Insurance and Banking in Latin America

Commissions to insurance agents and brokers in Mexico - Highest year-on-year market share growth ranking

The insurance distribution channels market in Mexico has shown a positive performance in the first quarter of 2023. The commissions paid to insurance agents and brokers increased by 10.5% compared to the same period of 2022, reaching a total of 17,486 million pesos.

The main drivers of this growth were the business lines of life, health and motor insurance, which accounted for 62.1% of the total commissions. Among them, individual life insurance had the highest annual growth rate of 12.7%, followed by health insurance with 13.9% and motor insurance with 12.9%. These three lines also had the highest commissions in absolute terms, with 3,604 million, 5,202 million and 3,793 million pesos respectively.

Other business lines that showed significant growth rates were life others (106.8%), earthquake (44%), agricultural (46.2%) and surety (31.2%). However, their share in the total commissions was relatively low. The only business line that registered a negative growth rate was group life insurance, which decreased by 4.4% and represented 13.8% of the total commissions.

The data also revealed the ranking of the insurers with the highest year-on-year market share growth in terms of commissions paid to agents and brokers. The leader was QUALITAS, with a growth of 0.78%, followed by GRUPO NACIONAL PROVINCIAL, with 0.61%, HIR SEGUROS, with 0.42%, SEGUROS ATLAS, with 0.38% and HDI SEGUROS, with 0.33%.

View report

Number of clients of banking entities in Uruguay - Ranking of highest year-on-year growth in market share

At the end of June 2023, Uruguayan banking entities have a total of 3.3 million customers, which implies a year-on-year growth of 5.4%. Regarding the total volume of deposits measured in Uruguayan Pesos, considering both placements in local currency and in foreign currency, in the same period there was a contraction of 4%, with a total of UY$1,548 billion.

Loans from non-resident clients currently represent 8.4% of the system's total, a significant proportion considering it is a segment of only 61,000 clients. And 84% of the placements are located in the range of up to 30 days, 9% up to 365 days and the remaining 7% for longer terms. Likewise, as of June 2023, 73% of the volume measured in Pesos corresponds to placements in foreign currency, which implies a drop of 3% compared to the 76% that it represented in June 2022.

In terms of the number of active clients, the three leading entities (BANCO REPUBLICA, BANCO ITAU URUGUAY and BANCO SANTANDER URUGUAY) account for 79% of the total. In the last quarter, BANCO ITAU has been the entity with the highest market share capture, with a 0.22% net growth to reach 13.4% by June 2023. It is followed in the market share growth ranking (of both resident and non-resident clients) by SANTANDER, BANCO REPUBLICA, BANCO NACION ARGENTINA and BANCO HERITAGE.

On the other hand, the five largest banks dominate 91% of deposits value considering the set of all currencies and terms. The pack is led by BANCO REPUBLICA, followed by BANCO SANTANDER and BANCO ITAU URUGUAY. BBVA URUGUAY and SCOTIABANK URUGUAY complete the top 5.

View report

Credit Card POS terminals in Venezuela - Highest year-on-year market share growth ranking

The market for POS terminals and merchant acquiring in Venezuela has shown a positive trend in the first quarter of 2023, according to our latest market research report. The number of POS terminals for credit and debit cards increased by 7.2% and 9.1% respectively, compared to the same period of 2022.

The number of affiliated merchants for credit and debit cards also grew by 15.4% and 17.8% respectively. The quarterly variation of these indicators was also positive, with a growth of 2% for credit card POS terminals, 2.7% for credit card affiliated merchants, 1.9% for debit card POS terminals, and 2.5% for debit card affiliated merchants.

These figures reflect the increasing demand for electronic payment methods in the country, as well as the efforts of the financial sector to expand its coverage and offer more options to consumers and businesses. However, not all the indicators were in the green. The number of ATMs decreased by 12.4%, from 5,241 in March 2022 to 4,592 in March 2023. This may be due to the high maintenance costs, security risks, and low profitability of these devices, as well as the preference of customers for other alternatives such as mobile banking, online transfers, or QR codes.

The ranking of acquirers with the highest annual growth in their market share in credit card POS terminals shows that BANCO DE VENEZUELA was the leader, with a 9.81% increase, followed by NACIONAL DE CREDITO with 5.75%, BANCAMIGA with 3.35%, BANESCO with 0.39%, and BANCO EXTERIOR with 0.22%.?

The market for POS terminals and merchant acquiring in Venezuela is expected to continue growing in the following quarters, as the economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic and the hyperinflation. The challenges for the sector include improving the quality and reliability of the service, complying with the regulatory framework and innovating with new technologies and solutions.

View report

Direct written premiums in Mexico - Highest year-on-year market share growth ranking

The insurance market in Mexico showed a strong performance in the first quarter of 2023.? The total direct written premiums (life and non-life, pensions excluded) reached 208.8 billion pesos, a 14% increase compared to the same period of 2022.

The top five insurers by direct written premiums market share were Grupo Nacional Provincial (12.8%), Metlife México (12.5%), BBVA Seguros México (8.5%), AXA Seguros (7.4%) and Seguros Banorte (5.6%). These five companies accounted for 47% of the total market. The highest year-on-year market share growth insurers ranking was led by Agroasemex which increased its share from 1% to 3.6%, a 2.56% growth. This was followed by Citibanamex Seguros which grew from 2.9% to 3.9%, a 0.95% growth. Grupo Nacional Provincial, Quálitas and AIG Seguros México also showed significant market share growth rates of 0.78%, 0.63% and 0.60%, respectively.

The business line performance overview revealed that the most dynamic segments were Hurricane and Other Hydrometeorological Risks, which increased by 60%, Agricultural Insurance, which increased by 36%, and Miscellaneous Insurance, which increased by 33%. These segments benefited from the higher demand for protection against natural disasters and other contingencies.

The segments that also showed positive growth rates were Automobile Insurance (24%), Civil Liability and Professional Risks Insurance (23%), Medical Expenses Insurance (18%), Fire Insurance (12%) and Life Insurance (7%). These segments reflected the recovery of the economic activity and the consumer confidence after the pandemic.

Net Income increased?1.5 billion pesos compared to 2022. This?increase originated from the rise in policy placement and the containment of claims rate.?Financial products?grew 62% due to stabilization?of interest rates at high levels reversing the account effect?for losses from?valuation of financial assets. Finally, the acquisition costs?grew 5.2%, mainly due to the increase in?4.3% in commissions to agents.

View report