Since the end of November, the Gilinski Group uncovered one of its cards after launching the Public Acquisition Offers (OPA) by the companies of the so-called Antioquia Business Group (GEA): Nutresa and Sura, the latter the largest shareholder of Bancolombia.
The idea, as a minority shareholder with a relevant stake in Sura, which is currently 31.5%, aims to finalize a possible strategic alliance or integration between Bancolombia and GNB Sudameris.
On Friday, at the end of the shareholders’ meeting, the president of Bancolombia, Juan Carlos Mora, affirmed that for now this is speculation, noting that the entity is currently making progress in the execution of its strategic plan (see Parentheses).
In dialogue with EL COLOMBIANO, Mora also referred to the accusations that in recent weeks the mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero, has made against the businessmen of the GEA, as well as the environment that the country has for business in an electoral environment for the presidency and conflict in Europe.
Regarding the idea that the Gilinski Group put on the table, what analysis have they done?
“What has happened is that a paragraph was put in a booklet that said that in the event in which we are members of the board we will propose the possibility of integration be analyzed. What are we up to? When that materializes or is presented, because a merger or integration in the financial system requires a series of requirements, it will be evaluated as is done with any strategic option and for now it is an issue that has not been finalized”.
But, with that intention already exposed, isn’t the bank’s management questioned by risk assessors or potential investors to find out what could happen?
“No. They have not asked us that type of question because it is still a hypothetical fact that has not had any type of discussion.
When the mayor of Medellin goes out to point out the businessmen of the Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (GEA), what does he think?
“I don’t understand why the mayor disqualifies businessmen who have been and are a source of growth and employment, and who in this city have been fundamental in creating well-being for all. I do not understand the position of the mayor to disqualify businessmen”.
Understanding that at the beginning of this year there was no war, how much is the conflict between Russia and Ukraine impacting the business environment?
“This is part of the risks. At the beginning of the year we saw the rise in inflation as a challenge and this continues to be a challenge. The affected logistics chains in the world and their impact on supplies was another limitation, and now the war aggravates both things. I would think that as a country we are in the second line of the effects in the face of this type of conflict, but if this extends over time there would be effects on the supply for the agricultural sector, since Russia is a large supplier of fertilizers”.
And the electoral processes, what noise do they generate?
“They generate uncertainty and in that context there are people who wait. But, what is happening is that there is a positive dynamic without postponed economic decisions.”
I mean, no trace of Petro clauses?
“No. We talk to clients about their projects, about investing. The demand is still active and that was seen on the Day without VAT, at the beginning of March. Traders and industrialists are optimistic. If today I did a survey, the concerns of businessmen would be in aspects such as inflation and the supply chain”.
And what economic tasks will the government that takes office on August 7th have to undertake?
“Colombia has to carry out some real structural reforms, so that there is equity and economic development. A labor reform is necessary, because we cannot continue to have the level of informality that we have of 50%. And when talking about labor reform there is always a connotation in the sense that it is to pay workers less and that is not the case, it is to generate opportunities for many who today are not accessing jobs. I also believe that the pension reform that has been postponed many times is necessary, and if we don’t do it one day we will have a crisis. And the much vaunted structural tax reform, which has not been done either, is necessary. I am concerned that the political environment does not allow for structural reforms that benefit the people, because these debates always have an ideological tint and do not end with that vision.”
What was seen in the first two months of 2022?
“A good demand for credit was seen, consumption continues to grow favorably, housing credit is on the right track and in general for all lines. The behavior of the overdue portfolio also appreciates a good performance, the bank customers are paying. The relief program for debtors is almost over, the portfolio levels are similar to those of 2019.”
A phenomenon that occurs every 15 days is that the bank is a trend by users who cannot access the application or digital channels, what does it tell them?
“First of all, apologize. The truth is that we have grown a lot and have a large number of clients interacting digitally. There are specific moments in which this demand is high and we are working intensely on solving this problem. It will take us a while because that implies an evolution in the main equipment of the bank that requires orders and times because they are not available”.
What volume is that increase in customers in a fortnight?
“The numbers are impressive. On February 28 there was a record of transactions: 33 million that day. The previous record was November 30 with 31 million. On a normal day we talk about 15 million or 20 million digital operations”.
