Conference Operator: Good afternoon and welcome to Banco de Chile's third quarter 2025 results conference call. If you need a copy of the financial management review, it is available at the company's website. Today with us, we have Mr. Rodrigo Aravena, Chief Economist and Institutional Relations Officer, Mr. Pablo Mejia, Head of Investor Relations, and Daniel Galarza, Head of Financial Control and Capital. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that this call is being recorded, and the information discussed today may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's financial and operating performance. All projections are subject to risks and uncertainties. and actual results may differ materially. Please refer to the detailed notes in the company's press release regarding forward-looking statements. I'll now turn the call over to Mr. Rodrigo Aravena. Please go ahead.
Rodrigo Aravena: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining this conference call, where we will present the results and developments achieved by our bank during the third quarter of this year. We are pleased to report that Banco de Chile has once again delivered strong results, reaffirming our solid market position. Our performance this quarter reflects not only robust financial outcomes, but also meaningful progress in a strategy initiative that strengthens our long-term competitiveness. Key highlights for the quarter include Net income as of September 2025 reached 927 billion pesos, representing a year-on-year growth of 1.9%, that resulted in an ROAC of 22.3%. These results were driven by strong customer income, fund asset quality, and ongoing efficiency improvements. These achievements are particularly significant given the challenging macroeconomic and political environment market by subdued loan growth, especially among corporations. In times of uncertainty, solid fundamentals and proven risk management become critical differentiators. Danco Betelio continues to stand out among peers in asset quality, additional provisions, and capital strength, providing resilience and solid basis for the future. Let's now turn to macroeconomic context. Please refer to slide number three. Considered with the trend observed in previous quarters, the Chilean economy continues to show signs of recovery, particularly in consumption and investment. As illustrated in the graph on the left, GDP growth has maintained an upward trajectory since the second half of 2024, supported by a notable rebound in domestic demand. In the second quarter of this year, GDP expanded by 3.1% year-on-year, remaining above the estimated lowest-term potential growth rate of around 2%, which resulted in a 2.8% year-on-year expansion in the first half of this year. It is worth noting that this acceleration occurs despite a moderation in external demand export growth slowed to 5.4% year-on-year in the second quarter, down from 10.5% in the previous quarter. This reflects the strength of domestic demand, which improved significantly from 1.6% year-on-year in the first quarter to 5.8% year-on-year in the second quarter. A key driver behind this performance was the chart increase in investment, particularly in machinery and equipment, which surged by 11.4% year-on-year during the period. These indicators confirm that the positive trend in domestic demand has persisted into the second half of this year, as shown in the chart on the Other rights, imports have accelerated in recent months, driven by stronger domestic expenditure, particularly investments, evident in the sharp increase in capital goods imports. Furthermore, weighted investments for the next five years, according to the Corporation of Capital Goods, rose by 19% in the second quarter, reflecting a substantial expansion in the pipeline of new projects across the mining and energy sectors, as illustrated in the charts on the bottom right. All these figures would result in improved economic performance over the next period while positively impacting loan growth and banking activity. Please go to slide number four to analyze inflation and interest rate evolution. Inflation remains above the central bank target at the chart on the left displays. In September, headline inflation increased to 4.4% from 4.1% in June. The measure that excludes volatile items was relatively stable, rising just 10 basis points to 3.9% in the same period. This suggests inflation is still driven by volatile items such as energy, which increased 11.4% during the year in September. In response, the central bank maintained the interest rate at 4.75% in the monetary policy meeting held in October. According to the statement released after the meeting, the persistence of some inflationary risks and the slight improvement of micro-conditions require more information before continuing. to reduce the interest rate towards mutual levels. Despite this decision, it's important to mention that the Central Bank of Chile has already reduced the interest rate by 650 basis points from the peak of 11.25% reached in 2023. positioning it among the most productive central banks in terms of monetary easings. The trend in pesos has remained volatile, hovering around 950 pesos per dollar in recent months. However, as shown in the bottom right chart, the