From the BNA they stated that between 2015 and 2019 there was “an emptying of the institution” that not only implied a decrease in financing to segments such as agriculture and industry, particularly the SME segment, but also “a credit concentration was implemented that culminated with the granting, fraudulently, of the credit of the largest amount in the history of the institution to the Vicentín company, with the results that are already known and that the Justice is investigating.”
Following this line, they pointed out that said process culminated in a “marked decapitalization of the institution” that implied a reduction of Net Worth “by almost 50%”. “This decreased the lending capacity of the BNA, reduced its business, decreased the Bank’s participation in the financial system and left companies and individuals without financial assistance at the time they most needed it,” they specified.
As of Hecker’s entry into the presidency of the BNA, the management was notable for an “increase, deepening and deconcentration of productive financing, especially aimed at SMEs”, in addition to a policy of modernization of the institution, accompanied by the financial inclusion of sectors traditionally neglected.
New customers
From this, the entity managed to attract 4.5 million new clients to reach 13.6 million by the first half of 2022. In this way, an increase of 50% in the number of clients was achieved.
In addition, they highlighted that from January 2020 to date “the BNA has granted financing to the private sector for an amount close to 2.6 billion pesos (at 2022 values)”, where financing to the private sector represented about 9 % of the country’s total investment. In this sense, 89% was directed to SMEs and more than 110 thousand companies from all sectors were financed.
With this, the BNA not only managed to recover from the patrimonial loss that occurred during the macrista administration, but also “has allowed it to exceed the patrimonial level registered in December 2015.”
BNA+ Wallet
Regarding the task of digitalization and financial inclusion, as of July 2022, the BNA+ wallet reached 7.1 million unique users. In this way, it became the banking app with the most users and the most used in the entire country.
Currently, its volume exceeds the ATM withdrawals of the Bank’s clients and represents 65% of the institution’s total transactions.
In addition, they highlighted the policy of support for culture, sports and tourism, for which zero-rate loans were delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic to institutions in the three sectors.
Business financing
On the other hand, they pointed out that “in the first six months of 2022, the total financing to companies reached $984 billion, which implied an increase of 250% compared to December 2019”, while the BNA’s loan portfolio to the productive sector multiplied by seven compared to 2019.
In turn, they highlighted that since January 2020 “the Bank has granted more than 1.5 million personal loans for a total of 183 billion pesos.” The accumulated amount of personal loans so far in 2022 stood at $62,868 million, more than doubling the value registered in the same period of the previous year, they added. In the six months of this year, operations multiplied by five compared to 2021 and by seven compared to 2020.
Hecker’s departure from the BNA comes after the changes in the cabinet announced by President Alberto Fernández, for which the economist Silvina Batakis left the Ministry of Economy – a place that will be occupied by Sergio Massa – to join the board of directors of the public bank. .
The news about the change reached Hecker at a particular time. The president of the BNA was in an act in Catamarca to present the Nation Mining Card when he rang the phone to announce the news.
Hecker showed a surprised face while looking at his cell phone at an event held in Catamarca. Seconds before going on stage and giving a speech, the director of the entity expressed surprised faces for the news related to his departure.
The economist witnessed the beginning of the act and expected to speak in the framework of the presentation of the Nation Mining Cardin which he was even accompanied by the provincial governor, Raúl Jalil.
“This really was not expecting it”the economist was honest before those present at the time of getting on stage and beginning with his words.
Source: Ambito
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