PrintBladex announces Net Profit of $56.4 Million for the First Quarter 2026
BY PR Newswire | ECONOMIC | 06:00 PM EDTPANAMA CITY, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bladex , a Panama-based multinational bank originally established by the central banks of 23 Latin-American and Caribbean countries to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the Region, announced today its results for the First Quarter ("1Q26") ended March 31, 2026.
The consolidated financial information in this document has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB").??
Solid profitability?with Net Profits reaching $56.4 million in 1Q26 (+9% YoY), supported by continued balance sheet expansion and revenue generation. Earnings per share totaled $1.31 for 1Q26, reflecting the deduction of the AT1 coupon distribution from net profit attributable to common shareholders, in accordance with the applicable EPS calculation.
Adjusted Annualized Return on Equity?stood at 14.2% for 1Q26, reflecting disciplined balance sheet growth, solid fee generation, and continued funding optimization.? Including the effect of the AT1 issuance completed in late September 2025, the annualized Return on Equity ("ROE") reached 13.5% in 1Q26.
Net Interest Income ("NII") resulted in $70.2 million in 1Q26 (+8% YoY) mostly driven by higher average business volumes. Net Interest Margin ("NIM") stood at 2.34% for 1Q26 (-2bps YoY), reflecting lower base rates implemented in the fourth quarter of 2025 and increased market liquidity driving competitive pricing and margin compression, which was partially offset by improved funding costs driven by deposit growth, as well as pricing discipline.
Fees and non-interest income totaled $12.9 million for 1Q26 (+2% YoY), mainly driven by higher fees (+$2.5 million or +24% YoY) from the Bank's off-balance sheet business (letters of credit and commitments) supported by consistent client engagement and increased transactionality. Fee generation was also supported by the loan syndication desk, reflecting continued execution across the Bank's structuring and distribution capabilities.
Well-managed Efficiency Ratio of 26.5% for 1Q26, as higher total revenues (+7% YoY) compensated the increase in operating expenses (+5% YoY), associated with continuing investments in technology, modernization and other business initiatives related to the Bank's strategic priorities, including its associated operating costs and depreciation and amortization.
Credit Portfolio reached new all-time high at $13,487 million as of March 31, 2026 (+13% YoY), resulting from:
- Commercial Portfolio EoP balances reaching a peak of $12,047 million at the end of 1Q26 (+13% YoY), reflecting strong growth across all products lines. In addition, the Bank created in this quarter a "Commercial Bond Portfolio" as a strategic capital deployment mechanism applied selectively within the Bank's existing credit framework, with an outstanding principal balance of $234 million as of March 31, 2026.
- Treasury Investment Portfolio of $1,440 million (+14% YoY), mostly consisting of investment-grade securities outside of Latin America held at amortized cost, further enhancing country and credit-risk diversification and providing contingent liquidity funding.
Healthy asset quality, with most of the credit portfolio (97.5%) remaining low-risk or Stage 1 at the end of 1Q26. Stage 2 exposures increased to 2.2% of the portfolio at the end of 1Q26, resulting from the Bank's proactive and cautionary credit assessment against a backdrop of challenging macroeconomic and operating conditions.? Impaired credits or Stage 3 principal balance remained unchanged at $38.7 million or 0.3% of total Credit Portfolio, with a reserve coverage of 2.9x.
Heightened and diversified deposit base, reaching historically high levels of $7,307 million at the end of 1Q26 (+25% YoY), representing 63% of the Bank's total funding sources (+6pp YoY). The Bank also maintained ample and constant access to interbank and debt capital markets, most recently denoted by the MXN4.3 billion bond issued in April 2026 in the Mexican capital market.
Strong Liquidity position at $1,988 million, or 14.5% of total assets as of March 31, 2026, mostly consisting of deposits placed with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (80%).
The Bank's Tier 1 Basel III Capital and Regulatory Capital Adequacy Ratios resulted in 17.9% and 14.7% at the end of 1Q26, respectively, both well above internal targets and regulatory minimum and providing ample headroom for capital deployment.
