BLX

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Bladex Q1 2026 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and is also available on the investor section of the company's website, www.bladex.com. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end of today's presentation. Please note today's conference call is being recorded. As a reminder, all participants will be in a listen only mode. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Jorge Salas, Chief Executive Officer. Sir, please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Bladex's results for Q1 of 2026. I will begin with a brief overview of our quarter, then Annette, our CFO, will walk you through the financials in greater detail. After that, I will come back with an update on strategy execution, some thoughts on the macro environment, and our outlook for the rest of the year. Finally, we will open the line for questions. We began 2026 with a very strong quarter in terms of balance sheet growth, while maintaining solid profitability in a highly competitive environment with very tight spreads and wide open capital markets for LatAm issuers. The main highlight of the quarter was the continued expansion of our commercial portfolio. We reached a record of $12 billion, up 8% quarter-over-quarter and 13% year-over-year.

This was fully in line with the growth path we have been discussing in previous quarters and supported by the additional capital flexibility provided by the AT1 issuance completed last year. Growth was driven mainly by medium-term transactions across Colombia, Brazil, and Guatemala. On the funding side, deposits once again reached record levels, closing the quarter at $7.3 billion, up 11% quarter-over-quarter and 25% year-over-year. This strong performance was broad-based across all depositor segments, with Yankee CDs standing out, surpassing $1.7 billion. This reflects continued client activity, the strength of our franchise, and our ability to continue growing deposits at very competitive spreads, which has also helped support margins in the current rate environment.

Turning to revenues, net interest income totaled $70 million, down slightly in the quarter as the balance sheet continues to absorb the full repricing of last year's rate cuts. Latin America has been one of the more resilient regions in a volatile global environment. That has translated into strong liquidity, tighter spreads, and increasing competition. Even in that context, we were able to maintain our net interest margin at 2.34%, supported by disciplined balance sheet management. Strong asset growth, deposit increase, and active liquidity management helped offset pressure on spreads. Fee generation in Q1 typically runs below Q4 levels in our two main fee businesses, letters of credit and syndications. This seasonal pattern is not unusual. Importantly, when compared with Q1 of last year, the underlying trend remains clearly positive.

We continue to see healthy pipeline in fees for Q2, which is consistent with how activity is evolving. Expenses also reflected the usual seasonality at the start of the year. That said, we do expect expenses to increase slightly over the coming quarters as we continue to execute the investment plan contemplated for the rest of the year. Efficiency levels for 2026 will remain within guidance at roughly 28%. Net income for the quarter reached $56.4 million. Return on equity was 14.2%, and our Tier 1 ratio closed the quarter at 17.9%, allowing us to continue supporting growth from a position of strength. Overall, this was a quarter of strong growth and solid profitability despite a more competitive revenue environment.

With that, let me now hand it over to Annette for a more detailed review of the financial results. Annette, please go ahead.

Thank you, Jorge, and good morning, everyone. Let me walk you through financial highlights for Q1 of 2026. From a financial perspective, this quarter represents a solid start of the year. We continued to grow the balance sheet with discipline while maintaining stable profitability in a lower rate environment, supported by continued strengthening of our funding mix and solid fee generation despite Q1 seasonality. Starting with earnings and returns, Bladex delivered net income of $56.4 million, up 9% year-over-year and broadly stable quarter-over-quarter, reflecting the consistency of our core earnings generation. Importantly, return on average assets remains stable at 1.8% even as we continue to grow the balance sheet. This reflects the bank's ability to expand while preserving sustainable profitability.

Return on adjusted equity stood at 14.2% in line with the previous quarter and within our 2026 guidance range, reflecting stable earnings generation. As usual, Q1 results should be assessed in context. The period is typically seasonally softer, particularly for fee income, and this quarter we operated in a lower interest rate environment, which naturally place some pressure in spreads and returns. As we will see through today's presentation, despite this backdrop, our Q1 performance reflected the benefits of disciplined balance sheet growth, stable net interest income, continued funding optimization, and higher fee generation compared to the same period last year. Let's now turn to balance sheet growth and commercial activity. The commercial portfolio reached $12 billion, increasing 13% year-over-year, with growth across both loans and contingencies.

Within this total, loan balances closed at $9.7 billion, reflecting continued execution of our commercial pipeline, while contingent exposures reached $2.1 billion. The quarter's performance was supported by the execution of a strong pipeline of medium-term transactions, including activity originated through our structuring and distribution team. At the same time, our focus remains on selective origination and efficient capital rotation, with 64% of exposures maturing in less than one year, supporting flexibility, disciplined risk management, and repricing capacity. From a composition perspective, diversification remains a key strength. Country exposures are well-distributed, with no single country representing more than 15% of total exposure. Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico remain among our main markets, while the overall mix reflects a balanced regional footprint. Industry diversification also remains strong.

Financial institutions represent 25% of total exposure, while corporate lending is well spread across sectors linked to regional economic activity and trade growth. Starting this quarter, our commercial exposure include a small bond position focused on LatAm issuers recorded at fair value through OCI, totaling $234 million. This represents a tactical capital deployment tool, allowing us to selectively capture opportunities within our existing credit framework while continuing to prioritize loan growth. The fair value OCI classification also provides flexibility to manage these positions over time, including adjusting exposures as credit or market conditions evolve consistent with our risk-adjusted returns objectives. With that, let me now turn to liquidity and the investment portfolio. As we continue to grow the balance sheet, maintaining a strong liquidity position remains a key part of our funding and risk management discipline.

At quarter end, liquid asset $2 billion, representing 14.5% of total assets, remaining well within regulatory requirements and providing flexibility to support commercial growth while preserving current liquidity buffers. The composition of liquidity remains highly conservative, with around 80% placed at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the remainder primarily held with high quality counterparties and multilateral institutions. The Treasury investment portfolio closed the quarter at $1.44 billion, increasing 14% year-over-year. The investment book remained 96% investment grade, geographically diversified outside Latin America, and short in duration, with an average maturity of approximately 1.5 years. These characteristics make it a strong complement to our liquidity structure, providing earning support and contingent funding capacity, as the securities are eligible for access to the Federal Reserve discount window through our New York agency.

Overall, liquidity and investment continue to provide flexibility, resilience, and earning support as we grow the balance sheet. Turning to asset quality. Credit quality remains strong and stable, consistent with the bank's disciplined approach to origination, underwriting, and ongoing monitoring. At quarter end, total credit exposure reached $13.5 billion, with the vast majority remaining in stage one, representing 97.5% of total exposure. Stage two exposures representing 2.2% or approximately $300 million, while the stage three remain minimal at 0.3% or around $39 million. This continues to reflect the high quality profile of the credit book.

From a reserve perspective, total allowances reach $112 million, with a coverage ratio of 0.83%, broadly stable compared to the previous quarter. In addition, coverage of impaired credits remains strong at 2.9x, reflecting a prudent reserve position. The increase in Stage 2 during the quarter primarily reflects our proactive credit assessment of selected exposures in the context of a somewhat more challenging operating environment. Importantly, impaired credits remain stable, and no material credit events were recorded during the quarter. Asset quality therefore remains a core strength of the bank, supported by high quality exposures, prudent reserve coverage, and continued proactive risk management. Let's now move to the funding side of the balance sheet. We continue to see strong momentum in deposit growth, which remains the foundation of our funding strategy.

