BLX Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: October 18, 2019

BLADEX ANNOUNCES PROFIT FOR THE THIRD QUARTER 2019 OF $20.4 MILLION, OR $0.52 PER SHARE;

YEAR TO DATE PROFIT OF $64.0 MILLION, OR $1.62 PER SHARE

PANAMA CITY, REPUBLIC OF PANAMA, October 18, 2019

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (NYSE: BLX, “Bladex”, or “the Bank”), 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, today announced its results for the third quarter (“3Q19”) and nine months (“9M19”) ended September 30, 2019.

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”).

3Q19 & 9M19 Highlights

CEO’s Comments

Mr. N. Gabriel Tolchinsky, Bladex’s Chief Executive Officer said, “The global economy in 2019 is on course for its weakest year of growth since the financial crisis, weighed down by tensions that have significantly slowed international trade. Given this macroeconomic context, we are, once again, downgrading our economic and trade growth expectations for Latin America, for both 2019 and 2020.

Today, we are expecting 0.2% economic growth for the Region - down from 0.6% at the end of the second quarter. Trade is expected to grow just 1.0% - down from 2.6% growth we were expecting at the end of the second quarter. But these tepid growth prospects mask significant disparities in economic performance between countries. Large countries like Mexico and Argentina are experiencing uncertainty that has some of its roots in lower foreign investment flows which are a key driver of economic growth. On the other hand, countries like Colombia and Brazil are experiencing a pick-up in consumer demand that is supporting their economies despite low commodity prices and weak international trade. In other words, slow or no growth in the developed world, which have resulted from protectionist measures on trade, and commodity prices, are having an uneven impact on the Region. Some countries are better prepared to withstand the prevailing environment.

Against this backdrop, we continue to analyze the risk/reward function at the country level, to adjust our portfolio accordingly and to maintain a vigilant credit underwriting posture.

The management of Bladex - as well as its Board of Directors - remains cautiously optimistic for our business for the remainder of 2019.”

RESULTS BY BUSINESS SEGMENT

The Bank’s activities are managed and executed in two business segments, Commercial and Treasury. The business segment results are determined based on the Bank’s managerial accounting process as defined by IFRS 8 – Operating Segments, which assigns consolidated statement of financial positions, revenue and expense items to each business segment on a systemic basis.

COMMERCIAL BUSINESS SEGMENT

The Commercial Business Segment encompasses the Bank’s core business of financial intermediation and fee generation activities developed to cater to corporations, financial institutions and investors in Latin America. The extensive array of products and services include the origination of bilateral short- and medium-term loans, structured and syndicated credits, loan commitments, letter of credit contingencies 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. Profits from the Commercial Business Segment include (i) net interest income from loans; (ii) fees and commissions from the issuance, confirmation and negotiation of letters of credit, guarantees and loan commitments, and through loan structuring and syndication activities; (iii) gain on the sale of loans generated through loan intermediation activities, such as sales in the secondary market and distribution in the primary market; (iv) recovery (impairment loss) on financial instruments, such as loans at amortized cost and loan commitments and financial guarantee contracts, as well as impairment loss in other non-financial assets; and (v) direct and allocated operating expenses.

As of September 30, 2019, Commercial Portfolio balance totaled $6.2 billion, stable compared to $6.2 billion as of June 30, 2019, and a 1% decrease compared to $6.3 billion as of September 30, 2018. Average Commercial Portfolio balances were $6.0 billion for the 9M19 (stable YoY), and $5.9 billion for the 3Q19, which resulted in a 2% decrease QoQ and YoY.

The Bank’s traditional client base of financial institutions represented 55% of the total Commercial Portfolio at the end of 3Q19, compared to 56% a quarter ago and 52% a year ago. The portfolio continued to be well diversified across corporate sectors, with total oil and gas exposure (integrated & downstream) at 12% of the total Commercial Portfolio at the end of 3Q19, down from 14% a year ago, and the remaining sectors at 5% or lower.

As of September 30, 2019, 76% of the Commercial Portfolio was scheduled to mature within a year, of which 53% represented trade finance transactions, compared to 79% and 56%, respectively, a quarter ago, and 75% and 60%, respectively, a year ago.

