2024 – The Year of CABEI’s Financial Strengthening

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) recorded the highest net income in its history, reaching US$268.4 million, equivalent to a return on equity of 5.5%. This level of profitability, together with a return to prudent balance sheet management, led to optimal results across all financial indicators, including capital adequacy, liquidity, loan portfolio diversification, and operational efficiency, among others.

As of the end of 2024, CABEI’s Balance Sheet totaled US$18,238.7 million, reflecting a growth of US$1,052.5 million (6.1%) compared to the US$17,186.2 million reported at year-end 2023. Meanwhile, equity stood at US$5,030.0 million, an increase of US$337.4 million (7.2%) compared to the US$4,692.6 million reported at year-end 2023. These results reflect a consistent approach to capital adequacy management, aligned with CABEI’s strong global “AA” rating and its renewed Financial Strategy focused on long-term financial self-sustainability.

Further strengthening its equity base and enhancing its capital adequacy, in 2024 CABEI achieved the highest level of geographic diversification in its history, increasing the share of its loan portfolio in countries other than its five (5) largest exposures from 19% to 24%. As a result, the Bank’s internal risk-adjusted leverage metric, its Risk-Adjusted Capital (RAC) ratio, stood above 17%, a level not seen in the past five years. This was accomplished while enabling loan portfolio growth nearly 50% higher than projected in its Operational Plan, exceeding all financial targets.

From an operational efficiency standpoint, 2024 marked a return to austerity in the use of institutional resources, reflected in an Administrative Expense Ratio of 0.53%, a notable improvement from the 0.55% reported in 2023, and setting a downward trend for this indicator going forward. This was the result of technical rigor and significant budgetary reforms, which led to a budget reduction of 6% for 2024 and 10% for 2025, in line with the mandate of CABEI’s Board of Governors.

In terms of funding, CABEI reached a historic milestone by raising over US$2,900 million. In the capital markets, the Bank raised US$2,592 million through ten (10) issuances across various formats, currencies, and markets. The highlight was its fourth global benchmark bond for US$1,350 million, the largest issuance in its history, with a record order book exceeding US$5,200 million. The Bank also achieved record placements in member country markets such as Mexico and Costa Rica, with MXN13,000 million and CRC88,300 million respectively. Additionally, CABEI stood out for issuing the world’s first Mother Health Bond, debuting in the Indonesian rupiah (IDR) market, and placing its longest-tenor bond to date with a 30-year maturity.

In addition to the above efforts, CABEI secured US$329 million in bilateral loans and credit lines focused on sustainable projects and gender equity initiatives from key partners such as the French Development Agency (AFD), the Spanish Official Credit Institute (ICO), and Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). Furthermore, the Bank signed and disbursed its second syndicated loan in Asia, arranged by CTBC Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), for US$100 million, highlighting its longstanding track record in this market.

This solid performance allowed for a reduction in sovereign loan interest rates ranging from 0.50% to 0.65%, marking the first cut in three (3) years. This reduction directly benefits member countries, applying to both existing and new loan operations.

Regarding the Bank’s financial results, President Sánchez stated: “I am very pleased and honored to lay the foundations for a strong and robust CABEI for the next 20 to 30 years. These historic financial results are essential to the positive transformation of our member countries and send a powerful message to the markets and investors. As a result, we have seen positive rating movements that we had not experienced in the past six years.”

She further added: “This achievement carries even more value and merit as we have also generated tangible savings for member country budgets through the mentioned interest rate reductions, all within a framework of technical and financial discipline. This has been recognized in 2025 by our investors through the largest benchmark issuance in our history and an unprecedented debut in the United Kingdom’s Sterling market, as well as a positive outlook on our global AA rating by Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR). I am very proud to report to our members and strategic partners with concrete, transformational results in my first year in office.”

For further details, CABEI’s financial statements as of year-end 2024 are available at the following link.