Deposits reached a record level of $7.3 billion, representing 63% of total funding, increasing both in scale and relevance within our liability structure. Growth was broad-based, driven by corporate deposit, financial institution, and multilateral clients, while Class A shareholder deposits continued to provide a stable and efficient anchor. In addition, Yankee CDs reached a record level of $1.7 billion, further enhancing the diversification and duration of our deposit base. As a result, deposits continue to support balance sheet growth through a more stable and cost-efficient funding structure, which remain an important driver of our ability to sustain margins within our guidance expectation. Beyond deposits, we continue to actively diversify our medium-term funding sources. During the quarter, we executed an additional tranche under our Middle Eastern syndicated loan, alongside other bilateral transactions, further expanding our investor base.

More recently, we completed another successful issuance in the Mexican market of roughly $250 million, which was swapped into U.S. dollars at a cost well within our U.S. dollar curve. This transaction reflects our continued access to diversified funding sources as well as our ability to capture attractive opportunities while optimizing our cost of funds. These quarter results show continued progress in strengthening the liability side of the balance sheet, improving the quality, diversification, and duration of our funding while reinforcing the role of deposits in supporting both margin sustainability and balance sheet growth. Let me now turn to capital. Our capital position remains strong and well above our target levels, providing ample capacity to support continued balance sheet growth. At quarter end, our Basel III Tier 1 ratio increased to 17.9% from 17.4% at year-end 2025.

While our regulatory capital adequacy ratio under Panama's banking framework stood at 14.7%, well above the regulatory minimum. It is important to note that these two ratios are based on different methodologies and therefore do not necessarily move in the same direction quarter to quarter. The Panama regulatory ratio follows a more standardized framework, while the Basel III ratio is more risk-sensitive and better capture changes in the underlying risk profile of our exposures. In Q1, the increase in the Basel III ratio was driven mainly by lower risk-weighted asset intensity, reflecting the regular revision of our internal risk parameters, incorporating the continued strong performance of the credit book. Looking ahead, we continue to expect disciplined capital deployment through 2026, in line with our broader strategic execution.

As capital is deployed, we will expect Basel III Tier 1 ratio to gradually move towards our 15%-16% Tier 1 guidance range, which remains the appropriate operating level for the bank. Our capital position remains strong and continues to provide ample capacity to support growth while preserving balance sheet resilience. Moving now to net interest margin and spreads. During the quarter, net interest margin stood at 2.34%, while net interest spread was 1.69%, reflecting resilient performance in what remains a challenging rate environment. Margins continued to be shaped by several dynamics. The rate cuts implemented since the Q4 of 2025 have had some impact on NIM, while ample market liquidity and strong competition for quality assets continued to pressure loan pricing, particularly in short-term lending.

In addition, while loan average balances remain broadly stable, supporting consistent net interest income, most of the incremental balance growth was concentrated towards the end of the quarter. Therefore, the earnings contribution from this growth was only partially captured in Q1 NII, with a fuller impact expected to be reflected in subsequent periods. At the same time, these pressures have been partially offset by the execution of medium-term transactions, which contribute to a more stable margin and support overall asset yields. On the liability side, continued deposit growth helps support balance sheet growth more efficiently, reinforcing a more stable and cost-efficient funding structure. Taken together, these factors demonstrate the resilience of our margin performance and the benefit of actively managing both sides of the balance sheet. Let me now turn to fee income.

In Q1, fees and commissions reached $13.1 million, up 24% year-over-year, despite this being a seasonally softer period for fee generation. Letters of credit and guarantee remain the main source of fees, generating $7.4 million in the quarter. This activity remains closely tied to our core trade finance business. Q1 was affected by seasonality, but we see good momentum as we move to Q2, supported by higher transaction volumes and the increasing but gradual benefits of our trade platform. Credit commitments and other commissions were another important contributor, reaching $2.7 million, more than doubling compared to the same period last year. This reflect the growing relevance of medium-term transactions and committed facilities within our client offering.

Our structuring and distribution team also continued to contribute to fee income, generating $3.1 million during the quarter, supported by two transactions closed in Costa Rica and Colombia. Importantly, this was achieved despite some transactions closings shifting from Q1 into Q2. While fee recognition in this business can vary depending on execution timing, the syndicated loan pipeline remains solid. In addition, client derivatives are a part of our strategy to further diversify non-interest income. We are seeing growing client demand, particularly in connection with transaction execution. The pipeline remains active, and while the timing of individual transactions may shift across quarters, we expect this business to begin contributing more visibly as execution builds over the upcoming quarters.

Taken together, fee income continues to show solid growth and increasing diversification, supported by trade-related activity, committed facilities, and structuring capabilities, with gradual contribution from client derivative as activity builds through the year. To close, let me turn to operating expenses and efficiency. Operating expenses for the quarter were $22 million, reflecting the usual Q1 seasonality, while also incorporating the impact of a strategic initiative that have moved into production, including higher depreciation, IT-related expenses, and the talent required to support execution. In that context, Q1 expense base reflects the operating impact of initiative already underway. The efficiency ratio for the quarter was 26.5%, remaining well aligned with our full year guidance of approximately 28% and reflecting the bank's ability to absorb a strategic investment while maintaining cost discipline.

As we move through the year, we will continue investing selectively in technology capabilities, talent, and execution capacity required to deliver on our strategic priorities while maintaining a strong focus on operating efficiency. In conclusion, Q1 reflected disciplined balance sheet growth, resilient margins, strong fee generation relative to seasonal patterns, continued funding momentum, and a solid capital position. With that, I will now turn the call back to Jorge for his closing remarks.

Thank you very much, Annette. Let me briefly touch on strategy execution and make a couple of comments on the environment we're operating in. We continue to make good progress on our letters of credit platform. Processing times have consistently come down from almost five hours to about one hour per transaction. This productivity improvement has allowed us to handle smaller tickets profitably, deepen penetration with existing clients as we start to scale the letters of credit business. As outlined in our Investor Day last month, transactional deposits are a key component in the new phase of our strategy. In that sense, we have already onboarded our first correspondent banking client, still in pilot phase, and we're currently working on the second one.

We now have the governance in place to incorporate additional correspondent banking clients during the year in a disciplined way, and we continue to see strong pipeline of interested financial institutions in the region for these services, which we see, of course, as very encouraging. Turning to the macro environment, while global geopolitical and financial conditions have clearly become more volatile, our region continues to show resilience supported by healthy fundamentals, stable trade flows, and a positive investor sentiment. The reason is clear. Latin America's direct trade exposure with the Persian Gulf is very limited, and the region as a whole is a net commodity exporter. Higher commodity prices are historically beneficial for Bladex. Obviously, net commodity importers, mainly Central American and Caribbean countries, will face some headwinds. The ultimate question, of course, is how long will this last?

In any case, our view is that this environment reinforces the importance of disciplined lending and highlights the value of our ability to actively adjust regional exposures given the short-term duration of our lending portfolio. When we look at the year as a whole, our view remains unchanged. Q1 was consistent with our expectations, and we continue to make progress on the strategic front that support the next phase of the bank. For that reason, and based on what we have seen so far in the year, we reaffirm our full year guidance. We do so with confidence while remaining realistic about the competitive environment and the external conditions. With that, please open the call for questions, operator.