Geographically, the Bank’s largest country exposure remained in Brazil at 17% of the total Commercial Portfolio, compared to 16% and 19% a quarter and year ago, respectively, of which 85% was with financial institutions at the end of 3Q19 and 2Q19 compared to 65% a year ago. Mexico remained the second largest country exposure, with 14% of the total Commercial Portfolio, stable QoQ and YoY. Exposure in Argentina was further reduced to 4% of the total Commercial Portfolio at the end of 3Q19, compared to 6% a quarter ago and 9% a year ago. The Bank continued improving the quality of its credit origination, focusing its growth in top rated countries in the Region, where it was able to take advantage of good risk/return opportunities, such as in Chile and Colombia, which increased to 11% and 13% of the total Commercial Portfolio, respectively, up from 8% and 11% a quarter ago, and 3% and 12% a year ago. In addition, exposure to other top rated countries outside of Latin America, which relates to transactions carried out in the Region, was also increased to 5% of total portfolio at the end of the 3Q19.

The following graphs illustrate the geographic distribution of the Bank’s Commercial Portfolio, highlighting the portfolio´s risk diversification by country and across industry segments:

Refer to Exhibit IX for additional information relating to the Bank’s Commercial Portfolio distribution by country, and Exhibit XI for the Bank’s distribution of loan disbursements by country.

"n.m." means not meaningful.

2019 Third Quarter and Year-to-Date Commercial Business Segment’s results were $22.9 million (-5% QoQ; +168% YoY) and $69.2 million (up from $3 million a year ago), respectively. The quarterly Profit reduction was mainly attributable to lower fee income derived from the uneven syndication business and from lower NII on decreased average lending volumes, partially offset by a 14% decrease in operating expenses. Lower impairment losses on financial instruments and other assets, together with the reduction in operating expenses, mostly resulted in YoY Profit increases compared to the 3Q18 and 9M18.

TREASURY BUSINESS SEGMENT

The Treasury Business Segment focuses on managing the Bank’s investment portfolio and the overall structure of its assets and liabilities to achieve more efficient funding and liquidity positions for the Bank, mitigating the traditional financial risks associated with its balance sheet, such as interest rate, liquidity, price and currency risks. Interest-earning assets managed by the Treasury Business Segment include liquidity positions (cash and cash equivalents), and security instruments related to the investment management activities, consisting of securities at fair value through other comprehensive income (“OCI”) and investment securities at amortized cost (“Investment Portfolio”). The Treasury Business Segment also manages the Bank’s interest-bearing liabilities, which constitute its funding sources, mainly deposits, short- and long-term borrowings and debt.

Profit from the Treasury Business Segment includes net interest income derived from the above mentioned treasury assets and liabilities and related net other income (net results from derivative financial instruments and foreign currency exchange, gain (loss) per financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss, gain (loss) per financial instruments at fair value through OCI, and other income), release (impairment loss) on financial instruments, and direct and allocated operating expenses.

Liquidity balances totaled $963 million at the end of 3Q19, up from $843 million at the end of 2Q19 and $765 million at the end of 3Q18, of which 99% were deposits placed with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As of these quarter-end dates, liquidity balances to total assets represented 14.4%, 12.8% and 11.7%, respectively, while the liquidity balances to total deposits ratio was 33.8%, 28.0% and 27.5%, respectively.

The Investment Portfolio balances totaled $85 million as of September 30, 2019, down from $88 million as of June 30, 2019, and $93 million as of September 30, 2018. As of these dates, the Investment Portfolio accounted for 1% of total assets, mostly consisting of readily-quoted Latin American securities, and of which 71% represented sovereign or state-owned risk at the end of the 3Q19, compared to 78% a quarter ago and 77% a year ago (refer to Exhibit X for a per-country risk distribution of the Investment Portfolio).

On the funding side, deposit balances totaled $2.9 billion at the end of 3Q19, compared to $3.0 billion a quarter ago, and compared to $2.8 billion a year ago. As of these dates, deposits represented 52%, 55% and 51% of total funding sources, respectively. The majority of the deposits are placed by central banks or designees (i.e.: Class A shareholders of the Bank), representing 62%, 64% and 74% of total deposits at the same dates, respectively. Short- and medium-term borrowings and debt totaled $2.6 billion, which represented a 9% QoQ increase and an 1% YoY decrease, on the bond issuance in the Mexican capital markets during the quarter. Weighted average funding costs reached 3.09% in 3Q19 and 3.24% in 9M19, down 19bps from the previous quarter on lower average LIBOR-based market rates, and up 20bps from 3Q18 and 62bps from 9M18, mainly reflecting the yearly increase on LIBOR-based market rates.

"n.m." means not meaningful.

Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2019 Treasury Business Segment’s losses were $2.5 million (-31% QoQ; +14% YoY) and $5.2 million (+39% YoY), respectively. The quarterly decrease was mainly associated to lower other income related to the Bank’s results on its hedging positions and to lower NII from the impact of decreasing LIBOR-based market rates on the Bank’s asset-liability interest rate gap position. The improvements YoY were mainly associated to releases in the provisions on financial instruments and improve other income, reflecting the results on the Bank’s hedging positions and YTD gain on sale of financial instruments. In addition, operating expenses continued its reduction trend on a quarterly and Year-to-Date basis.