U.S. dollar, measured by the DXY index, has globally weakened this year, a trend not yet reflected in the local exchange rate, partly due to telefactor pace of interest rate cuts. Now, I'd like to present our base scenario for this year. Please go to slide number 5. We have revised our GDP forecast up for 2035 from 2.3% in the previous call to 2.5% now. This adjustment is due to stronger than expected growth in domestic demand and improvement in some living indicators, as mentioned earlier. As a result, The economy will likely see a similar expansion as compared to 2024, despite weaker global activity, which is expected to reduce the export pace of growth. However, the better outlook for the metal mine has offset this external drag. This scenario is consistent with a gradual decline in capital inflation to 3.9% by December 2025, assuming no relevant shocks or significant depreciation of the trillion pesos in the coming months. Under this condition, we expect the central bank will likely cut the monetary policy interest rate once more in the fourth quarter to end the year in 4.5%. Finally, it's important to reiterate the unusually high level of uncertainty we face, particularly from global factors. Domestically, attention will also be focused on the upcoming presidential and parliamentary election scheduled for November and the presidential runoff expected in December 2025. Before reviewing the bank's results in detail, let's take a brief look at industry trends. As shown in the chart on the top left, the banking industry delivered another solid quarter. Net income reached 1.3 trillion pesos and the return on average equity stood at 14.7%. While below the previous quarter, this figure confirmed the central ability to sustain healthy profitability despite lower inflation. This performance reflects the resilience of core banking activity, particularly concentrated in commercial banking, after a long period that was dominated by the extraordinary revenues coming from tertiary activities on the ground of extremely high levels of inflation and higher than normal interest rates, among others. Turning to asset quality, the chart on the top right shows that non-performing loans remain readily stable for the industry at 2.5%, with a cover-up ratio of 143%, consistent with recent quarters. Despite attaining the macroeconomic backdrop marked by elevated borrowing costs and labor market pressures, banks have managed to keep delinquency under control while maintaining prudent provisioning and strong buffers to absorb potential increases in credit risk. On the credit side, the bottom left chart highlights that the loan-to-EV ratio stood at 76% as of September 2025, continuing a below-trend behavior from pre-pandemic highs. This reflects the subdued pace of great expansion relative to economic activity in recent years. Finally, the bottom-right chart further illustrates the persistent weakness in real loan growth across all segments. Since December 2019, total loans have contracted 2.3%, with consumer lending showing the sharpest decline of 18%, followed by commercial loans at 9.5%. The slow demand for credit has been driven by, firstly, by liquidity surplus caused by pension fund withdrawal in 2021-2022, which was afterward followed by high interest rates, Increased inflation, incautious corporate borrowing amid economic and political uncertainty, and persistent labor market challenges more recently. In summary, while profitability and asset quality remain strong, lending activity continues to lack. Looking ahead, agricultural recovery and loan growth could materialize as uncertainty eases, particularly regarding external risk and In the logger front, the outcome of upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, together with revised approval procedures for large-scale investment projects, allowing the industry to return closer to historical GDP multiples. Next, Pablo will share information regarding Banco Etile's development and financial results.
Pablo Mejia: Thank you, Rodrigo. Let's turn to slide 8, which brings our strategy and ambitions into focus. It's our roadmap for growth and leadership. The core of our strategy is guided by well-defined purpose, which is to contribute to the progress of Chile, its people, and its companies. Supporting this are our guiding principles that shape how we operate in the medium term, efficiency collaboration and a customer first mindset and a focus on creating value in the areas we compete these elements ensure our agility innovation and long-term sustainability on the right Our mid-term targets show where we're heading. Industry-leading profitability, market ship, leadership in lending and local currency deposits, superior service quality as reflected by a top net promoter score, and a strong corporate reputation among the top three companies in Chile. We're also committed to efficiency, which translates into a cost-to-income ratio that must remain below 42%, driven by digital transformation and continuous improvements in technology and operational processes. In short, this strategy enables us to deliver sustainable growth and create lasting value for all of our stakeholders. Please move to slide 9, where we'll go over our key business achievements. In the third quarter of 