Grupo Financiero Banorte reported that from January to March it obtained profits of 10 thousand 748 million pesos, a growth of 26 percent compared to the same period of the previous year; “This increase demonstrates the solid growth that the bank maintains,” Marcos Ramirez, Banorte’s CEO, told a conference. “With these results we prove that we are the strong Bank of Mexico and that we can compete with the world’s largest banks,” he stressed.

In addition, he attributed this growth to the 4 percent increase in the loan portfolio and the group’s deposits during the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the group’s current credit portfolio totaled 834 thousand 748 million pesos, a growth of 4.2 percent in its annual comparison. In the breakdown, the credit portfolio for families amounted to 327 thousand 577 million pesos, a growth of 6.3 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Mortgage credit showed a growth of 5.9 percent, amounting to 202 thousand 642 million pesos, and Automotive decreased 0.7 percent, with a balance of 28 thousand 051 million. Placement through credit card stood at 39 thousand 606 million pesos, an annual growth of 8.9 percent.

The payroll credit balance totaled 57 thousand 278 million, an increase of 9.6 percent compared to the first quarter. While the commercial credit portfolio reached 202 thousand 283 million pesos, which represents an annual increase of 4.9 percent; the corporate portfolio stood at 144 thousand 857 million, a growth of 3.4 percent in the same period of comparison, and the government portfolio reached 160 thousand 031 million, remaining unchanged against the same period of the previous year.