Thank you very much for the presentation. We will now begin the Q&A section for investors and analysts. If you wish to ask a question, please press the button Raise Hand. If your question has already been answered, you can leave the queue by clicking on Put Hand Down. There is also the possibility to ask your question through the Q&A icon at the bottom of the screen. You may select the icon and type your question with your name and company. Written questions that are not addressed during the earnings call will be returned by the investor relations team. Our first question comes from Iñigo Vega with Jefferies.

Just a couple of comments on two areas. One, level of worry on the 70 basis points sequential increase in Stage 2 loans in the quarter. Second, why RWAs under Basel III are down 2% quarter-on-quarter when commercial portfolio is up 80% quarter-on-quarter? Only RWAs under Panama align with asset growth.

Yes, thank you, Iñigo. I'll tackle the first question on asset quality, and I'm gonna let Annette, our Chief Finance Officer, tackle the capital ratios questions. The short answer is we're not worried. Asset quality remains very strong. The stage 2 increase reflects more of a proactive risk management approach than any deteriorations. We're just being more cautious on selected exposures, basically in Brazil. We do expect normalization rather than deterioration going forward. I mean, the cost of risk is consistent with the disciplined underwriting of Laith, and that, as I always say, has not changed and will not change. Annette, you wanna talk about capital ratios?

Sure. Yeah, as we mentioned in the call, we follow two different methodologies. One is the regulatory methodology. That's a bank regulated by the Superintendency of Banks. We also, for a reference purpose, also follow Basel III Tier 1 ratio. These are different methodologies. The Panamanian local regulator ratio is based on a more standardized approach, where the exposures are assigned regulatory risk weights based on their categories. While the Basel III Tier 1 ratio is more risk sensitive, it reflects more directly the underlying risk profile of the portfolio, including the borrower quality, country risk, tenor, probability of default, and other characteristics. This is why these two ratios can move differently in a given quarter.

In Q1, our Basel III ratio improved despite the balance sheet growth because of the risk-weighted asset intensity that we had in the portfolio. This is reflected on the strong historical credit performance that we have that incorporated, this was incorporated in the regular revision of our internal risk parameters. The Ecuador country upgrade during the quarter also impacted the Basel III ratio. Obviously, the quality and the mix of the new exposures that we put in the balance sheet also affect the Basel III ratio. On the other hand, the Ecuador upgrade that was given, it is reflected in the Basel III framework, as we mentioned before, but it does not have the same impact under the Panamanian ratio.

This is one of the reasons why these two ratios behave differently from one quarter to the other. Looking ahead, however, we still expect Basel III Tier 1 ratio to gradually normalize toward our 15%-16% target range as we continue to deploy the capital while maintaining ample capacity for disciplined expansion.

Yeah, I think that's it. I mean, the main point is growth in assets does not necessarily imply, you know, higher capital consumption. It's more about quality and mix are critical.

Thank you. Our next question comes from Ricardo Buchpiguel with BTG. You can open your line.

Hi, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity of making questions. I have two here on my side. First, as you mentioned in the presentation, you saw a higher concentration of credit transactions coming out more towards the end of the quarter, which had a negative impact on NIM. It would be helpful if you could comment on what would be the NIM, like excluding this effect, just so we can think a little bit about how is the starting point for NIM in Q2, and everyone can have their own assumption in terms of rate cuts, but the baseline is also helpful.

For my second question, during the quarter we saw a strong sequential growth in credit commitments and guarantees in the balance sheet and when we've seen the revenues, we saw a 14% quarter-over-quarter reduction, right? It'd be great if Sam could walk us through in more details how the monetization cycle of this product works and how seasonality plays out throughout the year, so we can have a better color on this line. Thank you very much.

Okay. Sam, you wanna talk about the commitments, then Annette will talk about NII?

Sure. Thanks for the question, Ricardo. I'll start with your question on commitments. Then I can talk a little bit about the overall letters of credits and guarantees, also business evolution. The commitment fees that you see there is coming from committed but unfunded exposure that is indeed growing and is in line with the expansion of our project finance and infrastructure and syndicated loan businesses. For project finance and infra, for example, it's very common that part of the facility amount will be disbursed not in one go, but rather as CapEx is being deployed. On syndicated loans, those tends to be bigger facilities. It's common to give the client a couple month to fund the transaction. Also, those are commitments that will be funded in due time.

There will be loans, and the commitment period in those cases is much shorter than the tenure of the actual facilities. Most importantly, of course, it generates fees, and those tend to be 30%-40% of the low margin. I think finally, and it's very important, the commitment fees, the commitments that we have there, they're not to liquidity backstop facilities, which is a type of exposure that we don't like as they tend to be used when the underlying credit has deteriorated. Bottom line there is, yes, it's very much commitment fees should continue to grow as the project finance and the syndicated business grow. In terms of letters of credit and guarantees, yeah, the reduction in this quarter versus previous quarter is, or previous two quarters, is more in line with seasonality.

I think there are certain types of letters of credit that they are issued more towards mid, Q2 and Q3. This is a business that we continue, obviously to focus, as you know, on board new clients, and we do expect a pickup or return to normal levels as the year passes. I think that's important to mention as well.

Yeah. Hi, Ricardo. Thank you for your question. Regarding the NIM and NII during Q1, as we mentioned in the call, we've been proactively managing our balance sheet, both the asset side and the liability, which allow us to maintain a resilient NIM as we execute through the year. As we mentioned, our current NIM is affected by the rate cuts that we received towards the end of 2025, and these have an impact in this quarter NIM. It also, it is affected by the ample liquidity and competition for asset quality in the region. We are seeing that, especially in the short term of our lending exposure. Also, the fact that, as we mentioned in the call, some of this growth was towards the end of the quarter.

We are hoping, we're expecting that growth to reflect in the upcoming quarter, providing a sustainable net interest income to the bank. We were able to offset some of these negative pressures by deploying steadily the execution of the medium-term transactions on the loan side, which provides a more stable balances and also margins. was also offset by the growing participation of deposits and also the efficient liquidity management within the balance sheet. With this NIM of around 2.30%, which remains within our guidance, we feel confident that this, the guidance for 2026 will remain around 2.30%, as we have mentioned before.

More importantly, it is also important to take consideration that we are complementing our revenues with the growth of the fees, as Sam just mentioned, in order to make the bank less sensitive to rate movements and provide a more stable profitability for the bank.

Thank you. That's very clear. If I may do, like a quick follow-up on this last point. Assuming that if you get your scenario where you don't have rate cuts, not only in Q2, but throughout this year, do you believe there is upside risk to the guidance, both in NIM and ROE?

Well, as we are seeing, as we've been mentioning for the last couple of quarters, we are seeing, we see that as an upside, although we have seen a lot of pressure on margins. I think most likely, I mean, we're already seeing a benefit from the higher-for-longer rates. However, I mean, these have been offset a little bit by the pressure we have seen on the loans origination.

Great. Thank you.

For now, I would say it has remained kind of like a neutral impact.

Yeah. It's almost a wash.

Perfect. Thank you.

Our next question comes from Natalia Corfield with J.P. Morgan.

Hi, everybody. Thank you for taking my question. I am gonna go back to capitalization, just to be sure on the decline on your Panama ratio, and also wouldn't be this ratio, the Panamanian one, more relevant than the Basel III since you are, like, since your requirements are based on Panama? Those are my two questions.

