Operator
Operator
Welcome to Grupo Aval First Quarter 2020 Consolidated Results Conference Call. My name is Hilda and I will be your operator for today. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A., Grupo Aval, is an issuer of securities in Colombia and in the United States. As such, it is subject to compliance with securities regulation in Colombia and applicable U.S. securities regulation. Grupo Aval is also subject to the inspection and supervision of the Superintendency of Finance as holding company of the Aval financial conglomerate. The consolidated financial information included in this document is presented in accordance with IFRS as currently issued by the IASB. Details of the calculations of non-GAAP measures such as ROAA and ROAE, among others, are explained when required in this report. This report includes forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as may, will, should, expects, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential, or continue, or the negative of these and other comparable words. Actual results and events may differ materially from those anticipated herein as a consequence of changes in general, economic and business conditions, changes in interest and currency rates and other risks described from time to time in our filings with the Registro Nacional de Valores y Emisores and the SEC. Recipients of this document are responsible for the assessment and use of the information provided herein. Matters described in this presentation and our knowledge of them may change extensively and materially over time, but we expressly disclaim any obligation to review, update or correct the information provided in this report, including any forward-looking statements, and do not intend to provide any update for such material developments prior to our next earnings report. The content of this document and the figures included herein are intended to provide a summary of the subjects discussed rather than a comprehensive description. When applicable, in this document we refer to billions as thousands of millions. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez, Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sarmiento Gutiérrez, you may begin. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez: Thank you, Hilda. Good morning and thank you all for joining our first quarter 2020 conference call. Allow me to start by expressing my sincere hope for the wellbeing of all of you and your friends and families. The first quarter of this year can be divided in 2. January and February were months filled with optimism that pointed towards a strong performing year, a year of economic consolidation and growth. However, 2 events marred the month of March, the oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and the globalization of the coronavirus pandemic. These events became evident to the world in the last few weeks of March. And since, most of the countries in the world and Colombia has not been the exception, have been experiencing the pain of overwhelmed health systems, collapsed markets and economies grinding to a halt. I must say that in contrast, it appears that Colombia has fared comparatively well up to now both in COVID-19 contagions as well as in the economic downturn. Today, I would like to invest our time in the following points: a macro review of the economy during the first quarter and some reflections for the remainder of 2020; a review of the actions that we have implemented to conduct our business during this juncture; the actions we’ve taken to support our stakeholders and our contributions to the countries in which we operate; a review of the government’s public policy actions implemented during the pandemic; the main highlights of our own performance in the first quarter of 2020; an update regarding the legal processes of Ruta del Sol; and finally, an update on the status of the acquisition of the Panamanian bank, Multibank. As I said before, up until the end of February, the fundamentals of Colombia’s economy were almost at 70% of our consolidated business results were strong. Data showed a positive momentum in consumer spending and private investment. Retail sales have been growing at an annual rate of 10.3% and industrial production at 4.2%. And then came March. Although the oil war only started early in March and the pandemic was only really felt in the last 2 weeks of the quarter, the impact in the economy was such that GDP growth for the full quarter was only 0.4% adjusted for seasonality, down from 2.8% a year earlier. Annual inflation softened to 3.5% by the end of April 2020, as weakening consumer demand pressed prices downward after rising to 3.8% at the end of 2019 and to 3.9% in March 2020, as food prices temporary rose due to disruptions in supply chains. The Central Bank has taken several measures to continue with its expansionary monetary policy. So far this year, it has reduced its interest rate by 100 basis points, taking it from 4.25% to 3.25%, the lowest level since 2014. To further irrigate liquidity into the economy, the Central Bank has also announced its intention to purchase government securities and private debt from the financial sector for a total of up to Ps. 14 trillion. As expected, employment has been one of the most affected variables by the current juncture. The average unemployment rates for the last 12 months ending on March was 