Santo Domingo.- The Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic (Banco de Reservas) has achieved historic success by increasing its credit portfolio to more than RD$500 billion. This sets a precedent as the first Dominican bank to reach this threshold. According to the bank’s General Administrator, Samuel Pereyra, the portfolio stood at RD$509,290 million as of last October. This reflects a substantial increase of 20.3% compared to the same month of 2022. The growth is mainly due to the bank’s focus on the private sector, which constitutes 93% (RD$473,410 million) of the total portfolio. The public sector represents the remaining 7% (RD$35,880 million).
Pereyra highlighted the bank’s commitment to supporting the country’s productive sectors, emphasizing its important contributions to tourism, manufacturing, and industry. The Reserve Bank has also channeled funds into trade, consumer spending, mortgages, real estate, and credit card services. These areas have seen a growth rate of 15% to 33% over the past year. The bank’s diverse investment strategy includes financing for construction, manufacturing, hospitality, health services, education, and transportation, among others.
The financial stability and performance of the Reserve Bank are also noteworthy. Its solvency ratio has maintained a constant rate of 14.3%, and there has been a decrease in loan defaults, falling from 0.8% to 0.7% over the past year. The bank’s achievements extend beyond financial growth, as it has gained recognition both nationally and internationally for its contributions to key sectors, technological innovation, digitalization efforts, quality customer service, and social responsibility programs.