Hi, Natalia. Both methodologies are important to the bank. Obviously, we're a local bank in Panama, regulated by a superintendency, and it's our priority not only to comply with the ratios, but have ample buffers versus the minimum requirements, and that has been the way the bank manages its capitalization levels. Yes, we are, and our AT1 transaction is based on our regulatory ratio, which we will follow and monitor it closely. The fact that we include our Basel III ratio in, you know, our presentations to investors, this provides a more standardized reference point for investors to be able to compare to other peers in the region. Since, as we mentioned, the methodologies are not different, and some characteristics of our balance sheet are not very well perceived by the local regulator ratio. Basically, those are the two reasons why we follow and comply with both methodologies.

With both.

Perfect. If you could go again through the reasons for the decline on the Panamanian ratio, that would be great.

This responds directly to the growth of the balance sheet that we saw between the Q4 and Q1, which was around 8%.

It's almost independent of the country risk.

Yeah.

That's why we track the other one.

Okay.

It doesn't capture the improvement some of our assets.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It is very neutral to all the exposure outside Panama, especially the corporate positions. It does not differentiate between ratings or if it's investment grade or not investment grade. Those are the characteristics that the Basel III does incorporate into the calculation.

That's-

While the Panamanian-

I get-

....ratio is more for local banks, and it's more detailed about the positions that you have locally than the positions that you have cross-border.

Yeah. It's almost designed for almost for local banks with a larger local exposure. In that sense, Bladex is, you know, a outlier in Panama. I mean, our Panama exposure, as you know, is less than 5% today.

Okay. No. Understood. I would just making a point that the Basel III one is great that you do it, but looking through Latin America, I've seen that each country has its own Basel III regulations. Like, I think it's each country adapted, and then also I know your effort to be able to display something that's comparable, but at the end of the day, I find hard to compare Basel III ratios across Latin America. Just a comment, but thank you very much for your answers.

Thank you, Natalia.

Thank you.

Our next question comes from Andres Soto with Santander.

Good morning, Jorge, Annette, Anita, and team. Thank you for the presentation. My first question is regarding your top line growth. We saw a strong performance this quarter. At the same time, you are mentioning a tougher competitive environment. At what point do you believe this competition will make a dent on your long growth expectations? You believe that the risk-adjusted returns that you are getting now are attractive, and you will continue to grow at the current pace? Is your growth driven by the new products that you are introducing in your product offering?

Thank you, Andres. I'm gonna let Samuel, our Chief Commercial talk about growth in the lending portfolio.

Thanks, Andres. I think we're very confident to meet our guidance in terms of growth for the year. As you know, our exposure is very short term, so things can, the landscape can change quarter to quarter. With that said, we have some ways to mitigate that, which is one side, build a solid, medium term, more value added pipeline, which is the case right now, in project finance infrastructure, in syndicated loans. I think so we're well, I think, prepared to continue deploying at the speed that we're deploying and according to the guidance.

We've also been working very hard to build the short-term pipeline, which is the pipeline for short-term transactions that is more, I would say even more affected by the competitive landscape. I think the way to do that is through our product strategy that we have spoke a lot about in our Investor Day, particularly structure trade and working capital solutions that also been growing at a good speed and with a, I would say promising pipeline. Last but not least, I think the increase in oil prices come as a good tailwind in that respect, right? A lot of our short-term or part of our short-term exposure is really financing cargoes, and those cargoes are bigger in size right now. That helps us as well.

I guess also, Andres, it's very important for us, you know, the quality and the durability of earnings is what is important. Not just scale. Not just scale.

That's very clear. Connecting this with my question on fees, we also saw a strong fee on a year-over-year basis, and I appreciate the explanation that Sam provided regarding these products being fee rich and providing for those upfront and then on lending down the road. Is the current pace for fee income growth sustainable given the strategy for entering to these products such as Letters of Credit, indication, et cetera, or are there any one-offs in the quarter that we should normalize going forward?

No one-offs. I mean, Q1 is typically, as Annette mentioned a minute ago, softer than most in both of our fee businesses and, you know. The point is some transactions shifted into Q2, so it's more a timing effect than a slowdown. You know, fees, as you mentioned, fees are up 24%, year on year. The momentum is good. I guess the bottom line is that fees are becoming a more, you know, structural revenue component over time. No one-offs up to now. If something comes up, of course, we'll mention it as a one-off. We're confident with the guidance on fees.

Yeah. Thank you, Jorge. My question was, actually, sort of the opposite, since, given the strong performance this quarter, I was looking for non-recurring factors explaining the 24%.

No.

... year-on-year growth on the fee income side.

Okay.

Yeah, that's on the case.

That was very clear. Thank you.

Our next question comes from Daniel Mora with Credicorp Capital.

Hi. Good morning, and thank you for the presentation. I have a couple of questions. The first one is, considering that 18% of the portfolio is related to oil and gas, did you see or do you see any tailwinds or headwinds derived from the conflict between U.S. and Iran? If there is any other sector country that should be heavily impacted by the high international oil prices? I know that you mentioned a couple of points on this matter, but if we can go deeper, it will be great. Thank you. My second question is: What will be those elements that could take the 2026 ROE closer to the 15% upper bound of the guidance, considering that loan growth has been quite strong?

NIM, despite the pressure interest rate, has been you, have been able to defend the NIM and fees even though Q1 is softer due to seasonality effects. It continued to grow by double digit, 25%. Given this strong performance, what could be even better to take the ROE to 15%? Thank you so much.

Sam, you wanna go ahead and talk about the,...

First.

... oil and gas-related, exposure?

Sure. I think it's a great question. I think on a net basis, it's much more of a tailwind rather than a headwind. The reason why is, for example, on the, let's say, exposure that is more long-term, that tends to be linked to E&P investments. You know, we're financing the lowest cost producers in the region, the most competitive fields and, of course, with the current, even though the oil prices are more on a spot basis rather than, let's say long-term forwards, but they are very positive for them. I think it reduces the risk of the portfolio.

On the other hand, as I mentioned also for the trade business that is very short term, the size of the cargoes, the typical cargo is higher, so the demand tends to be higher. I think positive in that sense. Of course, part of our business is we're taking risk on the importers of petroleum products, mostly in Central America. Yes, you could argue that that can be increase inflation in those countries and reduce profitability.

In that, those cases, we're really dealing with for the most part, the most cases, national oil companies of very solid countries, which, let's say it's more beneficial that we're financing bigger amounts than detrimental that can impact their, you know, their numbers, their credit quality. I think on a net basis, definitely positive.

I think the short-termer of a portfolio and the ability to reprice and reposition quickly is the key. I mean, the focus for Bladex is not predicting geopolitics, but managing how shocks transmit into spread trade flows and inclined risk and we have the ability to do that and we've been showing that.

Okay. Regarding the first question. Thank you.

Our next question comes.......

No, I think your second question was about.

Upside.

....upside on the ROE guidance. I guess it's a balance, you know, between higher for longer and the margin pressures. I mean, you have, you know, both playing at the same time. Let's see, you know, what ends up happening. I mean, it's hard to predict at this point.

Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you, Daniel.

Okay. Our next question comes from Patrick Abraham with Bulwark Capital. Has the bank started looking at Venezuela as an opportunity for investment? What is your outlook for the country?

Yeah. That's a good question. I mean, Venezuela might represent an upside scenario for Bladex. It is not included in our projections of as today. I mean, we are very actively assessing the risks and the opportunities. Bladex used to be very active in Venezuela, in the oil and gas sector and also with FIs and LCs. I mean, Venezuela used to at some point to represent between 4% and 5% of our total portfolio. Today, our exposure is zero. We know the country well, and it's more a matter of, you know, timing on when to go back in.