2025, we continued advancing initiatives that strengthen our position as a more efficient digital and sustainable institution. A major milestone this quarter was the successful integration of our former collection services subsidiary, Socofin, into the bank's operations. This merger was completed without affecting productivity metrics for the collection of overdue loans and has generated important costs in operational synergies that have translated into increased efficiency and enhanced customer experience. Productivity also continued to rise in the third quarter of 2025, driven by technological innovation and digital solutions. In consumer loan originations, executives increased productivity by 13% in the number of operations and 11% in the amounts sold compared to the same period last year. These results highlight the positive impact of our digital transformation on overall performance. We also worked to optimize our physical branch network and strengthen customer service. Through branch efficiencies, we aim to keep our service aligned with clients' evolving needs while improving efficiency and delivering a better experience. On the digital front, we expanded the use of AI virtual assistants for both customers and employees. Fannie, our chatbot, now supports all Fannie accounts, including SMEs, through the Fannie Imprinted plan. Additionally, we introduced AI tools to assist staff with internal processes, boosting productivity and service quality. To deepen partnerships with businesses, we launched the API Store, a platform that enables secure technological integration with corporate clients. This initiative allows companies to automate operations directly with our financial services, adding value to our offerings. In line with this is our sustainability commitment. we introduced a training plan to promote responsible supplier management. As part of this effort, we are developing educational capsules to inform suppliers about our revised purchasing procedures and encourage best practices within our organizations. Another highlight of this quarter was the 4270 project, an unprecedented audio-visual initiative that captured Chile's 4,270 kilometers from north to south through a 90-day drone journey. By documenting the country's diverse landscapes, traditions, and cultural richness, this project aims to strengthen national identity and reconnect Chileans with their shared heritage. Beyond its artistic value, this initiative reinforces our brand positioning by associating Banco de Chile with pride, unity, and long-term commitment to the country. The project was conceived as a gift to Chile, offering more than 500 royalty-free, high-quality images for education and cultural use, and has earned international recognition, including a gold lion at the Cannes Festival and the showcase at Expo Osaka 2025. Finally, our customer-focused strategy continues to deliver solid results. For the third year in a row, we ranked first in customer satisfaction at the Pro Calidad Awards and were honoured as the best of the best among large financial institutions, the only bank to achieve this distinction. These recognitions confirm the success of our strategy and our commitment to serving clients with excellence. Please turn to slide 11 to begin our discussion on our results. We continue to deliver strong results in the third quarter of 2025, posting a net income of 293 billion pesos, equivalent to a return on average capital of 22.4%, as shown on the chart and table to the left. This represents a net income increase of 1.7% compared to the same period last year, despite a sequential decline from the previous quarter, reflecting the impact of lower inflation on margins. It's important to highlight that we outperformed our peers in both net income, market share, and return on average assets. As illustrated on the charts to the right, specifically, as of September 2025, our market share in net income reached 22%, well above our closest competitors, and our return on average assets stood at 2.3%, maintaining a wide gap over peers. These results underscore our consistent focus on customer engagement, prudent risk management, disciplined cost control, and above all, the resilience of our core business and recurrent income-generating capacity, particularly centered on customer income, which has continued to grow steadily and enabled us to deal with the expected normalization of key market factors. Our strategy remains firmly oriented towards building a sustainable and profitable bank, and we continue to aspire to be the industry benchmark in profitability. Let's take a closer look at our operating income performance on the next slide, 12. We continue to demonstrate the strongest operating revenues generating capacity in the local industry, reaffirming the resilience of our superior business model through different market cycles. As shown on the chart to the left, Operating revenues totaled 736 billion pesos in the third quarter of 2025, representing a 2.1% increase year-on-year despite a backdrop of subdued business activity and the effect of lower inflation on treasury revenues. This performance was supported by solid customer income of 630 billion pesos, which grew 5.4% year-on-year, while non-customer income amounted to 105 billion