Company Profile
Loan origination activities
Since initiating operations in Panama City, Panama in 1997, La Hipotecaria has become one of the country’s most important providers of mortgage loans for borrowers in the middle to lower-middle income market; borrowers whose average family income range from approximately US$400 to US$1,500 per month. Through its operations that actively originates loans in all of Panama´s major cities, La Hipotecaria originates between US$6 million to US$8 million in mortgages per month with an average loan size of approximately US$50,500. In El Salvador, La Hipotecaria has also become one of the country’s most important providers of mortgage loans for borrowers in the same market niche and originates between US$2 million to US$3 million in mortgages per month with an average loan size of approximately US$62,500. In Colombia, La Hipotecaria is actively lending in all of the country´s major cities in the same lending niche in which it operates in Panama and El Salvador . Today, origination actives in Colombia generate approximately US$4 million in mortgages per month.
La Hipotecaria lends to borrowers who purchase homes in a large diversity of projects and no one real-estate developer or real-estate project is allowed to account for more than 5% of the company’s loan portfolio. Furthermore, in order to maintain its objectivity in loan origination activities, La Hipotecaria does not lend to real estate projects in which shareholders or directors have a direct or indirect interest, nor does it provide construction financing. Loan qualifications, are stringent but fair. Clients must show continuity of employment, a clean credit history, and an income to mortgage payment ratio of approximately 30%. Prudent mortgage lending has been at the cornerstone of La Hipotecaria’s business strategy and is reflected in its very low levels of historical delinquency. (see Portfolio Information).