10.7%, up from 10% a year earlier, and from 10.5% per year in 2019. The unemployment figure for the month of March 2020 was 12.6%, 180 basis points higher than in March 2019. This is one of the first palpable consequences of the mandatory quarantine. In 2020, the exchange rate has depreciated by approximately 20%, mainly driven by the effects of the decrease in oil prices and the consequent trade imbalance. In fact, the exchange rate at yearend 2019 was Ps. 3,277 per $1 and had increased to a maximum of Ps. 4,154 per $1 by mid-March. During the last weeks, the exchange rates have somewhat recovered and has hovered around Ps. 3,900 per $1. As we look towards the rest of the year, some dark clouds are already apparent. Energy demand declined 11% year on year in April, and consumer confidence fell from minus 41% from minus 24% in March. The Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 27 in April from 49 in March, showing a sharp contraction in manufacturing activity. However, I will say that there are so many different economic predictions for 2020 from analysts and economists, and such divergence between them, that it is truly hard to provide a macro-guidance with any degree of certainty. It now seems obvious that the economy will not grow this year, but predictions range between 0% growth and a 7% contraction. There is, however, an emerging consensus around a restart of the economy during the latter part of 2020, consolidated in 2021. The IMF, for example, expects a contraction of the economy close to 2.5% in 2020 and a recovery of 3.8% in 2021. Some of the most negative views have come from our own Central Bank, which provided different scenarios with GDP growth ranging between minus 2% to minus 7% for 2020. Inflation will be lower than last years, but it isn’t clear whether it will be closer to 2% or to then 3%. Most analysts have cut their yearend inflation forecast below 3%. The Central Bank will probably lower its repo rate again. But even they are waiting to see how the economy reacts to what they have already done before moving further. With growth expectations deteriorating and inflation forecasts falling, the market expects that the Central Bank will cut interest rates further to a 2.25% to 2% range before yearend. Unemployment is a key variable going forward. We know that it will rise materially. But it is hard to predict whether it will reach 20%, where some analysts are placing it before yearend. Under the current scenario, the government has eased the fiscal deficit goal for 2020 in order to secure resources to: 1, contain the social impact of the crisis; 2, increase the capacity of the health system to provide care for people affected by COVID-19; and 3, stimulate the economy. Fiscal deficit is expected to widen from 2.5% in 2019 to 6.1% in 2020, consistent with the initial target of 2.2% of GDP plus an expected decline in tax revenues of 1.3% of GDP and higher spending of 2.7% of GDP. We considered that this is an appropriate time to run a higher fiscal deficit in order to provide support to the private sector and speed up recovery. The current juncture is putting additional pressure on the country’s current account driven by a decrease in exports, lower remittances and a deterioration of the dollar denominated component of GDP. According to the IMF, Colombia’s current account deficit could reach 4.7% of GDP this year. The exchange rate seems to have formed a few comfort range between Ps. 3,900 and Ps. 4,100 per dollar. At the same time that the price of oil seems more comfortable in the 30s than the 20s, but only time will tell what oil demand will look like once countries go back to work in vehicle or mobilization resumes. In conclusion, the success of public policy to decipher the delicate balance between containment of contagion and a progressive lifting of the quarantine, and the effectiveness of monetary, fiscal and regulatory stimuli will determine the country’s growth for 2020. Moving on to Central America, we expect that the contraction for the region in 2020 will be driven by the contraction in the United States and the consequent decrease in remittances. According to the IMF, the region should contract 3% in 2020, motivated by contractions in all countries, including Nicaragua, contracting 6%; El Salvador, 5.4%; Costa Rica, 3.3%; Honduras, 2.4%; Panama, 2.1%; and Guatemala, 2%. In the meantime, we have been working hard on different fronts, the health of our employees, the execution of our contingency plans to assure the continuity of our operations, the design and offering an opportune and sensible debt relief packages for our clients, the protection of other key stakeholders like our suppliers, and several other corporate and personal contributions in the countries where we operate, allow me to refer in little detail to some of these. To the beginning of the crisis, we have put forth all possible the necessary efforts to protect the health of our employees via home office programs and online health advice. In fact, 94% of our administrative employees are currently working from home. Those that support our branch network are following strict social distancing and sanitary protocols. We have proven the effectiveness of our contingent plans for business continuity. Periodic digital meetings with our CEOs and key executives have allowed me to keep informed on a day to day basis of the company’s