Financial Snapshot? | |||||
(US$ million, except percentages and per share amounts) | 1Q26 | 4Q25 | 1Q25 | QoQ | YoY (var.) |
Key Income Statement Highlights | |||||
Net Interest Income ("NII") | $70.2 | $70.8 | $65.3 | -1?% | 8?% |
Fees and commissions, net | $13.1 | $14.5 | $10.6 | -9?% | 24?% |
(Loss) gain on financial instruments, net | ($0.3) | $3.2 | $2.0 | -110?% | -117?% |
Other income, net | $0.1 | $0.4 | $0.1 | -75?% | -25?% |
Total revenues | $83.1 | $88.8 | $77.9 | -6?% | 7?% |
Impairment losses on financial instruments | ($4.7) | ($5.4) | ($5.2) | -12?% | -9?% |
Operating expenses | ($22.0) | ($27.4) | ($21.0) | -20?% | 5?% |
Profit for the period | $56.4 | $56.0 | $51.7 | 1?% | 9?% |
Profitability Ratios | |||||
Earnings per Share ("EPS") (1) | $1.31 | $1.50 | $1.40 | -13?% | -7?% |
Return on Average Equity ("ROE") (2) | 13.5?% | 13.4?% | 15.4?% | ?6bps? | -197bps |
Adjusted ROE excluding other equity instruments (3) | 14.2?% | 14.2?% | 15.4?% | ?3bps? | -121bps |
Return on Average Assets ("ROA") (4) | 1.8?% | 1.8?% | 1.8?% | ?-1bps? | 4bps |
Net Interest Margin ("NIM") (5) | 2.34?% | 2.39?% | 2.36?% | ?-5bps? | -2bps |
Net Interest Spread ("NIS") (6) | 1.69?% | 1.68?% | 1.65?% | ?0bps? | 3bps |
Efficiency Ratio (7) | 26.5?% | 30.9?% | 26.9?% | ?-437bps? | -45bps |
Assets, Capital, Liquidity & Credit Quality | |||||
Credit Portfolio (8) | $13,487 | $12,599 | $11,950 | 7?% | 13?% |
Commercial Portfolio (9) | $12,047 | $11,184 | $10,686 | 8?% | 13?% |
Treasury Investment Portfolio | $1,440 | $1,415 | $1,264 | 2?% | 14?% |
Total Assets | $13,739 | $12,786 | $12,395 | 7?% | 11?% |
Total Equity | $1,708 | $1,679 | $1,371 | 2?% | 25?% |
Market Capitalization (10) | 1,917 | 1,660 | 1,360 | 15?% | 47?% |
Tier 1 Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets (Basel III ? IRB) (11) | 17.9?% | 17.4?% | 15.1?% | ?56bps? | 283bps |
Capital Adequacy Ratio (Regulatory) (12) | 14.7?% | 15.5?% | 13.5?% | ?-82bps? | 114bps |
Total Assets / Total Equity (times) | 8.0 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 6?% | -11?% |
Liquid Assets / Total Assets (13) | 14.5?% | 14.9?% | 14.9?% | ?-48bps? | -47bps |
Credit-impaired Loans to Loan Portfolio (14) | 0.4?% | 0.4?% | 0.2?% | ?-2bps? | 20bps |
Impaired Credits (15) to Credit Portfolio | 0.3?% | 0.3?% | 0.1?% | ?-2bps? | 14bps |
Total Allowance for Losses to Credit Portfolio (16) | 0.8?% | 0.9?% | 0.8?% | ?-2bps? | 8bps |
Total Allowance for Losses to Impaired credits (times) (16) | 2.9 | 2.8 | 5.3 | 4?% | -45?% |
Quarterly dividend payment:?The Board of Directors approved a quarterly common dividend of $0.6875 per share corresponding to 1Q26. The cash dividend will be paid on May 27, 2026, to shareholders registered as of May 8, 2026.
Annual Shareholders' Meeting Results:?At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting held on April 21, 2026, in Panama City, Panama, shareholders:
- Approved an amendment of the Article 1 of the Bank's Articles of Incorporation to change the name of the Bank from "Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A.
(BLX) " to "Bladex, Inc." - Reelected Mr. Jos? Alberto Garzon and elected Mr. Juan Alberto Pazo, as Directors representing the holders of Class "A" shares of the Bank's common stock,
- Elected Ms. Julianne Canavaggio as Director representing the holders of Class "E" shares of the Bank's common stock,
- Approved the Bank's audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025,
- Ratified KPMG as the Bank's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026,
- Approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Bank's executive officers.
- Numbers and percentages set forth in this earnings release have been rounded and accordingly may not total exactly.
- QoQ and YoY refer to quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year variations, respectively.