pesos, reflecting a 14.1% decline compared to the same quarter last year. The contraction in non-customer income was mainly explained by lower inflation-related revenues from the management of our structural UF net asset exposure that hedges our equity from changes in inflation, as UF variation dropped to 0.6% this quarter from 0.9% recorded in the same quarter last year. To a lesser extent, revenues coming from the management of our trading and debt securities portfolios also recorded a slight decrease year-on-year due to both lower market to market revenues due to unfavorable changes in interest rates and a decrease in revenues coming from the management of our intraday FX positions. In turn, customer income has continued to grow, supported by a robust performance in income from loans and net fees, which helped offset the pressure from lower inflation-related revenues. Within loans, better lending spreads and growth in average balances drove income generation, particularly concentrated in consumer and commercial loans, as our loan book has continued to return to more normalized margins to the extent Fogape loans keep on amortizing. Furthermore, net fee income expanded by 10% compared to the third quarter of 2024, led by mutual fund management fees which increased 19% and transactional services up 6% together with increased contributions from insurance and stock brokerage fees due to improved cross-selling and credit-related insurance and the participation of our stock brokerage subsidiary in a couple of important transactions carried out in the local capital market this quarter. This performance highlights the strength of our diversified revenue base beyond traditional lending activities. As a result, our net interest margin stood at 4.65% for the 9-month period ended September 30, 2025, maintaining a clear market-leading position in the industry despite margin compression caused by inflation and the financial environment marked by lower interest rates. Furthermore, our fee margin as a percentage of interest-earning assets reached 1.3%, which enabled us to further drive our operating margin to the level of 6.4%, well above the industry average and our main peers, demonstrating the effectiveness of our strategy and our ability to consistently deliver value to our customers and shareholders, regardless of prevailing economic conditions. Please turn to slide 13 where we will review the evolution of our loan portfolio. As shown on the left, total loans reached 39.6 trillion pesos as of September 2025, representing a 3.7% year-on-year increase and a 0.6% sequential growth. This expansion remains contained and continues to reflect subdued credit dynamics across the industry consistent with the central bank's latest credit survey, which indicates that overall demand and supply conditions remain stable, although noticing some signs of recovery in certain segments. Breaking this down by product, mortgage loans grew 7.3% year-on-year, well above inflation, supported by stronger demand through selective origination in middle and upper income segments and demand for housing that continues to be driven by demographic issues rather than economic cycle. Consumer loans increased 3.7% year-on-year amid cautious borrowing behavior, and interest rates that remain above neutral levels as well as the profile of our customers characterized by liquidity levels above our peers would partly explain our performance in consumer loans. While our loan growth in this lending family has been slower than the industry, it's important to note that our strategic focus continues to be centered into the higher income segments, avoiding aggressive expansion into lower income markets targeted by some market players, which explains an overall loss in market share that, however, is consistent with our long-term strategic view. Regarding commercial loans, we posted a 1.3% year-on-year increase in September 2025, constrained by weak investment and uncertainty. However, we would like to emphasize that we are seeing some early signs of recovery, particularly in the SMEs and certain wholesale banking units. such as the large companies area, which is consistent with higher than expected capital expenditures in some industries earlier this year, as reported by the Central Bank and National Accounts. On the right side of this slide, you can see that retail banking continues to be the main commercial focus by accounting for 66% of total loans, with personal banking representing 52% of the whole book. Accordingly, Wholesale loans represent 34% of our book and is split between corporate clients, representing 20%, and large companies, representing 14%. When looking at the loan growth by segment, we can see some interesting trends. Personal banking expanded 5.8% driven by mortgage loans, while SMEs and large company segments have also posted positive year-on-year growth levels of 4.8% and 7.1%, both above 12-month inflation. SME loan expansion was supported by demand from non-for-gapper loans that continues to grow steadily by expanding 8% year-on-year, while the large companies' banking unit has managed to grow positively for the third quarter in a row on the grounds of commercial, leasing, and trade finance loans. Corporate loans, however, contracted 