Banco Itau Chile

SGO:ITAUCL

Earnings Call Transcript 2024-Q1

[Operator]

Hello and thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Banco Itau Chile First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions]I would now like to turn the conference over to Claudia Labbe, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

[Claudia Montevecchi, executive]

Good morning. Thank you for joining our conference call for our first quarter 2024. I would like to remind you that our remarks may include forward-looking information and our actual results could differ materially from what is discussed in this presentation. I would also like to draw your attention to the financial information included in this Management Discussion and Analysis presentation, which is based on our managerial model in which we adjust for nonrecurring events and apply managerial criteria to disclose our income statements. Please remind that since the second quarter, 2019, we are presenting our income statement in the same manner as we do internally. This managerial financial model reflects how we measure, analyze, and discuss financial results by segregating commercial performance, financial risk management, credit risk management, and cost efficiency. We believe this form of presenting our results will give you a clearer and better view of our performance from these different perspectives. Please refer to Pages 14 to 17 of our report for further details.Now, Mr. Moura will continue with the presentation.

[Gabriel De Moura, executive]

Thank you, Claudia. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for this first quarter of 2024 conference call. As usual, I will present the main highlights of our first quarter results. To start this presentation, I will give you some background information on the economic factors that have impacted the banking industry in Chile this quarter and how some variables of the industry responded to these factors. In the first months of 2024, economic activity in Chile, measured through the monthly economic Activity index or IMACEC, showed positive signs increasing sequentially from the fourth quarter 2023 and rising an estimated 2.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2024. Inflation in the first quarter surprised us on the upside. Consumer prices increased by an accumulated 0.9% in the first quarter '24, up from 0.6% in the fourth quarter 2023. Annual inflation sits at 3.7% with pressure on the upside because of the devaluation of the Chilean peso. Sequential employment growth and nominal wage growth, which has averaged 7% year on year in the last quarter.At the end of January, the Central Bank cut monetary policy rate by 100 basis points to 7.25%, noting that inflation fell faster than expected in the fourth quarter of last year and signaling a [ swift ] cutting cycle to reach neutral levels, which are between 3.5% and 4.5% by the second half of 2024. Nevertheless, in light of higher CPI pressures in the first quarter and deteriorating global financial conditions, the Central Bank decided to slow down the pace of rate cuts to 75 basis points at its last meeting to 6.5% and signal a somewhat less aggressive cycle ahead.Within this macroeconomic scenario, loans in the financial industry grew by 1.55% in the first quarter and 4.47% compared to the same month of the previous year, which is a real growth of 0.19%, driven mainly by the expansion of the mortgage loan portfolio. In the case of demand deposits, the system registered 3.8% growth in 12 months to March, coming back to positive growth after a long period of decline time deposits growth also accelerated to [ 5.1% ] growth in 12 months in March compared to 3.5% in the previous quarter.Now, moving on to the highlights on Slide 3. You can see that we have maintained consistency, both in terms of returns and efficiency, achieving a quarterly return on tangible equity in Chile of 16.8%, and an efficiency ratio below 40%, both of which compare favorably within our peer group. At the bottom left of the page, we show you how our principality strategy translated into deposits and assets under management growth, which has really taken off since the second half of last year. At the bottom right of the page we can see that our changing mix towards retail has continued. It has been a slow process which was expected, but it continues steadily and resulted in an increase of a mix in retail by 120 basis points over the last 4 quarters.On Slide 4, we show our framework of strategic levers which are organized along 4 different pillars. The first pillar is customer relationship, comprising client satisfaction, principality, and our brand. The second pillar is product market fit, containing the growth and digital distribution levers. The third strategic pillar is operational efficiency, encompassing efficiency in operating costs, competitive funding, cost of credit, and financial capabilities. The fourth pillar consists our key capabilities, including IT enablers, security, data, and artificial intelligence application, culture and talent. The elements in the framework are not new and they can be organized in many different ways, so the value is not really the framework itself. The value is the application in the form of our management model, which we define objectives and key results that truly permeate the whole organization and are linked within the evaluation and incentive systems.We now move to Slide 5, which is about sustainability and corporate responsibility in terms of accountability and transparency. We understand sustainability as our ability to sustainably maintain resources and relationships, manage our impact, and be transparent with our stakeholders. A key stakeholder group is obviously our staff, so we are pleased to be recognized in the Great Place to Work survey as the Best Bank to Work For in Chile in #6 among companies with more than 1,000 employees. This result reflects our efforts of working space that welcomes talent and stimulates their power of transformation and development. Our progress in the decarbonization of our operations has allowed us to reduce our operational carbon footprint by 17% compared to the previous year. In addition, we have partially completed our 2030 targets. Based on our commitment to reduce scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 42%, we have decreased scope 1 emissions by 67%, scope 2 emissions by 64%, and scope 3 emissions