650+ Senior Global Banking & Markets Attendees

350+ Pre-Arranged Business Meetings

89% Director Level or Above

110+ Industry Expert Speakers

Benefits of Attending

This year’s event, which took place in Miami’s Coconut Grove featured:

• 412 Senior Attendees
• 186 Institutions
• 51 Expert Speakers
• 200+ Pre-Arranged Meetings
• 160+ Issuers/Borrowers & Investors
• 32 Countries Represented

The organizers, GFC Media Group has already started planning for next year’s event which is taking place on the 27th & 28th of this November at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami (please add this event to your calendar by clicking the add to calendar buttons below).

To discuss participation in this year’s event, please contact: Francisco.Vasconcelos@GFCMediaGroup.com.

Add the 2023 event to your calendar:

The event is the most senior corporate and investment banking event focused on institutional debt in Latin America and The Caribbean. As usual, Finance Colombia was in attendance. This year’s event took place at The Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove in Miami.

Feedback on the event has been very positive. Baruc Saez of Itaú bank said to “share views, hear opinions and exchange ideas with other banks, issuers, rating agencies and investor. I think it’s a great forum – it is not very often we go to an event where you meet so many different players and participants. It is the only one in the region where we can go and meet the issuers, rating agencies and the investors in a very open dialogue.”

412 professionals attended the event this year representing 186 companies from 32 different countries and territories. A date for next years event has not yet been made public, but interested attendees and exhibitors can contact GFC Media here.

To view the latest agenda, speakers and companies that participate, download the brochure here: https://bondsloans.com/events/latinamerica#brochure

To register as a delegate and take advantage of our discount please register online here or contact Andrew Stark on Andrew.Stark@GFCMediaGroup.com and quote our unique code: FC20

GFC Media Group is a leading producer of financial conferences, online market intelligence platforms and awards, which in turn facilitates idea-sharing and networking between corporates, SMEs, government entities, advisors, regulators, bankers and funds. At GFC Media Group our aim is to improve connectivity between companies looking to raise capital and investors seeking to deploy it.

 GFC Media Group Press / Marketing contact:

Andrew Stark

GFC Media Group
Tel: 44(0)20 7045 0923
Email: Andrew.Stark@GFCMediaGroup.com

 Finance Colombia is a media partner with GFC Media for this event.

The bank said that may offer individual loans of up to 50 times the monthly minimum salary, which is almost $14,000 USD at today’s exchange rate, for a term of up to 10 years. Repayment grace periods of up to two years may also be available on a case-to-case basis, with subsidized interest rates that will not exceed 4% for the recipient.

The Bogotá-based bank will continue lending under this program until the end of the year or until exhausting the allocated fund of $1.1 million USD (3.2 billion pesos).

The initiative has been kicked off in partnership with the governmental Victims Unit, which is subsidizing 2.17% of the loan interest rate (which will not exceed 6.17%) through an investment of around $150,000 USD (400 million pesos).

Anyone who is deemed eligible by the Victim’s Unit, which maintains a registry of nearly seven million qualified individuals, can apply for a business loan. While various use cases will be considered, Bancóldex specifically named the following categories as likely purposes for the funds: working capital, liabilities, modernization, and replacement of damaged vehicles not covered by insurance.

The bank also noted that it will approve loans for companies operating both domestically and those that look more toward the export market. All sectors are eligible except for agriculture, stated Bancóldex.

Applications can be made through various banks across Colombia, with Bancóldex serving as the verifying party. Full requirements for applicants are detailed in “Circular 009,” a provision signed by bank head Mario Suárez Melo.

The bank said that these reduced rates apply for both new and used home financing, including mortgages offered under the Vivienda de Interés Social (VIS) program.

So far this year, Bancolombia says that it has approved nearly 1.4 trillion pesos ($480, million USD) in mortgages and sees the rate drop as part of a larger effort to help grease the wheels of a Colombian economy that has seen slow growth in recent years.

On top of the mortgage rate reduction, the bank reported that is has also lowered rates on credit cards (by 100 basis points on all transactions) and vehicle loans under its Sufi brand.

