Grupo Aval Acciones Y Valores S.A. Q1 FY2021 Earnings Call

Welcome to Grupo Aval's First Quarter 2021 Consolidated Results Conference Call. My name is [name] and I will be your operator for today’s call. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A., known as Grupo Aval, is a securities issuer in both Colombia and the United States. Therefore, it must adhere to the relevant securities regulations in Colombia and the U.S. Additionally, Grupo Aval is subject to oversight by the Superintendency of Finance as the holding company of the Aval financial group. The consolidated financial information in this document complies with IFRS as issued by the IASB. The calculations for non-GAAP measures, such as ROAA and ROAE, are detailed in the report as necessary. This report contains forward-looking statements.

Good morning and thank you all for joining our first quarter 2021 conference call. I trust that all of you and your families are keeping healthy. It is with great pride in our company and its employees that I will share with you our strong financial results for the quarter that ended on March 31. As I usually do, I will refer to the situation of economies of the countries in which we operate. I will provide an update on the status of our clients, loan reliefs, and our digitalization program, and I will address the main reasons for our financial results. Let's start with a view of the macro scenario during the quarter. To begin, I would venture to say that for the first time since the pandemic began over a year ago, the global outlook has become more favorable. In fact, the United States has set an example of efficacy in the mass production of the COVID-19 vaccine, in the inoculation of its citizens and citizens of many other parts of the world and in the distribution of the vaccine to other countries. This has undoubtedly played a crucial role in the economic recovery of the USA, and has set in motion economic recoveries in many other countries and sectors.

Thank you, Luis Carlos. I will now discuss our consolidated results for Grupo Aval under IFRS. Starting on Page 9, although we have not yet returned to historic levels, volume growth is gaining momentum. Our assets increased by 4.3% over the quarter, resulting in a year-on-year growth of 5.1%. As noted in the previous three calls, we completed the acquisition of MFG in May last year, which contributed to our 12-month growth. Excluding this acquisition and the effects of foreign exchange movements in our Central American operations, total assets grew by 2.8% year-on-year. Colombian assets rose by 2.7% this quarter and 0.3% year-on-year, while Central American assets showed a quarterly growth of 0.3% and a year-on-year growth of 0.7%. MFG added 10 percentage points to Central America's annual growth. Our indicators show quarterly and annual growth in pesos for Central America at 7.5% and 15.2%, respectively. The share of Central America in our total increased slightly to 36% during the quarter. Moving to Page 10, we are seeing aggressive recovery in loan growth, particularly driven by strong performance in high-quality retail lending products. Loans increased by 3.8% over the quarter, which translates to a 4.4% year-on-year increase. If we exclude the MFG acquisition and foreign exchange effects from our Central American operations, consolidated loans grew by 1.4% for the quarter. The MFG acquisition contributed 6.3% to the 12-month consolidated growth. The Colombian gross loan portfolio grew by 1.7% this quarter, propelled by robust growth in our retail portfolio and better dynamics in our commercial portfolio, albeit with a 12-month low of 1.5%. Demand for consumer loans remains strong in Colombia, resulting in a 2.7% quarterly increase and an 8.1% increase year-on-year. Competition is high, especially in payroll lending, which makes up 60% of our Colombian consumer portfolio and grew by 5.7% over the quarter. Mortgages in Colombia are also dynamic, expanding by 2.6% quarterly and by 10.9% year-on-year. Auto financing, which constitutes 7% of our portfolio, saw a growth of 0.6% over the quarter. However, credit cards and personal loans remain soft, contracting by 9% and 1% respectively during the quarter, with these products accounting for 12% and 20% of our Colombian consumer portfolio. The Colombian corporate portfolio showed slight recovery, with a 1% growth this quarter after two consecutive quarters of contraction, but the cumulative growth over 12 months was negative at minus 2.8%, reflecting a tough comparison with last year. In Central America, the gross loan portfolio grew by 0.7% over the quarter and 21% year-on-year in dollar terms, with MFG contributing 20 percentage points to the year-on-year growth. The quarterly performance was supported by a 1% increase in commercial loans and a 1.2% increase in mortgages. Consumer loans declined by 0.2% over the quarter following a strong fourth quarter. This decline was driven by a 0.9% growth in payroll and other lending, set against a 1.4% contraction in credit cards. We anticipate continued recovery in commercial loan growth as economic activity and business confidence improve throughout the year. In our retail lending strategy, we expect a pickup in employment to enable our banks to expand their risk appetites in products that were less emphasized during the economic disruption.