The largest bank in Bolivia, Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz keeps a few steps ahead of the competition by continuously investing in the upgrading of both its technology and its already comprehensive palette of products and services. Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz, the nation’s flagship privately-owned bank, is mindful of its hard-won reputation for excellence and the need to keep the precise balance between innovation and time-honoured standards of good banking.
The bank’s savings accounts have offered a safe haven in even the most trying of times and thus gained a standing with the public unequalled by any other Bolivian bank. Over time, Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz has managed to nestle itself into the very bedrock of the country’s financial services industry. Its rock-solid and consistent performance has paid off: Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz has steadily expanded its market share, registering growth levels of ten to fifteen percent annually.
The bank maintains a broad array of products tailored to meet the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz partners with SMEs to help sustain their growth and facilitate expansion into new markets. To that end, the bank offers a full suite of services to businesses that aim to break into foreign markets. The bank of course also provides a number of financing vehicles to underpin and enable the organic growth of SMEs – removing the glass ceiling that often checks the breakout of smaller businesses.
With a young team of professionals in place, Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz is not only exceptionally well poised to help its clients fulfil their personal or corporate ambitions, but also to maximise its exposure to Bolivia’s quiet economic revolution. Whilst the world was looking elsewhere, the land-locked Andean nation has prospered. Last year, Bolivia’s GDP jumped by 6.9% and is well on track for a repeat performance. The nation’s finances are healthy thanks to a significant trade surplus and continued low inflation.
The CFI.co judging panel finds that Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz has struck the right note: the bank has embraced high-end technology while remaining firmly rooted in tradition. The judges also noted that Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz emphasises, at virtually every opportunity, the need for corporate transparency and for adherence to the highest ethical standards. The judging panel wholeheartedly recommends Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz be handed the 2015 Best SME Bank Bolivia Award.