Thank you. That's all the questions we have for today. I will pass the line back to the Bladex team for their concluding remarks.

Well, thank you all for your questions and your time today. We appreciate your continued interest in our bank. As the year started in line with our expectations, we remain focused on executing with discipline. Thank you again and have a good day.

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Bladex Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. A slide presentation is accompanying today's webcast and is also available on the Investors section of the company's website, www.bladex.com. [Operator Instructions] Please note today's conference call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Jorge Salas, Chief Executive Officer. Please, sir, go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining. Today, we will discuss Bladex's Fourth quarter and full year 2025 results. I will begin with the key highlights and then, Annette, our CFO, will walk you through the financial results in more detail. After that, I will comment on the macro environment and its implications for Latin America and for Bladex. Finally, I will discuss our guidance for 2026. After that, we will open the call for questions. This same week a year ago, we shared detailed guidance for 2025. As you can see from our 2025 guidance slide, we delivered in all key metrics we guided for in 2025. Achieving this in a year marked by high global liquidity, declining market rates and elevated geopolitical volatility, speaks to our execution capacity and focus on building an even more resilient earnings profile through different cycles. Moving on to the next slide on the highlights of the year. 2025 was the fourth consecutive year of record results. And turning to the balance sheet, our commercial portfolio grew 11.5% year-over-year, driven by a solid expansion in our loan book and an even stronger increase in our contingent portfolio of more than 20% year-on-year. Loan growth was led by Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Argentina, reflecting our ability to originate selectively where we see attractive risk-adjusted opportunities and strong client activity. On the funding side, deposits grew 22% year-over-year and now represent more than 60% of total funding. Class A shareholder deposits remain a core anchor of our funding base, and our Yankee CD program performed strongly, reaching $1.5 billion by year-end. Beyond deposits, we remain active across capital markets and syndicated financing. As you probably recall, in September 2025, we successfully completed our first AT1 issuance, marking an important step in further strengthening our capital structure and enhancing our ability to support the growth of our commercial portfolio going forward. Moving on to the P&L. Despite rate cuts and in a more competitive environment, net interest income reached another record, increasing by 5% year-over-year, supported by volume growth and active balance sheet management. Our net interest margin ended the year at 2.36%, slightly above guidance, reflecting a very active optimization of our portfolio exposures by type of client, industry and geography. In 2025, we continue our progress on revenue diversification. Noninterest income also set a new record, growing 54% year-over-year, and now representing 20% of total revenues coming from 13% 4 years ago when we started executing this plan. This was driven by strong performance of our 2 main fee-generating businesses. Letters of credit, was definitely a very good year for letters of credit in. Fees were up 20% year-on-year while the team completed the implementation of the new trade platform. It was also a record year for our syndication team. Fee generation increased more than 70% from last year. The team was able to close on a record of 13 transactions across 11 countries totaling over $5 billion. On expenses, operating costs grew according to plan as we continue to invest in transformation. We ended the year with an efficiency ratio of 26.7%, again within guidance, reflecting our ongoing cost discipline. All of this translated into a record net income of $227 million, up 10% year-over-year, and a return on equity of 15.4%. In summary, we continue to strengthen our balance sheet, and we continue to diversify our revenue streams, delivering record results year after year. We're doing so while we implement top-of-the-line IT platforms that will enable us to scale our fee businesses going forward in an even more efficient manner. Let me now hand it over to Annette, our CFO, for a detailed financial analysis. Annette, your turn.

