Banking

For more than two decades Mexico’s banking sector has been characterised by sound regulation, high capital adequacy ratios and strong profitability. Having learned from previous experiences, the Mexican banking sector emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 global financial crisis. Since then, lending growth and profitability have picked up, despite a relatively sluggish economy, as has the sector’s share of the economy, with assets as percentage of GDP standing at 41.4% at the end of 2016. With interest rates climbing higher, consumer confidence weakening and macroeconomic uncertainty prevailing, credit growth in Mexico is likely to continue to moderate through 2017, with market observers viewing mortgage lending as being particularly sensitive to the interest rate cycle. Over the longer term, the authorities’ efforts to boost financial inclusion across the country will be crucial to the development of the sector, as well as to socio-economic advances more generally. This chapter features an interview with Agustín Carstens, Governor, Banco de México.