Seventeen of the 23 biggest banks in Latin America saw their return on average risk-weighted assets, or RORWA, improve year over year in the second quarter of 2019, with two Argentine banks leading the pack, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Grupo Financiero Galicia SA's RORWA — an indicator showing whether a bank is generating adequate rewards for the risks it has taken — jumped 893 basis points to 12.94% in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Banco Santander Río SA recorded a RoRWA of 5.96%, up 255 basis points from a year earlier.
Both Argentine banks posted significant year-over-year increases in their second-quarter profits, with Galicia's net income jumping 316% and Santander Río's up 142%.
Mexico's Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat SA de CV showed the biggest decrease in RORWA among a sample group of banks, sliding 88 basis points to 2.06%.
Scotiabank Colpatria SA had the lowest RORWA in the group at 0.82%.

