Some of the largest Latin banks in South Florida increased lending during the third quarter. Ten of top 25 upped their loans by $5 million or more over that period, the South Florida Business Journal reported.
Miami-based City National Bank of Florida, owned by Bankia in Spain; and Miami-based Sabadell United Bank, owned by Banco de Sabadell in Spain, grew their loans by a significant amount — $64 million and $96 million. These banks are either arms of Latin American or Iberian Peninsula operations or run by Hispanic shareholders.
Coral Gables-based Mercantil Commercebank, a $6.9 billion subsidiary of Mercantil Servicios Financieros in Venezuela, saw its asset quality strengthen, but its loan portfolio was much stronger in Houston than in South Florida.
Some banks, however, dialed back their loans. The Colombian banker Jaime Gilinski Bacal-owned JGB Bank in Doral decreased its loan portfolio by $22 million, the report said. [South Florida Business Journal] — Mark Maurer