operations, have also been conducive to obtain consensus around the design and implementation of action plans in response to different situations that arise as a result of the current juncture, and also have proven helpful in jointly assessing the challenges that our businesses are facing. In turn, each one of our corporate functions is constantly cooperating with our business units. As part of this activity, our CRO and her team, together with our subs have strengthened their risk monitoring routines, focusing on those that could affect our operations during the current juncture. For example, we measure consolidated and individual market risk and liquidity risks on a daily basis. Regarding our customers, starting in March, we launched a relief program for companies and individuals affected by the crisis, including deferral of installments, credit lines at preferential rates for companies to effect payroll payment and protect employment, reduction of fees charged on electronic channels and others. As of last week, we had granted reliefs in Colombia for approximately Ps. 32.5 trillion, representing 26% of the total aggregated portfolio of our 4 banks. 89% of those reliefs were requested by customers, and 11% were granted automatically. In Central America, we have granted reliefs for approximately $7.8 billion, representing 46% of the total aggregated portfolio of the region, 71% of those reliefs have been made automatically, and 29% have been requested by customers. 95,000 retirees who were accustomed to collecting their pension payments physically at our branches have opened digital savings accounts and have started to use alternative channels where physical proximity is minimized. Our AvalPay Center, our digital platform through which customers pay utilities, loans and others experienced a 73% increase in transactions. Our web pages and mobile banking apps experienced 50% and 24% increases in transactions, respectively. We have temporarily waived fees on funds transfers originated from our mobile banking or virtual banking. Handling the increasing activity while implementing social distancing has been a challenge for call centers, monthly average calls to our banks have grown by close to 70% tripling in certain days compared to pre-COVID levels. Those social distancing, in turn, implied reducing 35% of our installed capacity. To deal with this challenge, we enabled additional operator desks in temporary locations, relocated some to work from home and outsourced others. To support our SME suppliers, we are paying 5 days or less in order to provide them with fast liquidity and to protect their businesses and their employees. We have also tried to contribute on a national scale. Ps. 80 billion donation by our controlling shareholder, Mr. Sarmiento Angulo is being used in Colombia to purchase groceries for 400,000 families in need, 300,000 diagnostic tests for COVID-19 and ventilators and other medical equipment. Through Promigas, a Ps. 22 billion donation was made to benefit the most vulnerable population in the Caribbean region. Additionally, through our banks, we donate it to the cities of Bogotá and Cali. In my case as a pilot, I’ve offered my services to the government and to the Civil Air Patrol, a non-profit organization to which I have belonged for the last 15 years to fly testing kits and fly back samples, and to transport groceries to remote places not currently being serviced by airlines, while the skies remain closed for commercial traffic. Public policy will be key to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the economy. The full impact of this crisis will depend mainly on 2 factors: one, how long do health-driven restrictions, mainly the current mandatory quarantine constrained the normal functioning of the economies; and two, the effectiveness of public policies intended to mitigate the impact of the crisis, such as the flexibilization of fiscal policy, the increase and redirection of government spending, a more expansionary monetary policy and banking regulation. Obviously, the success of a few of these policies depend on similar decisions made in the world and by our trading partners. With respect to the first factor, Colombia has already begun to reopen certain sectors of the economy and hopefully the country will be open for a significant portion of its business by the end of June. As part of the second factor, we believe that the actions taken by the government and the Central Bank are on the right track. As of now, some of the most relevant actions are the declaration of an economic state of emergency, which allows the national government to adopt through legislative decrease measures necessary to face the crisis and prevent the extension of its effects. Secondly, allocated resources to: one, increase the capacity of our health system; two, directly subsidize those who lost their sources of income; three, provide guarantees for up to 90% of loans extended by banks to companies, SMEs and independent workers for payroll payments and working capital loans; four, grant agribusiness credit lines through Banco Agrario and loans to other sectors through Bancoldex; five, temporarily suspend pension contributions; and six, postpone tax returns and tax payments. The Central Bank has taken several measures to support the economy such as the reduction of its intervention rate, injections of liquidity to the economy by: one, decreasing the reserve requirement on deposit; two, extend the liquidity auctions, repos and granting access to various participants of the financial system; three, extending the maturities of represent on public and private debt instruments; four, direct purchases of private debt instruments issued by credit institutions; and five, authorizing direct purchases of Colombian sovereign debt, the test. Central American government, excluding Nicaragua, have also adopted measures aimed to mitigate the negative effect of coronavirus in the local economy, including the postponement of tax payment dates, enabling banks to temporarily defer loan payments without negative consequences on credit scores or payment records, and in some cases, direct financial aid to individuals. Although Diego will refer in detail to our financial performance, these are a few highlights for the quarter. Our consolidated assets grew by 24.1% versus the first quarter of 2019 and 14.9% versus the fourth quarter of 2019. Consolidated gross loans grew by 19% versus the first quarter of 2019 and 11.8% versus the fourth quarter of 2019. And consolidated deposits grew by 24.5% versus the first quarter of 2019 and 15.8% versus the fourth quarter of 2019. The quality of our loan portfolio improved slightly to 3.14% albeit aided by the Superintendence of Finance regulation, mandating banks to classify refinanced loans due to the pandemic as current. Cost of risk increased slightly to 2.15% from 2.07% in the last quarter of last year. Total NIM decreased to 4.78% versus 5.63% in the fourth quarter of 2019 driven mostly by a 364 basis points drop in NIM on investment. Corficolombiana’s non-financial sector investments contributed strongly to the quarters result especially from its toll road concessions and Promigas. Aval’s consolidated cost to income efficiency ratio improved to 47.1% from 52.1% a quarter earlier, and that cost to assets ratio improved to 3.4% from 4.1%. The quarter ended with strong funding and liquidity positions, as evidenced by the deposits to net loans ratio of 1.04 times, and the cash-to-deposit ratio of almost 20%. Net income for the quarter was Ps. 700.2 billion or Ps. 31.4 per share, and our return on average equity was 14.2%. The negative impacts to our banks during 2020 will come mainly from an increasing cost of risk and a deceleration of growth. Additionally, for the next few months, we expect lower fee income and lower income from a couple of our nonfinancial businesses, such as the roads and hotels. Starting in March, we have conducted a review of all economic sectors and how each might be affected by the present juncture. Furthermore, we have analyzed our exposure to each of these sectors, and classified our loans according to incremental risk. Regarding our consumer portfolios, we’re running predictive models to try to quantify additional provisions necessary, according to different economic scenarios. Because we opted to offer refinancing mostly to clients who requested it rather than automatically, we are using client feedback to better estimate the possible deterioration in the quality of our consumer loan portfolios, once the reliefs granted come to an end. We booked some additional provisions in March, but a noticeable increase in cost of risk will only be apparent in the second quarter results. A first estimate shows the potential for additional cost of risk of up to 35% this year versus last year’s. We have started to book provisions for our exposure to Avianca, which is, I’m sure, filed for Chapter 11. Our current growth exposure to Avianca is approximately $185 million and our net exposure is approximately $160 million after already having booked provisions for approximately $25 million. 73% of this debt is secured by dollar credit card receivables. 20% is secured by the company’s headquarters in Bogotá and 7% is unsecured. We will continue making provisions as Avianca’s legal and financial situation unfolds. As part of the COVID-19 related measures, subject to very limited exceptions, Colombia Supreme Court of the Judiciary, Consejo Superior de la Judicatura, declared the suspension of judicial terms in the cancellation of public hearings from mid-March until May 24. This suspension has been extended on multiple occasions, consistently with the extension of the quarantine. Accordingly, there is no certainty on whether terms will resume after May 24. As a result of the foregoing, there are no relevant developments to report regarding ongoing legal matters related to Ruta del Sol. We recently announced that Banco de Bogotá through its sub, Leasing Bogotá, S.A. Panamá, and MFG’s, multi banks parent company, there is controlling shareholders as mutually agreed to amend the purchase agreement for up to 100% of the outstanding common shares of MFG signed last October, after certain conditions present were not met in a timely manner before the originally scheduled closing on April 28, 2020. The most important amendments consistent –consisted in an extension of the closing deadline and a reduction in purchase price from $732 million to $449 million. Total shareholders’ equity at closing including $110 million represented in preferred shares, is estimated at $520 million. The transaction has obtained the required regulatory approvals and is now expected to close next week. And now Diego will explain in more detail our business results.