And in how much time do you estimate that you can solve this problem?
“I would hope that by the middle of the year we no longer have them.”
Has the economic recovery from the pandemic already been achieved?
“In 2021 the growth was bigger than we all expected, and that is positive as it brings us back close to what we had before 2019. I think we have recovered, but we need vigorous growth. I would think that this 2022 that is going well, the growth will be 5%, which will allow us to recover a very important dynamic and will place us on a path to continue advancing”.
What forecasts do you make for other variables such as the exchange rate, inflation and unemployment?
“The exchange rate would be between $3,700 and $3,800. Inflation should return to levels of 6%, even if it is above the Banco de la República’s goal, but hopefully the pressure on food will improve. Employment is recovering and would return to levels of 11%, because single-digit unemployment is difficult to achieve.
After two years of the pandemic, at what point did you hit rock bottom and what is missing for a full recovery?
“I would describe these two years as follows: A March 2020 that surprises us and comes with great uncertainty because we did not know what was going to happen, which lasted until June. That period served to make decisions, and establish how it was going to work. In August the dynamics were different, because we began to understand the operation and set the delivery of relief and subsidies to individuals and companies. And 2020 ended with a big brake, an economy that fell 7%, and some very affected sectors such as hotels, restaurants and commerce. 2021 began with a similar dynamic, and as of the second semester there was another type of performance that led the country to grow 10.6%. In our case, the portfolio grew by 15% and a good part of that was done in the second half of the year”.
The relief plan that was implemented for clients, what was it for?
“At the beginning we did some things well done and others that were not. In this we must recognize that in some things we were wrong, although we always had the best intentions and tried to help. We told many clients not to pay, with the peace of mind of not incurring maturities. Then came the debtor support program, more structured and with clear guidelines by the Financial Superintendence”.
But what did we not learn from the pandemic?
“That confronted us with many new things and innovation allowed us to face those novelties. So I would rather say that we can incorporate much more innovation to execute digital tasks. Electronic commerce, for example, continues to have great potential, and has been going down a bit as if we were going back. In other words, with the pandemic we did many things that now, returning to another state, we should maintain because they are positive and important.”
From the trade it is said that the pandemic brought a change in consumer habits, did it also happen in the financial sector?
“Yes, the financial consumer has become very digitized and that is favorable. In other words, they have understood that digital accounts are a positive option. I can give the example of Nequi, which had less than two million customers and today has eleven million customers, which shows the greater dynamics of digital. In other words, the financial consumer has adopted a lot of digital, but we still have a long way to go”.
What does the bank’s investment plan contemplate this year?
“We continue with the digitization process and we are advancing in a very strong ecosystem initiative. We have a program called Tu 360 with various aspects (real estate, mobility, product sales). In addition, we work hard on financial inclusion allowing more people to access financial products, and SMEs and their digitization is another very important focus. Our sustainability front is going to allow us to mobilize $500 billion by 2030 in mobility, habitat, SMEs, inclusion, so we continue with this long-term plan. But, in investments we must be around $150,000 million in pure digital transformation”.
A year ago the plan to mobilize those $500 billion was announced, what has been executed?
“In 2021 we mobilized almost $40 billion and we followed the plan that covers six focuses: SMEs, agriculture, housing, decarbonization, inclusion, and enabling financial products for women. That plan is giving us today that we can mobilize more than $500 billion by 2030. This year we will be around $60 billion invested in that strategy”.
Before the pandemic, you spoke of difficult debts, including those of the extinct Electricaribe and those of some transportation systems, have these issues been overcome?
“From Electricaribe they never paid us to the banks. It was about $2 billion and of that ours was about $600,000 million. We did a restructuring of the mass transportation systems, but the pandemic affected them a lot and there we have new challenges and we are restructuring again. In this case, the account is about $800,000 million corresponding to the massive systems of Bogotá and Cali”.
At the end of last year, Nequi’s separation was also announced. How is the process going?
“Nequi has already grown in such a way that giving it a dynamic of independence will allow it to grow a lot and expand with new products, and we are walking that path. We apply to be a trade finance company and go there.”
And is a merger with Tuya contemplated?
“No, it will be an independent business and the vocation will be to increase the product portfolio. It is already venturing into credit with portfolio levels of about $130,000 million since October”.