient exports, and record remittance inflows are supporting both external accounts and domestic demand. Meanwhile, the Colombian peso has appreciated significantly, gaining more than 15% year to date, driven by carry trade flows and strong market optimism. While this appreciation reflects improved investor sentiment, it may also weigh on export competitiveness. In addition, global trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty, and tighter financial conditions remain key risks that could affect capital flows, financing costs, and broader market sentiment. Consequently, the external environment is likely to remain a source of volatility over the coming quarters. Fiscal dynamics also remain a key source of vulnerability. We expect the central government deficit to widen to 6.5% of GDP in 2026 as strong expenditure execution, structural rigidities in public finances, and rising financing needs continue to constrain the pace of fiscal adjustments.
While authorities are expected to pursue gradual consolidation over the medium term, elevated deficits and rising public debt levels underscore the importance of advancing structural reforms that strengthen fiscal sustainability and reinforce investor confidence. Looking beyond 2026, Colombia's economic outlook under Abelardo de la Espriella's administration is likely to be characterized by a combination of opportunities and structural challenges. The start of a new political cycle could help reduce uncertainty and support a gradual recovery in investment driven by improved business confidence, infrastructure development, housing activity, and opportunities in natural resources and financial services. However, the strength and durability of the recovery will ultimately depend on the successful reduction of inflationary pressures, the normalization of interest rates, and the restoration of fiscal credibility. If you could please proceed to slide 5. Central America's outlook remains broadly resilient despite a more challenging external environment.
In El Salvador, growth is expected to moderate to 2.9% in 2026, but economic activity should remain supported by infrastructure investment and construction, partially offsetting weaker remittance inflows and rising inflation pressure. Guatemala continues to benefit from infrastructure projects and institutional reforms that encourage private investment, supporting solid economic performance despite softer remittance growth and higher inflation. Meanwhile, Panama is expected to grow at a pace of just under 4%, supported by canal-related activity, logistics, tourism, and construction, even as global disruptions, El Niño-related risks, and rising unemployment present ongoing challenges. Now, please let me turn the presentation to Mauricio, who will present Grupo Cibest's quarterly performance.
Thank you, Laura. Please proceed to slide 7. Our gross loan portfolio was almost flat over the quarter as expected due to the uncertainty created by the electoral process. However, on an annual basis, this represents a 5.7% growth or 9.6% net of FX, which is in line with our annual projections. Commercial loans were stable over the quarter and grew slightly over the year. The mortgage portfolio kept on growing at 1.8% during the quarter and posted a 12% growth over the year. Meanwhile, consumer loans expanded by 0.5% during the quarter and 7.4% over the year, supported by a strong growth in vehicle lending, Nequi, and credit cards. Please proceed to slide 8. Bancolombia and Banco Agrícola led credit origination, the latter reflecting the success of our strategy to deepen penetration among retail clients, which continues to generate strong and consistent growth.
Our USD loan portfolio in offshore operations continues to expand at a robust pace. These operations serve as strategic cross-border lending platforms for the group, allowing us to leverage our regional presence and efficiently provide foreign currency funding to clients across different geographies. As of June, BAM's cross-border loan portfolio reached $580 million, which represents a 56% growth over the year, while Banco Agrícola's cross-border portfolio totaled $751 million, growing 42%. These figures are included exclusively for business performance purposes and are not part of their accounting balances. Please proceed to slide 9. Over the quarter, deposits declined 0.2%, which represents a 1.2% growth net of FX. Year over year, deposits increased 7%, which represents a 12% growth net of FX, outpacing loan growth and reflecting our ample liquidity position. Savings accounts largely explain deposit growth both over the quarter and over the year. Please proceed to slide 10.
Our funding mix continued to demonstrate resilience amid the higher interest rate environment in Colombia. The cost of deposits increased from 4% to 4.4%, mainly reflecting higher remuneration on savings accounts, which accounted for most of the funding growth during the quarter, while remaining significantly less expensive than time deposits. Despite two policy rate hikes totaling 200 basis points during the first half of the year, Grupo Cibest's standalone cost of deposits increased by only 64 basis points over the past two quarters. This funding strategy reflects our share of sight deposits, which has lower sensitivity to the reference rate and represents 57% of our consolidated funding base, reaffirming our ability to attract and retain a stable, cost-efficient funding. Please proceed to slide 11. Net interest income increased 16.5% during the quarter, supported by a strong performance from both lending and investment portfolios.
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