Peru

Peru's banking system consists of 20 multiple banks, with assets of S/604.3bn in July 2026, alongside the state-owned Banco de la Nación and non-bank deposit takers such as municipal savings banks. Concentration is high: Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), the main subsidiary of Credicorp, held 36.0% of multiple-bank assets, followed by BBVA Perú (19.9%), Interbank (13.6%) and Scotiabank Perú (12.0%), giving the four largest banks 81.6%. Credicorp also owns Mibanco, which focuses on micro and small-business lending. The remaining banks are mid-sized or niche corporate, consumer-finance, retail-affiliated and foreign-owned institutions.

Partial dollarisation shapes the balance sheet: in July 2026, 35.8% of deposits and about 27% of performing loans were denominated in foreign currency, and the SBS sets separate liquidity requirements for soles and dollars. Funding is dominated by customer deposits of S/424.9bn, equal to 70% of assets, supplemented by S/29.3bn of borrowings and bonds. Housing loans account for about 19% of performing loans, while corporate, SME, consumer and credit-card lending make up the rest; consumer and small-business segments carry higher margins and higher credit risk. Multiple-bank assets rose 6.3% in nominal terms between December 2025 and July 2026.

Capital and profitability are strong. The system's global capital ratio was 17.0% at June 2026, and banks earned an annualised return on equity of 20.3% and return on assets of 2.7% in the twelve months to July 2026, with operating expenses equal to 41.1% of the total financial margin. Delinquent loans were 2.85% of direct loans on the SBS definition and refinanced or restructured loans 1.56%, with provisions covering 181% of delinquent loans. The high-risk portfolio adjusted for write-offs was 6.4%, highlighting the importance of charge-offs in the consumer and small-business books.

Inflation has moved above target: headline inflation reached 4.4% in August 2026, above the BCRP's 1–3% range, owing mainly to fuel and transport costs, and one-year inflation expectations rose to 3.1%. The BCRP has kept its reference rate at 4.25% for twelve months and flagged El Niño as a risk of more persistent inflation, while noting that terms of trade continue to favour the economy. For banks, the key sensitivities are credit quality in consumer and small-business lending, foreign-currency mismatches among borrowers, and competition from new entrants such as Banco Efectiva, converted from a finance company in May 2026.