Colombian Banks Jan-Feb Combined Net Profit +0.8% To COP909 Billion

Colombia's financial institutions posted a combined net profit of 909 billion Colombian pesos ($472 million) in January and February, up 0.8% from the same period in 2009, the country's banking regulator said Monday.

Lending rose marginally, and the value of investment in local government bonds didn't compensate as it did in 2009, the regulator said.

Locally owned private-sector banks reported COP516 billion in profits in January and February, down from COP575 billion the previous year.

The total loan portfolio in the country, including lending from banks and other institutions, rose 2.5% in the first two months from a year earlier to COP136 trillion, the regulator said. Since interest rates are lower in 2010 than in 2009, lending wasn't as profitable as it was a year ago.

In 2009, banks registered profits from the valuation of their investment portfolios, which were mainly loaded with government peso-denominated bonds.

In recent months, those bonds have lost some value on the secondary market, so banks were unable to offset the lower revenues from lending with profits from government bonds.

Net profit at Bancolombia (CIB), the country's largest bank by assets, fell 2%, to COP229 billion, in the first two months of the year. The net profit figure only includes Bancolombia and not its subsidiaries in Colombia and abroad.

Banco de Bogota (BOGOTA.BO), the country's second-largest bank, posted a net profit of COP85 billion, down 23% from the same period in 2009, when it booked a net profit of COP109 billion.

Among foreign-owned banks, the local unit of Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) earned COP56 billion in January and February, up from COP55 billion a year earlier. The local unit of Spain's Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC) reported its net profit rose more than 50% to COP16 billion from COP10 billion.

The local unit of U.K. bank HSBC PLC (HBC) posted a net loss of COP2.7 billion, the largest of all banks in Colombia. The loss compares with a net loss of COP7.3 billion in January and February 2009.

-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; 57-1-694 00 76; colombia@dowjones.com

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