“One of the sectors that moves the economy the most is the automobile, and during the first months of this year the market has decreased compared to 2016,” said Juan Carlos Mora, president of Bancolombia. “That is why, from Sufi, we have decided to lower credit rates for new or used vehicles from 0.95%.”

The president added that, collectively, the rate reductions will make credit financing accessible to more Colombians and add “an important boost” to the nation’s economy.

Photo: Juan Carlos Mora, president of Bancolombia, says that the reduction in rates for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards will provide “an important boost” for the Colombian economy. (Credit: Bancolombia)

Banco Agrario (Banagrario), a state-run development bank that aims to finance projects and offer services tied to agriculture, livestock, fishing, forestry, and other rural activities, also had its long-term foreign currency and long-term local currency issuer default ratings affirmed at BBB. Fitch changed the outlook on its ratings from negative to stable.

“Banagrario’s viability rating is highly influenced by the bank’s business model and its low, although
improving, asset quality,” stated Fitch Ratings in its assessment. The agency added that Banagrario’s rating was moderately influenced by its consistent profitability, high income diversification, strong capital position, and low cost funding structure.

“In Fitch’s views, Banagrario’s business model is consistent with its key role for the development of
the government’s agricultural policy,” stated Fitch. “The bank maintains a clear focus and a strong franchise in the small and medium-sized agricultural producer markets. However, its market share in the Colombian banking system is moderate, at 3.2% of total loans and 2.5% of total deposits. In the agency’s opinion these elements strengthen the bank’s franchise in its specific segment but limit the scope of its business model and challenge the asset quality metrics.”

Fitch also noted that, while Banagrario displayed improving asset quality in 2016, it continues to lags the rest of the nation’s banking industry while its net profits also decreased last year and it remains tied to Colombia’s higher-risk agriculture sector.

But on the positive side of the ledger, according to Fitch Ratings, the Bogotá-based institution has achieved high income diversification — through stable income “generated by valuation of held-to-maturity instruments” — and lowered its non-performing loans ratio to 5.89% on the strength of an improved collections process.

“Banagrario’s profitability is consistent and supports a stable internal capital generation and good
capital levels,” stated Fitch Ratings. “The bank’s profitability is underpinned by high income diversification, as an important proportion of stable income is generated by valuation of held-to-maturity instruments. In Fitch’s opinion, Banagrario’s profitability is sustainable in the medium term but remains sensitive to changes in asset quality.”

Photo: Luis Fernando Andrade Moreno, President of the National Infrastructure Agency. (Credit: GFC Media Group)

Organized by the GFC Media Group, the event featured speakers from countries including Colombia, Peru, and Chile, with Luis Fernando Andrade Moreno, president of Colombia’s National Infrastructure Agency (ANI), presenting the keynote address.

Andrade focused on Colombia’s ambitious “4G” (or Fourth Generation) mega-project that aims to modernize the nation’s highways with tens of billions of dollars worth of investment in the coming years. The initiative is being driven by public/private partnerships, and many global firms have been bidding to win the work.

He told the organizers that the government hopes to award at least six more projects during 2017, potentially for as much as $3 billion USD. One major hurdle, however, has been the Odebrecht scandal that has swept the region and left a cloud over all infrastructure financing in the Andean nation.

Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss (left) chairs a panel on green bonds featuring experts from Moody’s, the International Finance Corporation, Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), and Banca de Inversion de Bancolombia.

“We have several bidding processes either underway or about to launch,” said the president in an interview before the conference. “There are no signs that these will fail. We are seeing sustained interest. We are finishing this first quarter in the process of resolving the fallout from the Odebrecht case, so obtaining financing in the next two months is likely to be challenging.”

The government has also been working hard to wind down two projects — part of the Ruta del Sol highway construction and the Magdalena River dredging and modernization work — that were previously awarded to Odebrecht but have since been cancelled. Colombia does not want its public sector to end up operating the projects, so earlier this year it undertook the process of looking for a new partner.