Thank you, Jorge, and good morning, everyone. Let me start with the net income and returns for the year. As Jorge mentioned, 2025 was a record year for the bank. We delivered net income of $227 million and an adjusted return on equity of 15.8%, reflecting another year of strong and consistent profitability. These results were driven by sustained commercial portfolio growth, solid revenue generation across both net interest and fee income, disciplined cost management, well-contained credit costs and a strong capital position that continues to support expansion. Importantly, 2025 also shows that Bladex is becoming structurally less rate sensitive. Over the past year, the Federal Reserve implemented 75 basis points of rate cuts. Despite that, we increased net income year-over-year, maintained stable return on assets and kept margin above our target range. This reflects 2 structural improvements in our model, a more diversified revenue base with record noninterest income and a more balanced funding mix with growing deposit balances. Full year net income grew more than 10% year-over-year, demonstrating our ability to perform in a declining rate environment. In the fourth quarter, we generated $56 million in net income, one of the strongest quarters in our history, supported by robust top line generation across both interest and fee income. Moving to returns. Full year adjusted ROE was 15.8% compared to 16.2% in 2024, and fourth quarter adjusted ROE was 14.2% compared to 15.1% in the third quarter. While both comparisons show a moderate decline, it is important to frame this correctly. Returns on assets remained stable in both cases, confirming that underlying operating performance and asset profitability were unchanged. The moderation in ROE was driven primarily by the impact of the [ 175 ] basis points of rate cuts since late 2024 and the higher capital base following the AT1 issuance. In other words, the core earning power of the balance sheet remains intact even as rate decline. Looking ahead to 2026 as we expect 2 additional rate cuts, returns will continue to be influenced by rate environment. However, as we deploy the balance sheet capacity created by the AT1 issuance and move forward towards our target capitalization levels, we expect that continued commercial portfolio growth, further improvement in funding mix and increasing contribution from free base income will support profitability and returns over time. With that context on profitability and returns, let me now walk you through the evolution of our credit portfolio. At year-end, our total credit portfolio reached $12.6 billion, representing 12% year-over-year growth. This was driven by loan growth of roughly $800 million or 10% year-over-year, while contingent business grew 21% versus 2024. Importantly, this growth was achieved with that compromising sector or geographic diversification and was supported by a 9% expansion in our client base. This outcome reflects a planned growth strategy, aligned with prudent capital management and our focus on preserving margin and maintaining strong risk discipline. During the first half of the year, growth were primarily driven by off-balance sheet capital-light activity, particularly in letter of credits and commitments. This allow us to support client activity while preserving balance sheet flexibility in a highly liquid and competitive market. In the second half of the year, loan growth became more pronounced as we began to selectively deploy balance sheet capacity. This was especially visible in the fourth quarter following the AT1 when the loan balances increased by 5% quarter-on-quarter, driven mainly by longer-tenor transactions with attractive risk-adjusted returns. As a result, medium-term loan balances increased by more than $750 million in 2025, while short-term balances remain broadly stable. This mix is reflective of our business model. Short-term loans provide flexibility and active risk management while medium-term transactions allow us to lock in returns where pricing and structure justifies the use of capital. As shown in the chart, the commercial portfolio remains well diversified with a duration of approximately 15 months and about 67% of exposures maturing within the next 12 months, supporting an agile business model. Geographically, growth during 2025 was driven mainly by Guatemala, Argentina and Colombia, with the Dominican Republic contributing in the fourth quarter. From a sector perspective, growth was well diversified across corporate clients, while exposure to financial institutions remain a stable and meaningful component of the portfolio. Overall, this evolution reflects disciplined execution, a capital-aware approach to growth and a prudent risk management. As we move into 2026, the bank is well positioned to continue expanding the loan book without altering its credit risk profile, deploying capital selectively and in line with our return thresholds to support sustainable and resilient profitability. Before turning to asset quality, a brief update on liquidity and the investment portfolio. At year-end, the investment portfolio totaled $1.4 billion, representing a 19% increase year-over-year, in line with balance sheet growth and our liquidity objectives. The portfolio is managed with a conservative risk framework with approximately 91% investment-grade exposure and a composition largely outside Latin America, supporting credit diversification and our liquidity contingency planning. By design, the portfolio remains short in duration and is held through our New York agency with their securities are eligible for use as collateral at the Feral Reserve Bank of New York discount window. Total liquidity closed the quarter at $1.9 billion, representing about 15% of total assets within our target range. As of December 31, approximately 91% of liquidity was placed with the Feral Reserve, reinforcing our conservative liquidity management approach. Overall, our liquidity position remains strong and prudently managed. With that, let me now turn to asset quality. Asset quality remains very strong and stable. As of the fourth quarter, Stage 1 exposures represented 98.2% of total credit portfolio, up from 97.2% in the third quarter, reflecting the high-quality profile of the book. Stage 2 exposures declined to 1.5% from 2.6% in the prior quarter, representing a decrease of roughly $128 million, driven mainly by improvement in credit quality with exposures migrating back to Stage 1, scheduled repayments and maturities and the migration of a single exposure of approximately $20 million to Stage 3. As mentioned in the prior call, Stage 2 provisions this year were largely driven by a single client exposure added in the third quarter from the petrochemical sector. This exposure represents just under 1% of the total credit portfolio and is split roughly 50-50 between trade acceptances and uncommitted bilateral facilities, all with a short remaining tenor. This was an isolated situation, and we continue to see no sign of systemic risk in the portfolio. During the fourth quarter, the client made a scheduled payment, further supporting our Credit assessment. At the same time, we increased coverage as part of our ongoing credit oversight. This explains the increase in Stage 2 provisions even as overall Stage 2 balances decline. Stage 3 exposures remain very limited, representing just 0.3% of total credit portfolio at quarter end. The increase reflects the reclassification of the small exposure that had been in Stage 2 since 2024. Importantly, this exposure was already closely monitored and well provisioned while in Stage 2, so its migration to Stage 3 did not require a material increase in provisions. Exposure represents less than 0.2% of total portfolio and relates to a client in the upstream gas sector. From a reserve perspective, coverage remains very strong. Total allowance for credit losses stood at $107 million at year-end, representing 276% of impaired credits, underscoring the discipline of our provisioning approach and providing a solid buffer against potential credit deterioration. In addition, during the fourth quarter, we recorded $0.6 million in recoveries related to a loan previously written off, reflecting the continued effectiveness of our recovery processes. Overall, while provisions increased modestly due to this single client, they were partially offset by recoveries and upgrades in other exposures that migrated back to Stage 1. The portfolio continues to demonstrate strong credit quality and disciplined forward-looking provisioning. Let me now turn to funding. Throughout 2025, our funding strategy remains centered on supporting balance sheet growth while strengthening funding stability and optimizing our cost of funds. Deposits continue to be the foundation of our liability structure, representing 62% of total funding at year-end despite the usual seasonality we see in the fourth quarter. This funding structure has allowed us to grow the balance sheet with lower reliance on wholesale markets, reinforcing funding resilience and supporting a more efficient cost structure as volumes expanded. From a composition perspective, Class A shareholders remain a structural anchor, representing 35% of total deposits at year-end. Deposits from financial institutions increased steadily during the year, reaching 27%, while corporate deposits remain a stable component of the mix, representing roughly 24% of deposits in the fourth quarter. This growth was accompanied by a broader and more diversified depositor base with the number of depositors increasing by approximately 10% during last year, further strengthening the resilience and the granularity of our funding profile. From a product perspective, the bank's deposit offering remains primarily investment oriented, including demand deposits, time deposits and Yankee CDs. Within this structure, Yankee CDs represented 23% of total deposits at year-end, with about 13% distributed through brokers, contributing to a more diversified and longer tenor financial liabilities. Beyond deposits, we maintain ample access to corresponding bank's credit lines, preserving flexibility to support loan portfolio growth as capital deployments accelerate. During 2025, we executed 2 important transactions that expanded our funding capabilities and investor reach. We completed a Costa Rica and [indiscernible] issuance under our Panamanian program, the first foreign currency bond ever issued in the Panamanian market, which enabled us to begin offering local currency financing to our Costa Rican clients. We also executed a 3-year global syndicated loan with first-time participation from several Middle Eastern banks, raising $150 million and further diversifying our funding sources. Looking ahead, while the pace of deposit growth is expected to normalize, we expect deposit balances to continue increasing in 2026, preserving deposits as our core funding source. At the same time, we are advancing in initiatives aimed at attracting more stable transactional balances, which should support a gradual improvement in our cost of funds over time, with initial contributions beginning in 2026. Now let me briefly turn to capital. Following the AT1 issuance completed in September, its full impact is now reflected in our capital ratio and returns, moderating ROE in the fourth quarter ahead of full deployment. Capital deployment has already begun through new medium-term transactions, reducing our Basel III Tier 1 ratio from 18.1% to 17.4%, still with ample headroom as we continue deploying capital to support portfolio expansion. From a regulatory perspective, our capital position remains very strong. Our Panama regulatory capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.5%, well above the required minimum. Given our fourth quarter performance, the Board approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.6875 per share, up from $0.625, representing a 46% payout of fourth quarter earnings. We believe this level appropriately balances returning capital to shareholders, maintaining strong capitalization and preserving financial flexibility to support growth while safeguarding our investment-grade profile. Overall, Bladex enters 2026 with strong capital buffers, a solid transaction pipeline and the flexibility to support balance sheet growth while maintaining prudent capital management and full regulatory compliance. Let me now turn to net interest income and margins. During 2025, we delivered another year of growth in net interest income and maintain margin resilience despite a more challenging rate environment. Since late 2024, policy rates have declined by 175 basis points and the yield curve remain inverted in 2025, creating a less supportive environment for spread generation. At the same time, we experienced the rollover of fixed rate funding raised during the low rate period of 2020, which was replaced this year at higher rates, adding pressure to interest spreads. Active balance sheet management allow us to absorb these headwinds gradually over roughly a 12-month horizon. Strong deposit growth improve our funding mix and supported a more efficient cost of funds. In addition, we maintained disciplined loan pricing and efficient yet prudent liquidity levels. As a result of these combined actions, the fourth quarter delivered the strongest margin of the year with a NIM of 2.39%. For the full year, net interest income increased by 5% year-over-year, and we closed 2025 with a net interest margin of 2.36%, above our guidance of 2.30%. Net interest spread declined modestly to 1.67% compared to 1.75% in the prior year, reflecting the rate environment and funding repricing dynamics. Looking ahead to 2026, while additional rate cuts are expected, we believe that continued deposit growth, disciplined pricing and active funding and liquidity management will allow us to keep margins broadly in line with our guidance. Let me now turn to fees and noninterest income. For the full year, noninterest income reached $68.4 million, reflecting strong execution and continued progress in diversifying our revenue base. As a result, fees and other noninterest income represented close to 19% of total revenues, up from 15% last year, reinforcing the growing structural contribution of fee-based income. In the fourth quarter, noninterest income totaled $8 million. Excluding the extraordinary fee associated with the Staatsolie transaction earlier in the year, quarterly performance remained above our historical run rate with contributions across all major fee lines. The largest component on noninterest income continues to come from fees and commissions linked to our core trade finance and structuring activities, which generated $59 million in 2025, mainly driven by letter of credits and guarantees steady growth throughout the year, generating $31.8 million. Loan structuring and distribution was another important contributor, executing 13 transactions across 11 countries with total transaction volume of approximately $5 billion. Bladex underwrote about 30% of that volume and retained roughly 24% on balance sheet, generating $17.7 million in upfront structuring and syndication fees. As our participation in medium-term structured transaction continues to expand, credit commitment have become an increasingly stable and recurring source of fees, contributing $11.6 million during the year. Secondary market loan activity was an important complementary source of income as well, generating $2.6 million as we proactively manage capital and optimize client credit lines. While activity may normalize following the capital raise, we continue to see selective opportunities in 2026, where pricing and balance sheet optimization justifies execution. In derivatives, income remains modest for strategically important, totaling $1.1 million in 2025. Our focus remains on building the commercial pipeline and deepening client engagement. These early transactions are positioning us to scale derivative-related income meaningfully once the treasury platform is fully deployed in the second half of 2026. Overall, fees and noninterest income performance in 2025 reflects stronger diversification, disciplined execution and growing momentum across trade finance, restructuring, commitment and treasury-related activities. As our platforms mature and client penetration deepness, we expect fee income to play a progressively larger and more stable role in the bank's earnings profile. Let me now turn to operating expenses and efficiency. Total operating expenses for 2025 reached $90.6 million, representing a 13% increase year-over-year. This increase reflects investments to support the bank's strategic priorities, particularly in technology, digital capabilities and business initiatives, including its associated operating cost and depreciation. Personnel expenses also increased, reflecting selective headcount growth aligned with the strengthening of our execution capacity. These investments are directly linked to higher business volumes and long-term strategic execution, and we expect revenue growth to absorb incremental expenses over time. In the fourth quarter, operating expenses totaled $27.4 million, up 20% year-over-year and 28% quarter-on-quarter. This increase primarily reflects seasonal year-end effects, including higher accruals and variable compensation adjustments aligned with the full year performance as well as the continued implementation of key initiatives. As a result, the fourth quarter efficiency ratio was temporarily elevated. However, for the full year, the efficiency ratio closed at 26.7%, broadly in line with 26.5% in 2024, demonstrating our ability to absorb strategic investment while maintaining cost discipline. Looking ahead to 2026, we expect expenses to normalize toward a more consistent quarterly run rate. Cost disciplines will remain a core management priority. We will continue to invest selectively in a strategic initiative and capabilities while carefully managing our talent base to support the next phase of execution. This balanced approach is designed to preserve operating leverage and maintain efficiency ratios around 28%. Overall, 2025 reflects disciplined execution across growth, profitability capital and cost management, positioning the bank to continue delivering sustainable returns as we move into 2026. With that, let me now turn the call back to Jorge and thank you very much.

