Credit card issuance booming: CNBV

At the end of April, the number of credit cards that commercial banks have in circulation among consumers totaled 35 million 372 thousand 387, the highest number for a similar month since records have been recorded, show the latest figures from the National Banking Commission. and Securities (CNBV).

The result comes in an environment where interest rates remain high and banks offering these types of products have reported creating larger reserves for possible losses, especially in the consumer segment.

Compared to the 32 million 754 thousand 401 credit cards that were reported at the end of April, but from last year, there is an increase of 7.9 percent or 2 million 617 thousand 986 cards.

Compared to the 35 million 110 thousand 103 cards that were reported the previous month, there is an increase of 262 thousand 284 plastics.

This means that during the fourth month of the year, banks placed an average of 8,742 new cards daily among consumers.

And compared to the 28 million 521 thousand 420 cards that were had in April, but in 2019, the year before the pandemic, there is an increase of 6 million 850 thousand 957 plastic cards in circulation among people.

Delinquency of 3.33 percent

According to the regulator’s statistics, at the end of April, the credit card financing portfolio stood at 567 thousand 6 million pesos, which meant an increase of 15.9 percent compared to what was reported in the same month of the previous year.

However, the delinquency rate of this financial product reached a level of 3.33 percent, which represented an increase of 0.49 percentage points compared to the 2.84 percent reported at the end of April 2023.

The information presented by the CNBV indicates that BBVA, the bank with the largest presence in the country, also acts as the main distributor of credit cards with a total of 9 million 357 thousand 114 at the end of April of this year, while in the fourth month of 2023 the figure was 8 million 371 thousand 455, which implies an increase of 985 thousand 659 new cards in circulation.

Next is Citibanamex, with 8 million 556 thousand 149 cards; then Santander, with 3 million 951 thousand 354; HSBC, with 2 million 303 thousand 489; and Banorte, with 2 million 219 thousand 818.

Inbursa reported to the regulatory body that it has one million 265 thousand 426 plastics, while Scotiabank registered 466 thousand 264.