1. | Earnings per Share ("EPS") calculation is based on the average number of shares outstanding during each period. |
2. | ROE refers to return on average stockholders' equity which is calculated based on unaudited daily average balances. |
3. | ROE excluding other equity instruments refers to the adjusted net profit after AT1 distributions over average stockholders' equity excluding other equity instruments, which is calculated based on unaudited daily average balances. |
4. | ROA refers to return on average assets which is calculated based on unaudited daily average balances. |
5. | NIM refers to net interest margin which constitutes to Net Interest Income ("NII") divided by the average balance of interest-earning assets. |
6. | NIS refers to net interest spread which constitutes the average yield earned on interest-earning assets, minus the average yield paid on interest-bearing liabilities. |
7. | Efficiency Ratio refers to consolidated operating expenses as a percentage of total revenues. |
8. | The Bank's "Credit Portfolio" includes (i) loans ? principal balance, which excludes interest receivable, allowance for loan losses, and unearned interest and deferred fees (or the "Loan Portfolio"); (ii) principal balance of securities at FVOCI and at amortized cost, which excludes interest receivable and allowance for expected credit losses; and (iii) loan commitments and financial guarantee contracts, such as confirmed and stand-by letters of credit and guarantees covering commercial risk and other assets consisting of customers' liabilities under acceptances. |
9. | The Bank's "Commercial Portfolio" includes loans ? principal balance (or the "Loan Portfolio"), loan commitments and financial guarantee contracts, such as issued and confirmed letters of credit, stand-by letters of credit, guarantees covering commercial risk and other assets consisting of customers' liabilities under acceptances; and the principal balance of investment securities managed by the Bank's Commercial Unit (or the "Commercial bond Portfolio"). |
10. | Market capitalization corresponds to total outstanding common shares multiplied by market close price at the end of each corresponding period. |
11. | Tier 1 Capital ratio is calculated according to Basel III capital adequacy guidelines, and as a percentage of risk-weighted assets. Risk-weighted assets are estimated based on Basel III capital adequacy guidelines, utilizing internal-ratings based approach or "IRB" for credit risk and standardized approach for operational risk. |
12. | As defined by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama ("SBP") through Rules No. 01-2015, 03-2016 and 05-2023, based on Basel III standardized approach. The capital adequacy ratio is defined as the ratio of capital funds to risk-weighted assets, rated according to the asset's categories for credit risk. In addition, risk-weighted assets consider calculations for market risk and operating risk. |
13. | Liquid assets consist of total cash and due from banks, excluding time deposits with original maturity over 90 days and other restricted deposits, as well as corporate debt securities rated A- or above. Liquidity ratio refers to liquid assets as a percentage of total assets. |
14. | Loan Portfolio refers to loans ? principal balance, which excludes interest receivable, allowance for loan losses, and unearned interest and deferred fees. Credit-impaired loans are also commonly referred to as Non-Performing Loans or NPLs. |
15. | Impaired Credits refers to the principal balance of Non-Performing Loans or NPLs and non-performing securities at FVOCI and at amortized cost. |
16. | Total allowance for losses refers to allowance for loan losses plus allowance for loan commitments and financial guarantee contract losses, allowance for investment securities losses and allowance for cash and due from banks losses. |
This press release contains forward-looking statements of expected future developments within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "goal", "seek", "believe", "project", "estimate", "expect", "strategy", "future", "likely", "may", "should", "will" and similar references to future periods. The forward-looking statements in this press release include the Bank's financial position, asset quality and profitability, among others. These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations of the Bank's management and are based on currently available data; however, actual performance and results are subject to future events and uncertainties, which could materially impact the Bank's expectations. Among the factors that can cause actual performance and results to differ materially are as follows: the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and geopolitical events; the anticipated changes in the Bank's credit portfolio; the continuation of the Bank's preferred creditor status; the impact of increasing/decreasing interest rates and of the macroeconomic environment in the Region on the Bank's financial condition; the execution of the Bank's strategies and initiatives, including its revenue diversification strategy; the adequacy of the Bank's allowance for expected credit losses; the need for additional allowance for expected credit losses; the Bank's ability to achieve future growth, to reduce its liquidity levels and increase its leverage; the Bank's ability to maintain its investment-grade credit ratings; the availability and mix of future sources of funding for the Bank's lending operations; potential trading losses; the possibility of fraud; and the adequacy of the Bank's sources of liquidity to replace deposit withdrawals. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Bladex, a multinational bank originally established by the central banks of Latin-American and Caribbean countries, began operations in 1979 to promote foreign trade and economic integration in the Region. The Bank, headquartered in Panama, also has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States of America, and a Representative License in Peru, supporting the regional expansion and servicing its customer base, which includes financial institutions and corporations.
Bladex is listed on the NYSE in the United States of America , since 1992, and its shareholders include: central banks and state-owned banks and entities representing 23 Latin American countries; commercial banks and financial institutions; and institutional and retail investors through its public listing.
There will be a conference call to discuss the Bank's quarterly results on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. New York City time (Eastern Time). For those interested in participating, please click here?to pre-register to our conference call or visit our website at https://bladex.com/. Participants should register five minutes before the call is set to begin. The webcast presentation will be available for viewing and downloads on https://bladex.com/. The conference call will become available for review one hour after its conclusion.
For more information, please access http://www.bladex.com?or contact:
Mr. Carlos Daniel Raad
Chief Investor Relations Officer
Tel:?+507 366-4925 ext. 7925
E-mail:?craad@bladex.com / ir@bladex.com
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