Appropriate economic growth was accompanied by an improvement in the countries’ risk profiles.  In this regard, the general willingness of Latin American governments during the past years to take advantage of high liquidity and low interest rates at the global level has proven significant. Efforts to improve the profiles of public debt of the respective countries, including reductions in financial costs as well as decreases in the total amount of debt, represent a significant advances, especially when compared to economic management in similar situations in the past, when external conditions have been favorable to our countries.

Given the current situation, it may be inferred that after several years of maintaining adequate economic policies, controlling inflation, reducing fiscal deficits, and taking advantage of a favorable economic environment, our countries are better prepared financially to face adverse internal and external situations, such as  the deceleration of the U.S. economy.

Bladex's solid performance in Latin America over the past 27 years can be atributed to three key factors: the consistent application of strict risk evaluation criteria when granting credit facilities; the nature of the Bank’s operations, which are focused on financing foreign trade;  and our client profiles, which chiefly consist of top-tier banks and companies, government entities, and state enterprises.