NII for the 3Q19 totaled $26.7 million (-5% QoQ; -2% YoY), with NIM of 1.77% (-4bps QoQ; +3bps YoY). Quarterly decrease was mainly related to the impact of decreasing LIBOR-based market rates on the Bank’s asset-liability interest rate gap position and lower average lending volumes.

NII and NIM for 9M19 reached $82.6 million and 1.77%, respectively. The 1% and 3bps increase YoY, respectively, were mainly attributable to the net positive effect of increasing average LIBOR-based market rates throughout the period with respect to the year before, as the Bank’s narrow interest rate gap structure benefitted from the short-term nature of its loan portfolio, which allows an agile pass through of increasing rates in its liabilities to its asset base. This net positive effect was partially offset by decreased average liability deposit balances, impacting overall funding costs.

FEES AND COMMISSIONS

Fees and Commissions, net, includes the fee income associated with letters of credit and the fee income derived from loan structuring and syndication activities, together with loan intermediation and distribution activities in the primary market, and other commissions, mostly from other contingent credits, such as guarantees and credit commitments, net of fee expenses.

Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2019 Fees and Commissions income totaled $2.8 million and $10.3 million, respectively. The quarterly decreases of 45% QoQ and 24% YoY were primarily related to the uneven syndication business, with one syndicated transaction closed in 3Q19, versus two a quarter ago and one a year ago. The 13% decrease YoY was mostly impacted by lower fee income from the letters of credit business.

The total allowance for credit losses on the Commercial Portfolio totaled $104.1 million, or 1.67% of the portfolio at September 30, 2019, compared to $105.8 million, or 1.70%, respectively, a quarter ago, and compared to $142.5 million, or 2.26%, respectively, a year ago. The $1.7 million QoQ decrease was mostly associated to the write-off of an NPL against its individually allocated allowances for expected credit losses, partially offset by higher net provision requirements driven by the collectively assessed allocation segment (IFRS Stage 2) based on lifetime expected credit losses.

Credit-impaired Loans, also referred as Non-Performing Loans or NPL, decreased to $61.8 million at the end of 3Q19, representing 1.1% of total Loan Portfolio balances. The lower levels of NPL compare to $64.7 million, or 1.2% of total Loan Portfolio at the end of 2Q19, and $119.0 million, or 2.1%, at the end of 3Q18. Total allowance for losses increased at 1.7 times NPL balances for 3Q19 versus 1.6 times in 2Q19 and 1.2 times in 3Q18.

Operating expenses decreased to $9.0 million in 3Q19 and $29.4 million in 9M19. The quarterly decreases of 15% QoQ and 17% YoY were mainly associated to lower other operating and miscellaneous expenses. The 20% reduction YoY for 9M19 was mainly due to lower salary and employee-related expenses resulting from personnel restructuring in 2018, together with other cost savings.

Efficiency Ratio improved to 30% in 3Q19 (-1pt. QoQ; -6pts. YoY) and 31% in 9M19 (-9pts. YoY), on lower levels of operating expenses and higher YTD total revenues.

The Bank’s equity consists entirely of issued and fully paid ordinary common stock, with 39.6 million common shares outstanding as of September 30, 2019. At the same date, the Bank’s ratio of total assets to total equity remained stable at 6.6 times, and the Tier 1 Basel III Capital Ratio increased to 21.1%, as risk-weighted assets decreased by 2% QoQ and 14% YoY on higher asset quality allocation and the shift of the Commercial Portfolio’s mix composition towards improved country risk exposures.

RECENT EVENTS

Notes:

Footnotes:

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

ABOUT BLADEX

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 (NYSE: BLX), 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.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

There will be a conference call to discuss the Bank’s quarterly results on Friday, October 18, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. New York City time (Eastern Time). For those interested in participating, please dial (800) 311-9401 in the United States or, if outside the United States, (334) 323-7224. Participants should use conference ID# 8034, and dial in five minutes before the call is set to begin. There will also be a live audio webcast of the conference at http://www.bladex.com. The webcast presentation will be available for viewing and downloads on http://www.bladex.com.

The conference call will become available for review on Conference Replay one hour after its conclusion, and will remain available for 60 days. Please dial (877) 919-4059 or (334) 323-0140, and follow the instructions. The replay passcode is: 66717091.

For more information, please access http://www.bladex.com or contact:

Mrs. Ana Graciela de Méndez

Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +507 210-8563

E-mail address: amendez@bladex.com