27th January 2012
HSBC is to sell all of its banking operations in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras to Banco Davivienda S.A. of Colombia. The sale price is $801m (€619m £515m ¥62.5bn Y5,057m), cash. The deal is not expected to complete until Q4 and is subject to regulatory 'and other' approvals.
The businesses sold contain 136 branches and assets at 30th September were $4.3bn and loan outstandings were $2.5bn.
Davivienda is Colombia's third largest bank.
Commenting on the transaction, Antonio Losada, CEO-designate of HSBC Latin America, said: "We are pleased to have reached this agreement. The transaction demonstrates our commitment to driving growth and improving returns in Latin America by divesting of businesses that do not meet our investment criteria. I would like to thank the management teams and employees for their dedication and wish them every success for the future."