Thank you, Annette. Let me now share our perspective on the macro and trade environment and our guidance for this year. 2025 was clearly a year of heightened uncertainty and renewed trade pictures, yet global activity remained resilient and trade flows held up better than many expected. This was in part by a pull forward of shipments ahead of policy changes and ongoing supply chain adjustments. There is no doubt that policy uncertainty, particularly in tariffs, and pace of rate cuts will continue to shape confidence and risk appetite. In the United States, our base case scenario is a soft landing with inflation gradually converging towards the Feral Reserve's target. In that scenario, we are assuming that the Fed will proceed with gradual easing, including 2 additional rate cuts in 2026. We anticipate, however, that the markets may remain sensitive to policy changes and political developments during the year. Now turning into Latin America, the region remained relatively insulated from global trade tensions in 2025. Latin America has had relatively low tariff exposures compared to other parts of the world. Fundamentals were broadly resilient. International flows into LatAm improved on the back of ample global liquidity and better risk sentiment. This is all consistent with tighter credit spreads and a constructive FX backdrop across several markets, including Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. Looking ahead, we expect regional growth to converge towards potential, supported by the easing cycle and the recovery in consumption and investment. At the same time, elections in several countries, including Peru, Colombia and Brazil, can create pockets of volatility, and therefore, potential opportunities as the year progresses. Let me now turn into our longer-term strategy and positioning. At our Investor Day back in 2022, we laid out a 5-year plan with clear targets for 2026. 4 years into the plan, we have achieved 1 year ahead of schedule every single objective in the guidance we shared back then, size of our commercial portfolio, margins, efficiency, reserve coverage, capital and return on equity. The significance of reaching these goals a year early goes far beyond the metrics themselves. It reflects the renewed culture of focus and execution in Bladex. Our next phase is essentially about scalability. Our Investor Day on March 24, will evolve essentially about scalability and our 2030 vision. That day, we will walk you through the next phase of Bladex's Evolution, including how we're expanding our role from a specialized trade lender to a more transactional trade banking platform for Latin America, scaling fee-based products and capturing trade flows across the region. We strongly believe that this, together with a robust enterprise risk management framework, will be key in our path to a sustainable value creation. Going on to the next slide. Let me close with our guidance for 2026. We see 2026 as a transition year for Bladex, bridging the final stretch of our 2022-2026 plan, and the next stage of our evolution as we look towards 2030. We enter this transition year with strong momentum as we continue to scale what we have built. Having said that, in 2026, we expect a highly liquid and competitive environment, with additional rate cuts and ongoing spread compression in the region. In that setting, our guidance reflects a disciplined approach on profitable growth, price discipline and prudent risk management, while we keep investing in the capabilities that will support the next phase of our franchise. So for 2026, we expect commercial portfolio growth between 13% and 15%, average deposit grow at a similar pace, net interest margin around 2.3%, efficiency ratio in the 28% area, reflecting disciplined expense control while continuing to invest in our strategic IT platforms. ROE will end up between 14% and 15%, and Tier 1 capital will be in the 15% to 16% range. Thank you again for your time and your continued interest in Bladex. Operator, please open the call for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Ricardo Buchpiguel from BTG.

Everyone of making questions. First, I just wanted to clarify if the ROE guidance is for the accounting or the adjusted figure? And for my questions, we noticed that 2025 was a very strong year in terms of fee income, particularly if you look at the restructuring fees pipeline, which is naturally provides a tougher comp for 2026, right? But at the same time, you have all these new initiatives that you mentioned with treasury products picking up and also the new trade finance platform. So my question is, what is reasonable for us to expect in terms of noninterest income with these moving parts for 2026? And for my second question, if you can provide more color on how much the duration of the portfolio increased in Q4? And how much that contributed for a higher NIM during the period? And also, if you should see a continued increase in the duration of the portfolio being a tailwind for NIM?

Thank you, Ricardo, for your 3 questions. First question, yes, the guidance is adjusted ROEs where it doesn't take into account the additional Tier 1 capital we issued back in September. Guidance for 2026 in terms of fee income will be around what we saw back in 2025. Recall that 2 things, 1, we had some one-off important transactions that generated fee income, including, but not limited to the statutorily big loan. And then the other thing is that, as I mentioned, 2026 is a transition year, right, a transition year because it's where we'll be transitioning to the scalable business model. So this is where the the 2 IT platforms gradually start to gain traction. So that's why we're targeting a similar fee income for next year in terms -- in relative terms. So it will be higher in nominal value, but around between 18% and 20% for next year. Do you want to add something, Annette?

