Panamá. Banco General is the largest lender, with 17.8% of loans; the top three hold 42.5%. The system's loan book changed +2.1% in twelve months. Shrinking by more than 5%: Banco Nacional de Panamá -5.9%; Caja de Ahorros -7.7%; Canal Bank -11.6%; Citibank -10.0%; Banco Ficohsa (Panamá) -52.0%. All banks →
The Register · Central America
Who lends in Central America, and who owns them.
Five supervisors, five file formats, one table. Each bank's loan book in Panamá, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, read from the regulator's own files, checked against the regulator's own totals, and traced to each document's SHA-256 fingerprint. Guatemala is next.
US$170.1bnBank loans in five countries, 89 banks, every one read from its supervisor
79.4%Of Nicaragua's loans sit at three banks, the most concentrated system in the region
16.3%Of loans in the five systems sit with one group, BAC, across 5 countries
US$0–13kDeposit insurance per depositor and per bank: none in Panamá, ₡6m in Costa Rica, where the two state commercial banks also carry a state guarantee
By country
Five systems, one standard.
| Country | Banks | Loans, US$m | 12 months | Top three | Insured per bank | Data to |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PanamáSBP | 38 | 66,053 | +2.1% | 42.5% | None | Aug 2026 |
| Costa RicaSUGEF | 14 | 48,636 | +4.0% | 61.4% | US$13,229 | Sep 2026 |
| HondurasCNBS | 16 | 28,025 | +8.8% | 55.9% | US$9,633 | Sep 2026 |
| El SalvadorSSF | 13 | 20,494 | +11.3% | 57.8% | US$12,054 | Sep 2026 |
| NicaraguaSIBOIF | 8 | 6,843 | +12.3% | 79.4% | US$12,000 | Sep 2026 |
| GuatemalaSIB | – | pending | – | – | US$2,620 | – |
The measures are not identical: Panamá publishes the local loan book (préstamo local), to August 2026; Honduras, the cartera crediticia of its ranking; El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, gross loans, to September 2026. Regional sums combine them as published and leave out Guatemala. Twelve months: at constant exchange rates in Honduras and Costa Rica. Insurance: per depositor and per bank, in dollars at US Treasury rates of 30 September 2026.
Across borders
One owner, several regulators.
Two accounts in two countries can still be one counterparty. A group appears here only where a document on file states the ownership.
16.3% of loans in the five systems · 5 countries
BAC
US$27.8bn in loans · BAC Holding International / BAC International Bank
- BAC International Bank · US$9,145m · 99.9962% held by BAC International Corporation
BAC corporate presentation, IIQ 2026, p. 3 (group structure) · BAC Holding International · sha256 0772b763cc64 - BAC Credomatic Costa Rica · US$9,125m · 100%
BAC corporate presentation, IIQ 2026, p. 3 (group structure) · BAC Holding International · sha256 0772b763cc64 - BAC Credomatic · US$4,306m · 99.99%
BAC corporate presentation, IIQ 2026, p. 3 (group structure) · BAC Holding International · sha256 0772b763cc64 - Banco de América Central · US$3,185m · 99.99%
BAC corporate presentation, IIQ 2026, p. 3 (group structure) · BAC Holding International · sha256 0772b763cc64 - BAC Nicaragua · US$2,032m · 100%
BAC corporate presentation, IIQ 2026, p. 3 (group structure) · BAC Holding International · sha256 0772b763cc64
7.1% of loans in the five systems · 3 countries
Cuscatlán
US$12.0bn in loans · Inversiones Cuscatlán Centroamérica
- Banistmo · US$7,194m · 100%, from 30 Jun 2026
Grupo Cibest 6-K: completion of the sale of Banistmo · Grupo Cibest, SEC · sha256 bbca331adc77 - Banco Cuscatlán de El Salvador · US$3,565m
Grupo Cibest 6-K, 18 Dec 2025: Inversiones Cuscatlán Centroamérica and its banks · Grupo Cibest, SEC · sha256 39f5c9f6923e - Banco La Hipotecaria · US$737m
Grupo Cibest 6-K: La Hipotecaria, a subsidiary of Inversiones Cuscatlán Centroamérica · Grupo Cibest, SEC · sha256 bbca331adc77 - Banco Cuscatlán Honduras · US$531m
Grupo Cibest 6-K, 18 Dec 2025: Inversiones Cuscatlán Centroamérica and its banks · Grupo Cibest, SEC · sha256 39f5c9f6923e
6.5% of loans in the five systems · 4 countries
Davivienda
US$11.1bn in loans · Banco Davivienda (Colombia)
- Davibank · US$3,177m · former Scotiabank Costa Rica; Scotiabank holds about 20% of Davivienda Group
Scotiabank 6-K, 1 Dec 2025: Costa Rica operations transferred to Davivienda (DAVIbank) · Bank of Nova Scotia, SEC · sha256 756f03e08788 - Banco Davivienda (Panamá) · US$3,077m
Scotiabank 6-K, 1 Dec 2025: Panamá operations transferred to Davivienda · Bank of Nova Scotia, SEC · sha256 756f03e08788 - Banco Davivienda Salvadoreño · US$2,885m
Moody's Local, Banco Davivienda Salvadoreño, 23 Apr 2026 · Moody's Local El Salvador · sha256 ae1f1cc66f27 - Banco Davivienda Honduras · US$1,991m · 94.22% via Holding Davivienda Internacional
Banco Davivienda Honduras, audited statements 2025, p. 11 · CNBS · sha256 7d2e351763b3
4.2% of loans in the five systems · 2 countries
Atlántida
US$7.2bn in loans · Inversiones Atlántida (Honduras)
- Banco Atlántida · US$6,187m
Banco Atlántida, audited statements 2025, p. 10 · CNBS · sha256 1854b46ac514 - Banco Atlántida El Salvador · US$1,020m · 99.93%
Banco Atlántida El Salvador, Memoria de labores 2025, p. 59 · Bolsa de Valores de El Salvador · sha256 1219b9116364
Left out until we hold the document: Promerica, Ficohsa and Lafise operate in several countries, but what we have on file proves only local groups or names different parents; Banco Davivienda (Costa Rica), Banco General (Costa Rica) and Banco Atlántida Nicaragua have no ownership document on file yet either.
