Davivienda acquisition of HSBC in region heads new charge of Colombian banks into Central America

Far from the wreckage of European economies, Colombian banks are having a heyday. The latest to shop abroad is Davivienda, the country’s third-biggest lender by assets, which has picked up HSBC’s Central American assets for $801 million.

Davivienda is following the lead of Colombia’s biggest bank, Bancolombia, which first ventured into Central America in 2007 with the purchase of El Salvador’s Banco Agricola.

Bancolombia’s parent company Grupo Sura is currently finalizing its $3.9 billion purchase last year of ING Group’s Latin American pensions and insurance assets; and Grupo Aval, which dipped a toe into Central America in 2010 with the $1.9 billion purchase of BAC-Credomatic from General Electric.

Original source: Financial Times