...Largest Guatemalan Banks: Ratings Closely Tied to the Sovereign Banking System Concentrated among Five Largest Banks: The five largest banks represent 82% of the system's assets. In Fitch Rating's opinion, the banks' strong franchises and customer bases will continue sustaining their position in the foreseeable future. BI and Banrural are the dominant players within the system. BI, GT&C, and BAM are corporate- oriented banks while Banrural and Bantrab focus on retail lending. Material Exposure to the Guatemalan Sovereign: The largest banks are all significantly exposed to the Guatemalan sovereign through the holding of large debt securities portfolios, as a proportion of total assets, which are held for liquidity purposes. Fitch believes the banks have strong incentives to maintain liquidity in these instruments, given the lack of other domestic investments and the absence of regulatory capital charges for these securities. Significant Borrower Concentration: The largest source of credit...
