Guatemalan banks cross borders as markets open up throughout Central America

Guatemala's two leading banks have crossed the border and now compete within a Central American market, with operations in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama.

Now they have been joined by Banrural which has moved into Honduras as well as looking at El Salvador as a longer-term possibility.

The first Guatemalan bank to cross the border was Banco G&T Continental. It took a 98 percent stake of El Salvador's Banco Americano in 2008. The following year, Banco Industrial acquired Banpais, the largest Honduran bank.

Original source (in Spanish): El Periódico