Earnings Labs

Banco de Chile (BCH)

Q3 2013 Earnings Call· Mon, Nov 11, 2013

$36.72

-2.75%

Key Takeaways · AI generated
AI summary not yet generated for this transcript. Generation in progress for older transcripts; check back soon, or browse the full transcript below.

Same-Day

+0.20%

1 Week

+4.10%

1 Month

-1.44%

vs S&P

-1.90%

Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning everyone and welcome to Banco de Chile’s Third Quarter 2013 Results Conference Call. If you need a copy of the press release issued yesterday, it is available on the company’s website at www.bancochile.cl. Today with us we have Mr. Pedro Samhan, Chief Financial Officer and Mr. Pablo Mejia, Head of Investor Relations. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that this call is being recorded and information discussed today may include forward-looking statements regarding the company’s financial and operating performance. All projections are subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially. Please refer to the detailed notes in the company’s press release regarding the forward-looking statements. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Pablo Mejia. Please go ahead, sir.

Pablo Mejia

Head of Investor Relations

Thank you. Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure for me to share with you our comments on Banco de Chile’s third quarter 2013 financial results. As a reminder, the presentation is available – the link for the presentation is available on our website, www.bancochile.com within the Investor Relations page. To begin, please turn to Slide number 2. Today, we’ll discuss the economic environment, the results of the banking industry, Banco de Chile’s results during the quarter and we’ll end the call with the peer comparison. Please turn to Slide number 3, which contains the recent developments in the macroeconomic environment. During the third quarter, GDP grew similar to the average of the past two quarters expanding 4.4%, mainly boosted by positive quarter for mining production and solid trends in retail sales. On an annual basis, GDP accumulated an expansion of 4.4%, the lowest figure within the last three years. Accordingly and given the last part of the best scenario for emerging markets, expectations for 2014 GDP growth have been repeatedly revised downwards to 4.4% end of October. In terms of internal demand, private consumption continues to grow strongly inline with a surprisingly low unemployment rate and positive but downwards evolution in real wages. However for the coming quarters, we expect a slowdown in private consumption due to a decrease in consumer confident and lower job creation. On the other hand, investor has shown a sharper deceleration due to a drop in business confidence and to postpone mining and energy projects. In response to the down trend in economic activity, and its possible effect upon inflation and expectation, the Central Bank recently reduced the Monetary Policy Rate by 25 basis points, 4.75% after 20 months without changes. The decision surprised analysts and the market who’d expected cuts in December or even in…

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Thank you, Pablo. Please move to Slide number 14. This has been a historical quarter for Banco de Chile, but we have consolidated our leadership position. First of all, as shown by the chart on the upper left, our strong loan growth during the quarter has placed us first in terms of total loans with a market share of 19.3%. It was based on an effective long-term business strategy which focuses on profitable growth and compared us [indiscernible] selected coverage and approach in order to ensure a balanced rate of return relationship in all of our lending activities. In terms of our revenue generating capacity, we have also ranked first in net operating margins measured as operating revenue net of rate charges to average interest earning assets reaching 5.3% at the end of the period, first of all, all of our main competitions. Nonetheless, it is important to mention that our business strategy strives to continue positioning the Bank a leader in retail banking. Hence we feel that there is still room to continue improving these figures. In terms of cost to income, we recorded an impressive year-to-date ratio of 42.7% below of our competition. This has been achieved through a strict cost controls as well as through initiatives that tends to increase productivity, improve intra customer service channels, and automate back office activities. However, as mentioned earlier, the figure has also been influenced by certain lower expenses related to IT projects, which would be realized next year along with a possible of loan loss in business activity. Now, if you have any questions we will be happy to answer them.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. This floor is now open for questions. (Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from Jose Barria from Bank of America. Jose Barria – Bank of America: Hi, good morning Pedro and Pablo. I have a question with regards to asset quality. So if I look at what you did with regards to these additional provisions basically, you’re saying that you expect a lot of uncertainty in the coming quarters and then that led you do to provision a little extra this quarter. Can you give us a sense of what sort of level of provisions to average loans we should be looking at for you on a recurring basis? And also with regards to asset quality, the corporate clients experienced deterioration over the quarter, where these clients in a specific sector or in different sectors? Thank you.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Thank you very much. Let me try to answer your first question. Regarding our provision level vis-à-vis average loan, really, we think that instead of what we can see looking forward, there are different force that can affect positively or negatively there. But really in general, with all the measures that we have taken during the last three years in order to have a managed M&A and conservative approach instead of risk management, really we think that we have today in a level of – current level of provision very similar to what we have during this year with the only exception that we got our strategy to be more concentrated in consumer and retail market overly instead of the mix, we would have some impact, but we are not expecting anything rather – or anything more than that. This is in term of your first question. In terms of your client deterioration really – our [Indiscernible] level has increased a little bit during the last quarters, but basically impacted a number for the retail segment rather was by the wholesale and especially for the SME segment. That is something that we think that today we’re at a level that we can continue having in the next quarters. We don’t see a major raise in order to expect an increasing in this number for the future. We should be in a number around the number that we have today. Jose Barria – Bank of America: I see. So for provisions to average loans, I mean is it feasible to assume that provisions to average loans will decrease from this 1.4% that you posted in this quarter?