by 15%. In addition, we based our goals to reduce energy and water consumption and waste generation by 25%. We have reduced energy consumption by 32%, water used by 40%, and waste by 23%. In terms of accountability and transparency, we are proud to be nominated among the top 10 companies in Chile in the ALAS20 ranking in all 3 categories: leader in responsible investment; leader investor relations; and leader in sustainability. I would also like to draw your attention to our latest Annual Integrated Report, which we have already aligned to the new standard of the Chilean Commission for the financial market, the CMF, which will become mandatory for banks in 2025. Our Annual Integrated Report was recognized as the best among banks in terms of quality of the information disclosed and #2 in banks in the level of disclosure, according to the ESG Screening NCG 461 study conducted by the Governart company in Chile.Now moving forward to Slide 6. We will present our financial highlights for the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of the year, consolidated net income totaled CLP 103.2 billion, showing considerable growth compared to the previous year, which was 18%, as well as the same period in 2023, which was 31%. Net income in Chile was CLP 106.3 billion, increasing 26% year over year. The consolidated return on tangible equity amounted to 20.7%, surpassing the fourth quarter 2023 by 1.6 percentage points in the first quarter of 2023 by 1.5 percentage points. Consolidated financial margin with clients reached the CLP 348.3 billion, a 12.4% increase year over year, mainly driven by improved spreads in the loan portfolio, mainly associated with retail banking and greater activity in derivatives and FX transactions with clients in Chile, which offset the decrease in the loan portfolio in Colombia.Consolidated commissions and fees totaled CLP 48.7 billion in the first quarter of the year, showing an increase of 2.9% compared to the previous year, marked by higher results in Colombia, with mainly credit cards and sustained upward trend in the generation of fees associated with mutual funds. The bank's noninterest expenses decreased by 2.1% compared to the previous quarter and expanded by 19.6% compared to the same period in 2023. It's worth noting, though, that the consolidated figures are strongly influenced by the appreciation of the Colombian peso, which was almost 50% up against the Chilean pesos year on year. The consolidated efficiency ratio was 48.3% in the first quarter of 2024, improved compared to the previous quarter in the same period in 2023. Ensuring the quality of the portfolio is a key aspect in the development of the bank's activity and the achievement of its objectives. In the first quarter of the year, the bank cost of credit decreased by 10.67% compared to the previous quarter and increased by 3.5% compared to the same period in 2023, highlighting the good performance in cost of credit of the Wholesale Bank in Chile and the improvement in recovery loans written off as losses in Colombia. When we look at our credit portfolio, we see it grew 1.9% year over year in Chile, driven by greater activity in the retail portfolio, both in consumer and mortgages. As for Colombia, excluding the effect of exchange rate variations at the end of the first quarter 2024, the loan portfolio showed a reduction of 0.9% compared to the previous quarter and 9.8% in the 12-month comparison, reaching CLP 5.22 billion.We now move to Slide 7 where we show our financial margins with clients in Chile decreased by 5.5% during the quarter and grew 7.4% compared to the previous year, driven by improved spreads in the loan portfolio mainly associated with retail banking and greater activity in derivatives and FX transactions as I mentioned previously. The decrease compared to the fourth quarter 2023 is primarily driven by the effects observed in the fourth quarter that meant a one-off increase in results in that period, explained by the annual sale of the CAE portfolio and management of nonperforming loans. In addition to the effect of the decrease in monetary policy rates, which affect the results of our liabilities in working capital.On Slide 8, we can see that our financial margins with the market in Chile reached CLP 36.8 billion in the first quarter 2024, showing a growth of 103.4% compared to the previous quarter, driven by higher results obtained in the management of trading positions, to which is added the management of the mismatch of inflation in our asset liability matching process in the context of a lower inflation observed in the year. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the financial margins with the market totaled an improvement of 198% as a result of the positive results generated in the first quarter of 2024 in relation to the trading positions managed by the trading desk, as well as impact of the lower monetary policy rate on the bank's funding cost, which is complemented by the growth in deposits and its impact on financing mix, such as there is an improvement of 5 percentage points in the bank's self-financing ratio.Next on Slide 9, we can have an overview of our commissions and fees. In the first quarter of the year, commissions and fees income totaled CLP 38.9 billion, which presents a significant variation compared to the previous quarter. However, in the composition of revenues, the positive moment in results contained under the financial advisory and others stands out, representing a 26.3% quarter over quarter equivalent to CLP 2.5 billion, an improvement that considers an increase in the results of structuring services. Likewise, the performance in fees of Asset Management also stands out, having totaled a growth of 12.3% in the quarter, driven by the growth in the level of managed fund portfolios, closing the quarter at an average of CLP 3,353 billion.Compared to the same period in 2023, results from commissions and fees decreased by 3.9%, as a result of a reduction in insurance fees related to slower credit origination as well as regulatory changes affecting home insurance products. Counteracting the movements indicated above, the 51.4% improvement in asset management fees stands out, as a result of the growth in the portfolio of managed funds and the commercial strategies applied by the bank in the context of the defined principality objective. In addition, there were higher fees in credit operations and guarantees provided having improved by 16.4% in the period, mainly due to growth in the activity carried out by the Wholesale Bank in relation to guarantees, letter of credits, and freely available lines, among others.Moving on to Slide 10, we see our main credit indicators in Chile. In the first quarter of the year, the cost of credit totaled CLP 80.2 billion, 3.4% lower than the previous quarter, due to lower write-offs in the consumer portfolio, which were partly compensated by lower recoveries of charge-offs in our Wholesale Bank. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the cost of credit increased by 4.8% as a result of higher provisions and write-offs recognized in the first quarter of the year, mainly by the retail portfolio, which is basically consumer, which, at the industry level, has presented an increase in nonperforming loans, returning to pre-pandemic levels of nonperforming loans.On the other hand, and related to the situation of delinquency mentioned above, collection management has taken on greater significance, which in turn resulted in improvement in level of recovery of loans written off as losses. The portfolio of nonperforming loans totaled CLP 512.9 billion in the first quarter, representing an increase of CLP 28 billion, or 5.8% compared to the previous period, a variation that is mainly explained by the higher NPL portfolio of commercial and consumer loans. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, this portfolio showed a growth of 9.6% given the pressure on nonperforming loans that affected the industry as well as the effects of inflation that impact the portfolio of commercial and mortgage loans indexed to this unit. On the other hand, the coverage ratio totaled 153% in the first quarter of the year, down 3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, due to the higher relative growth of the 5.8% of the NPL portfolio compared to the 3.8% increase in total credit. Compared to the first quarter 2023, there was a decrease by 2 percentage points in the coverage ratio, given the 9.6% growth in the NPL portfolio, which outpaced the expansion in the balance of credit provisions observed in comparison of these periods.On Slide 11, we show noninterest expense for the quarter of the Chilean operation, which decreased 14.9% compared to the previous quarter and increased 2.9% year over year. The quarter-over-quarter decrease was mainly driven by a 9.2% decrease in personal expenses in the first quarter, which is due to lower headcount higher to date and the reduction of corresponding compensation costs. In addition, administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2024 was 22.5% below the previous quarter expenditure. Since the last 2023 months, higher disbursements related to donations and contributions were recognized, as well as the effects of the advertising campaigns carried out in the context of the bank's rebranding.On Slide 12, we highlight our outperformance over the last 12 months in 3 key products for our strategy: consumer loans, deposits, and assets under management. Our consumer loans in Chile grew 3.1% in the last 12 months to March 31, compared to a system's growth of 2.5%, reinforcing the improvement in our mix. We also had a better performance than the market in demand deposits, mainly individual accounts with 12-month growth of 4.3%, higher than the system's growth of 3.8%. In time deposits, we are growing faster than the market being the bank with the highest 12 months' growth compared to the previous month and the second compared to the same period of the previous year. On investment business, our assets under management also grew by 65.6%, faster than the system which grew 37.8% in the 12 months' period to March '24, positioning Itau Chile yet another quarter as the bank with the biggest growth among its peer banks and the third player with the largest growth compared to banks and other fund managers. Our deposit to loans ratio also grew by 5.28% in the 12 months to the end of the first quarter, while [ market stood ] stable, which shows that we are improving our self-funding and closing the gap to our competitors.On the next page on Slide 13, we once again show that we are among the best capitalized and most liquid banks in Chile, closing the quarter with a 10.8% CET1 ratio, well above the minimum regulatory requirements and in line with international standards and capital levels. Our liquidity ratios are also well positioned among peers and significantly above regulatory limits, in line with our risk appetite and funding strategy. The improvement of our financial strength over the last years demonstrates our commitment to resilience and prudent management, which is the essence of the Itau management model.On Slide 14 we can have an overview of our operation in Colombia. When we look at our cost of credit in the first quarter of 2024, it amounted to CLP 15.4 billion, showing a decrease of 44% compared to the previous period and 34% compared to the first quarter of 2023, as a result of better performance in recovery of loans written off as losses observed in the first quarter of 2024. In terms of NPLs, the portfolio of loans of nonperforming loans over 90 days totaled CLP 130.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024, presenting a reduction of CLP 35.2 billion, or 21.3% compared to the previous period, a variation that is mainly explained by movements observed in the commercial portfolio. Those indicators show that we had a better performance when compared to our peer group in the period, maintaining a positive return on equity on a challenging economic environment. As we commented during the presentation, despite the fact that economic pressures remain, which translates into lower credit activity and higher credit risk, we maintained our performance indicators within the top of the industry. The above is a result of the execution of our strategy plan and the focus on delivering sustainable results.With that, we conclude the presentation that we have for you today, and we will gladly take any questions that you might have.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] So, the first question comes from the line of Daniel Mora. So #1, what is the impact coming from the expiration of the FCIC and what would be the net effect of the financial margin considering the evolution of inflation and the positive impact coming from the decreases in interest rates?