“The strategy of the government is to try and dissolve these contracts quickly and diffuse any uncertainty,” said Andrade. “In doing so, we are also setting a precedent on how future problems of this nature will be handled. If we manage this properly, anxieties will subside.”

Carlos Diaz de la Garza of Moody’s speaks during the green bonds panel.

Also at Bonds, Loans & Derivatives Andes 2017, Juan Jose Echavarría of Colombia’s central bank discussed the bank’s strategies towards inflation, monetary policy, and interest rates.

He was followed by José Olivares of Peru’s Ministry of Finance and Economy, who gave a speech centered on Peru’s strategies to finance GDP growth and infrastructure investments.

In addition to the topics of the day, many on hand took the time to praise a conference where 58% of attendees were borrowers, corporate issuers, and government officials. “This event has become the standard in regards to the interaction between surplus and deficit agents in the Andean region, capital markets, and financing alternatives,” said Olivares.

Other sessions focused on the trajectory of the Andean economies over the next 12 months, national debt capital markets, and financing structure opportunities in Colombia. A panel covering green bonds, moderated by Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss, also featured expert commentary from attendees representing Moody’s, the International Finance Corporation, Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), and Banca de Inversion de Bancolombia

After the conference concluded, Alex Johnson, chief executive officer of GFC Media Group, reported that more than 100 face-to-face meetings took place over two days as well, “firmly establishing this event as a must-attend for anyone wanting to meet and do business with the region’s senior-level market makers.”

Hosted by GFC Media Group, the prestigious Bonds, Loans & Derivatives Andes event, designed to bring together Colombian and Peruvian issuers and borrowers, returns for its sixth edition on February 28 – March 1 at the JW Marriott in Bogotá.

With ongoing uncertainty regarding the worldwide economy, the potential for investment in the Andean debt market has come under favorable scrutiny by investors looking to be well positioned for the industry surge predicted in 2017. The Bonds, Loans & Derivatives Andes 2017 conference will play a crucial role in mapping out this economic territory, and Finance Colombia is proud to participate at the event once more as a Media Partner.

The conference is the only pan-Andean debt event, bringing together local and international banks, borrowers, issuers, investors,and financial service providers from across the Andean region. At the 2017 edition, 60 speakers are scheduled to provide insights and expert opinions on the current state of the industry and the key opportunities available.

Colombia’s Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura (ANI) will be partaking as a Strategic Partner for the conference and Corporate Partners include Energia de Bogata and ISA. Luis Fernando Andrade, president of ANI, will join the expert speaker lineup with a keynote address. He will be unveiling the latest developments in the country’s 4G program, highlighting which projects will be coming online in the next 12 months and how the process of closing 4G financing will be improved for the next wave of projects.

The Peruvian and Colombian governments will share their strategies for 2017 through keynote addresses by Juan Jose Echavarría, President, Central Bank, Republic of Colombia, and José Olivares, Director, Directorate of Financial Markets Management, General Directorate of Debt and Public Treasury, Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru. This will be a privileged opportunity to acquire firsthand insights on economic growth forecasts, upcoming projects, and infrastructure investments.

With over 380 attendees expected, there is clearly tremendous scope for making advantageous contacts. Recalling the success of the 2016 edition, Carlos Vargas of Andino Investment Holding said, “the event in Bogotá was excellent in terms of organization, content and topics of discussions. I was able to further understand the situation of our markets and have an excellent perspective for the next year. The interaction and discussion available gave me the opportunity to review Andino’s financing strategy in the short term as well as have a better long-term view.”

“We provide financing alternatives for those who are not able to pay for their studies, preventing them from interrupting their academic training process,” said Ana María Barbosa, marketing manager of Banco de Bogotá.

The minimum loan offered is for 700,000 pesos, and Crediestudiantil loan terms have a fixed monthly interest rate of 1.7% designed to ensure students will have a clear picture of their future debt that isn’t subject to fluctuating rates.

The application can be made at many leading universities and schools of higher education in Bogotá and does not require co-signer, said the bank. To apply, students must have a minimum income of 1.5 the legally mandated minimum monthly salary.