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Yes, by sure. I think during this quarter, as Pablo explained very well, you could see some extraordinary impact that are non-recurring, so really with the level more similar to the average level that we have so far on a year-to-date basis. Jose Barria – Bank of America: I see. And finally just a follow-up on the corporate wholesale clients where you saw some deterioration, it was risk classification you changed. What sort of exposure do you have in terms of total loans to those clients? And could we see maybe further provisioning or further deterioration there in the coming quarters? What do you think that after the move that you did this quarter that you should be okay?

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Jose Barria – Bank of America: Okay. Any color you can give us in terms of exposure size and reserve size?

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Well, I don’t prefer to give this number publicly because we really – we are talking about the customers. Jose Barria – Bank of America: Got it.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

So these are the issues that I can tell you that we have an exposure that should have been reduced over the time, and during the last quarter between the last two years, but during the year, we have already reduced a bit more and so really a decline in trend over the time, clearly. Jose Barria – Bank of America: Okay, fair enough. Thank you very much, Pedro.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

You’re welcome.

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from the line of Chris Delgado with JPMorgan. Chris A. Delgado – JPMorgan Securities LLC: Hi, good morning. Just given recent rate cut, I wanted to get a sense of how you saw net interest income evolving versus loan growth and your NIM for the upcoming year?

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

For NIM? Chris A. Delgado – JPMorgan Securities LLC: Yes.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

In the NIM or NIM really we expect different forces that can impact and influence this number for both this quarter, the last quarter and looking forward thinking in the 2014. On the negative side, you have first the internal rate cuts that sure we think it will be in place from the next year, maybe the first quarter, maybe the second quarter, but anyway will be flat in terms of the market internal rates. The second thing is a negative side, it was having with our Chilean banks because as long as the internal rate builds out, the remuneration of these accounts are lower, but at the same time, you have with a internal rate cut, you have a benefit because of the repricing of the portfolio, because our liability side on in average is shorter than our asset turnoff. So really you have a positive and negative, so net-net you should think that we will affect or we should expect a lower level of NIM that could be in the range between 15 basis points and 25 basis points in a year. But however, this is instead of the NIM, however, we expect to continue growing in our portfolio that or really is a positive trend that will partially offset, or totally offset or partially offset the lower level of NIM. Chris A. Delgado – JPMorgan Securities LLC: Okay, and just so I get the number correct, a 15 basis point decline over the course of the next year then, is that from the current level of about 5.3 or the full-year average of about 5?

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

It is in terms of our average level… Chris A. Delgado – JPMorgan Securities LLC: Okay.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Average level of this year because you know that this quarter we have an inflation of more than 1% that impacts very positively the number. Chris A. Delgado – JPMorgan Securities LLC: Okay, great. Thank you.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

You are welcome.

Operator

Operator

(Operator Instructions) This concludes the question-and-answer section. At this time, I would like to turn the floor back to Banco de Chile for closing remarks.

Pedro Samhan Escandar

Management

Thank you very much. Well, before ending the call, I would like to close by saying that 2013 has been relatively nice year for Banco de Chile.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. This does conclude today’s presentation. You may now disconnect your lines. Have a great day.