[Gabriel De Moura, executive]

All the impacts from the FCIC are within the guidance that we have published for the year. As you know, we had roughly $3 billion in FCIC loans. 2/3 of that were paid at the beginning of last month, and we still have $1 billion that we shall pay in June, if I'm not mistaken. These were already in terms of liquidity levels provisions in our balance sheet. So, as I mentioned previously, of course, there is a negative impact of paying out the FCIC loans. But the flipside to this discussion is that we see an improvement on our banking book as interest rates go low. So, I think that we are offsetting most of the impact of the FCIC when we take a look at the performance of our banking book. Marginally there is a negative impact implied in the guidance that we gave for the year. But as you can see in the results, I think that we were able to, with a better management of the interest rate cycle, the inflation cycle in Chile, to counterpoint any losses that we have from the FCIC. So, we still maintain the guidance that we have in terms of margins and returns for this year.

[Operator]

Okay. And the second question, #2, what is the expected cost of risk given the evolution of NPLs in Chile and Colombia? Do you see any impact coming from the new provisioning model of the consumer segment?

[Gabriel De Moura, executive]

There, again, we are within the guidance for cost of credit. We didn't change our view in terms of the convergence of the credit cycle that we see for both Chile and Colombia. The new provisioning model, when discussions started with the regulator, we saw a bigger impact than we see nowadays. We are still calculating all the effects given the changes in regulation from when it was lastly produced. But as of today, we expect a minimal impact in our consumer portfolio given the changes. In terms of NPLs, I think that NPLs might be still pressured in the second quarter of the year. I don't think that it necessarily translates into higher cost of credit in terms of consumer because the delinquency ratios that we are seeing, they mostly come from renegotiated loans in the past as we gave more time for our clients to be able to pay those loans, and we increased provisions for those loans in the past. So we might see a marginal increase in NPLs but for loans that are more provisioned in terms of cost of credit compared to other cycles. However, for the second half of the year, I expect markets to be better in terms of NPLs and cost of credit, especially on the consumer side of this discussion.

[Operator]

Another question comes from the line of Alonso Aramburu. And the question is, would you say that you have seen the worst of cycle of asset quality deterioration in Chile and Colombia?

[Gabriel De Moura, executive]

Alonso, as I mentioned in the previous call, I'm not ready to call the end of the credit cycle that we are living in and the opening of a new credit cycle in Chile and Colombia. The markets are more resilient [ and sensitive ] to the high interest rates and effects in income that we saw, especially on the consumer side, right? If I take a look at other lines, for instance, in mortgages, I think they have, because of all the effect and guarantees and the launch of value levels that we operate, I think, that portfolio is more well behaved. And on the commercial side, I think, it follows a different path in terms of NPLs. So mainly we are talking here about consumers. I think that we are on the apex of the credit cycle, marginally. I don't see a strong deterioration in the last months and neither do we expect a strong deterioration on the next few months. But I'm not yet ready to call this the end of the cycle of NPLs here in Chile and Colombia. I think that we still need to see a little bit lower interest rates in Chile and definitely that's the case in Colombia. Economic growth on the flipside has been more resilient than we previously thought. But I think that we are asymptotic, meaning that I think that we are in the apex of the cycle [ and any worse ] that we see might be marginal levels to what we see nowadays. I'm just a little bit cautious in terms of the future, but nevertheless, I'm not changing my view regarding what is the cost of credit that we have for the year.

[Operator]

And there are no further questions at this time. So, I'll now turn the call back over to Gabriel de Moura. Please.

[Gabriel De Moura, executive]

Fantastic. Thank you so much for your attention, for your questions, and as always, Rodrigo, Claudia, and I are fully available to you if you have any further questions. We'll see you next time. Take care. Bye-bye.

[Operator]

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.