Yes. To the last part of your question regarding how duration is impacting the NIM of the bank, especially in the fourth quarter. I think there is more than one factor that impacted the record NIM of 2025, which is, it does include the impact of medium-term transactions that were deployed during the fourth quarter resulting from the strong pipeline that we've been building up. And that indeed represented a higher margin and -- but -- and that protected the short-term margin that we are seeing in the short-term loan origination that we have mentioned that we -- there is a lot of margin pressure in the market and ample liquidity. So that protected on the asset side of the balance sheet. Another component that was important was a very efficient level of liquidity especially compared to the third quarter in which we had the $400 million maturity, and we were in the execution of the AT1. So since we did not have any clear date for the -- going back to -- going to the market and issuing the AT1, we did kept a little bit of extra liquidity during the third quarter. So that impact is another factor that improved the NII -- I'm sorry, the NIM in the fourth quarter. And the last factor, which is very important is that during the fourth quarter, even though the end-of-period balances of deposits are lower in the third quarter, the average balances of deposits were higher than the third quarter and the overall cost of funds of the other liabilities that we have in the balance sheet also improved margins just as we're seeing pressure on the asset side, we are also capturing those tightened margins in the liability side. And all of that allow us to improve our net income spread resulting in a higher NIM in the fourth quarter. As far as looking at 2026, regarding our guidance of the NIM of [ 2.30% ], we are factoring the rate dynamics not only the ones that we are projecting for 2026, but also the cuts that happened in late 2025 that will impact the results of 2026. However, this is compensated by growing deposits and active asset and liability management as well as very disciplined pricing on the loan side.

Our next question comes from Ms. Nelli Miranda from Santander.

Just 2 quick ones from my side. The first 1 is regarding the 13% to 15% portfolio growth guidance. How much of this is driven by overall market growth? And how much is market share gains? And my second question, a quick follow-up on NIM. I understand there were extraordinary factors helping NIM in the fourth quarter, and your 2026 guidance shows stability, but more on a medium-term sense, is that 2.3% NIM through the cycle margin? Or should we expect it to normalize more in the 2028?

Thank you, [indiscernible]. Let me tackle the first part of both questions and then probably Sam can give you some additional color. In terms of market share, it's hard to understand what Bladex's market share is. We are essentially a very small fish in a big pond, if you consider trade flows in our Latin America. I mean we're talking -- we're essentially a trade bank and trade in Latin America is $3 trillion, and we're a $12 billion back. So we are seeing a lot of opportunities all across the region, but it's hard to put it in terms of market share. I don't know if you want to give additional color there?

Yes. Not sure. Thanks. I mean, to be honest, we don't even look at market share. I mean it's not how we measure our business, our opportunities. We feel that the -- well, the region in which we play is not only growing, but we're still very small to what we can become. So that's not a relevant metric for us. But that said, Yes, like Jorge said, the growth in 2025 came, I would say, well balanced. Of course, there were some countries like Guatemala that we, let's say, grew more than the average and for all the good reasons, sorry. And we see, for example, a country like Guatemala, as s a very attractive market to us, given the combination of a persistent moderate growth, fueled by the drive of a very punching private sector. And that's a -- and as those conditions persist in a country like Guatemala, we will continue to grow, always, of course, with clear boundaries and very defined risk appetite. But for 2026, that grow as -- what we see right now, it should be balanced as always. For example, a country like Argentina is a country that we're still very underexposed by the size of the economy, but that was the [indiscernible] because of what the whole -- what the country was going through. But now, for example, there is quite some good opportunities and investments in the [indiscernible] complex, which is very competitive, and we see as could be a driver for growth for us. So that's how...

I don't know if that answers your first question, Daniella?

Yes, very clear the first one.

And then so targeting your second question, as far as margins going forward, yes, it will certainly be a challenge as we're all seeing, there is significant pressure on margins. Currently, they have reached probably the lowest level of spreads in the last 20 years. Now structurally, the only way to continue to -- is to continue to be disciplined in executing the strategy we've been working, which is centered on value-added transactions. Sam, do you want to give more color on that?

Yes. Well, I think in the context that we're seeing in the market, a few have been doing a pretty good job in defending and even more challenging, defending our margins while we are growing our credit book. In the short run, as Jorge said, the pressure is there. And I think we have enough capital to defend net interest income with more volume, if needed. In the medium run, as Jorge also mentioned, we just need to continue to execute our strategy. In times like now of a more friendly market, we noticed a significant more stability in margins in the more structured business such as working capital solutions, event-driven lending, project finance, infrastructure. So our margin stability or, let's say, falling less than the market is not by luck, it's really by design.

Our next question comes from Mr. Daniel Mora from the CrediCorp Capital.

I just have 1 follow-up question regarding loan growth. I would like to understand what will be those countries or regions that should drive the growth of 13%, 15% amid available cycle for emerging markets? You already mentioned Guatemala and Argentina [indiscernible], but I would like to know if there are other cost region regions that should go to the loan growth of 13%, 15%. And also, what will be those countries in which you anticipate reducing the exposure, or in which you see high competitive pressures?

I'll start by the second. Well, actually, reinforcing a remark that was already made. I think at this point of the year, besides what was already mentioned, like in a country like Argentina that we're underexposed, in a country like Guatemala that we see a lot of like higher demand compared to other countries for quality indeed, we expect to achieve the guidance. We expect a good balance. We don't expect, at least in what we're seeing right now any like, let's say, a much larger grow in any specific country. But given our businesses is dynamic, our book is so short that could happen as we see good opportunities. In terms of the like countries that were more concerned, I would say Colombia and Brazil and for 2 different reasons. In case of Colombia, as much we see improving performance from many of our clients there, the country's fiscal situation is a point of concern. And if that continues, there is a real risk of a sovereign rating downgrade. In case of Brazil, though from a macro perspective, there seems to be good improvements, there is an increased number of bankruptcies as well as potential cases of default from very large corporations that can materially increase refinancing risk to other companies, and that's something that we're watching very closely. On the other hand, for the same reasons of concern that I've just mentioned, that could open interesting opportunity for Bladex to grow in such countries. So in the past, as we saw deterioration in specific countries, we were able to grow as other banks step down. This could happen with both Brazil and Colombia, while we monitor very closely our current client base. So that takes me back to the first question, and not to be repetitive, I think it's -- it will be well balanced. And at this point, there's no other than was mentioned. There's no specific ones that we can bring it up.

Remember also that still 70% -- almost 70% of our portfolio matures in less than a year. So this is -- I mean, you have to understand that this is all about a constant reshuffling, trying to maximize risk return exposures. So it's hard really to say. I think some gave a very good. You want to add something?

Just one last thing that I think it's worth mentioning. In times like this, there could be opportunities in the secondary loan market as for example, the situation of Brazil, situation of Colombia. And today, we have, let's say, a very strong capital base that will allow us to capture opportunities more than in the past. So that's something we're monitoring very closely, and that could drive growth as well.

That's all the questions we have for today. I will pass the line back to Mr. Jorge for his concluding remarks.

All right. Thank you again for your time and your questions. Just a quick reminder that our Investor Day is on March 24. It will be a virtual event. Sam, Annette and a few other members of the team will cover the next space of Bladex's evolution, including, as I said, the shift towards a more transactional trade banking platform in our 2030 vision. We look forward to see you all there. Bye now. Thank you very much.

This concludes Bladex's conference call. You may disconnect your lines right now. Thank you, and wish you a very good day.