What the numbers say
Country by country.
Costa Rica. Banco Nacional is the largest lender, with 24.3% of loans; the top three hold 61.4%. The system's loan book changed +4.0% in twelve months at constant exchange rates. Banks SUGEF classes as state-owned or created by special law hold 58.8%. All banks →
Honduras. Banco Atlántida is the largest lender, with 22.1% of loans; the top three hold 55.9%. The system's loan book changed +8.8% in twelve months at constant exchange rates. New since a year ago, and left out of that change: Bancofinter. Shrinking by more than 5%: Banco Popular -10.5%. All banks →
El Salvador. Banco Agrícola is the largest lender, with 24.9% of loans; the top three hold 57.8%. The system's loan book changed +11.3% in twelve months. All banks →
Nicaragua. Banpro is the largest lender, with 29.9% of loans; the top three hold 79.4%. The system's loan book changed +12.3% in twelve months. All banks →
Guatemala. Not in the table yet. The Superintendencia de Bancos' site answers automated readers with a browser challenge, and we do not get around it; the figures go in when we have the files by a route the SIB allows. Deposit insurance there: Q20,000 per person, about US$2,620, at private banks and foreign-bank branches (Fondo para la Protección del Ahorro, Ley de Bancos, art. 87).
Ley de Bancos y Grupos Financieros · Banco de Guatemala · sha256 11909bfae5e7
Safety net
What a depositor gets back.
- Panamá. No deposit insurance. The IMF's January 2024 assessment asked Panamá to create one, and a lender of last resort.
IMF Executive Board concludes 2023 Financial System Stability Assessment with Panamá (Press Release 24/03) · International Monetary Fund · sha256 21cc623ce089 - Costa Rica. ₡6,000,000 per person and per bank, about US$13,229, whatever the currency of the deposit; principal only (Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos, BCCR). BANHVI is outside the fund. At the two state commercial banks, Banco Nacional and Banco de Costa Rica, the fund pays first and the State's guarantee covers balances above ₡6m (FGD rules, art. 19; Ley 1644, art. 4).
Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos · Banco Central de Costa Rica · sha256 73a5a59e4c7e
Reglamento de gestión del FGD y de las OFG, v5 (19 Aug 2024), art. 19 and considerando IX · SUGEF / CONASSIF · sha256 fe5ca02375c1 - Honduras. About US$9,633 per depositor and per bank: L150,000 by law, re-set each January in lempiras to keep its 2001 dollar value of US$9,632.92 (FOSEDE).
Cobertura del seguro de depósitos · FOSEDE · sha256 ece700f16214 - El Salvador. US$12,054 per person and per bank, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 (IGD).
Nuevo monto de la garantía de depósitos · Instituto de Garantía de Depósitos · sha256 711aaf12869f - Nicaragua. US$12,000 per depositor and per bank, principal and interest, net of any debt the depositor owes the bank (Ley 551, art. 32, as reformed).
Ley 551, Sistema de Garantía de Depósitos, y su reforma · Banco Central de Nicaragua · sha256 8be37d408fa4 - Guatemala. Q20,000 per person, about US$2,620, at private banks and foreign-bank branches (Fondo para la Protección del Ahorro, Ley de Bancos, art. 87).
Ley de Bancos y Grupos Financieros · Banco de Guatemala · sha256 11909bfae5e7
For a family treasury, any of these limits is rounding. The real protection is where the cash sits, with whom, and under which sovereign.
Method
How every number is made.
- One reader per regulator, and the build stops if a control fails:
- Costa Rica. Each bank's balance sheet balances, and the banks add up to SUGEF's own sector reports, field by field, every month.
- Honduras. The CNBS ranking publishes no system total, so each bank is checked instead: its local- and foreign-currency books must add to its total.
- El Salvador. Every monthly sheet's banks add up to the SSF's own total column, for loans, deposits and assets.
- Nicaragua. The banks add up to SIBOIF's own banking-system sheet, for loans, deposits and assets, every month.
- Panamá. Sheets reconcile to the SBP's stated total where it gives one; see the Panamá page.
- A month-on-month jump above 15% in any country's system total stops the build: that is how unit errors show up.
- Twelve-month changes remove currency moves. In Honduras and Costa Rica, where part of each book is in dollars and the currency floats, the dollar part is revalued at the latest month's rate, using each regulator's split by currency; Costa Rica has no deposits-by-currency file, so no deposit change is shown there. Nicaragua's rate has been fixed since January 2024; Panamá and El Salvador are dollarised. Banks that entered or left during the year are kept out of system changes. Dollar levels: Honduras at the central bank's month-end rate, Costa Rica at one rate for every month (453.56 colones, US Treasury, 30 September 2026).
Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange, 30 Sep 2026 · US Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service · sha256 2425b90d9e6a - Groups across borders are the only layer we type in, and each membership cites the document that states it.
- Each country page lists its source files with their fingerprints.