4.3% year-on-year, reflecting lagged investment activity and selective credit demand among corporations, which is highly aligned with findings released by the central bank in the last quarterly credit survey. It's important to note that our loan growth remains slightly below the 12-month inflation and we have experienced a minor decline in overall market share over the last year, mainly due to competitors expanding into segments outside our strategic scope and the counter-cyclical role played by the state-owned bank Banco Estado. Positively, we gained share in mortgage loans thanks to our our competitive funding and strong customer relationships. Overall, our portfolio remains well diversified and positioned to capture opportunities as business sentiment improves, interest rates continue to converge to neutral levels and domestic demand strengthens. Slide 14 highlights our strong balance sheet mix supported by long-term financial stability. As shown on the chart to the left, Loans represented 71.4% of total assets as of September 2025, while our securities portfolio reached 12.5% of total assets, up 54% from a year earlier. The increase in our securities portfolio was primarily driven by the funding strategy carried out by our Treasury in the third quarter, which resulted in long-term bond placements aimed at replacing upcoming amortizations, reducing term spread and currency mismatches in the banking book, and supporting future loan growth. In the short run, part of this funding has been invested in high-quality fixed income securities, which has translated into improved liquidity metrics over the last couple of months. In this regard, a securities portfolio is mainly composed of securities issued by the Chilean Central Bank and government, which accounted for 65% of the total amount, followed by local bank instruments, mostly certificates of deposits, representing 28%. As a percentage of total assets available for sales, securities represented 5.9%. Trading securities amounted to 5.8%, while held to maturity represented only 0.8% of total assets, all as of September 30, 2025. On the funding side, deposits remain our main source of financing, representing 53.1% of the total assets, with demand deposits accounting for 25.8% and time deposits representing 27%. Given these figures, our non-interest-bearing demand deposits fund 36% of our loan book, which is a key competitive advantage that supports our leading net interest margin, as shown on the chart on the top right. More importantly, our deposit base is highly concentrated in retail banking counterparties, which provide us with more stable sources of funding over time. Regarding debt issued, it increased significantly during the third quarter of 2025, rising from 19% of our total liabilities in the third quarter of 2024 to to 20% in the third quarter of 2025 as a result of recent placements. This growth was mainly driven by senior bond issuances in the local market, particularly this quarter, which added 1.6 trillion pesos to our former balances, representing a year-on-year increase of 16%. Prior to this quarter, long-term bond placements had primarily been focused on replacing scheduled maturities of previously issued bonds. However, beginning this quarter of 2025, we reassessed our funding strategy in light of the gradual rebound expected for lending activity, particularly in longer-term loans. Similarly, The gradual convergence of key market factors such as the monetary policy rate and inflation towards neutral levels significantly reduces the opportunity to benefit from temporary balance sheet mismatches. With this outlook in mind, during this quarter we carried out several placements of bonds in the local market for our amount, of 1.1 trillion pesos with an average interest rate of approximately 3% and an average maturity of 11.1 years and a five-year bond denominated in Mexican pesos equivalent to 50 billion pesos bearing an interest rate of 9.75% in Mexican currency. Together with raising long-term Funding for future loan growth, these bond issuances also allowed us to reduce our structural UF gap from the peak of 9.7 trillion pesos in March 2025 to 8.3 trillion pesos in September 2025, implying a sensitivity of roughly 83 billion pesos in net interest income for every 1% change in inflation. This is aligned with a revised view on inflation that does not significantly differ from the market ones. The placement of long-term bonds also had a positive effect on interest rate mismatches in the banking book, as bonds issued were mostly denominated in U.S. with tenures above 10 years, which closed the gap generated by steady growth in residential mortgage loans. As a result, regulatory and internal rate risk in the banking book metrics for short and long-term rate risk poses a significant sequential decrease of around 20%. Furthermore, our liquidity ratios remained well above the regulatory requirements with LCR of 207% and the NSFR of 120%, both well above the prevailing regulatory thresholds of 100% and 90% respectively, reflecting prudent liquidity management and the positive impact of recent bond placements on this matter. Please turn to slide 15 for our capital position. As illustrated, Banco de Chile continues to demonstrate a strong capital foundation, comfortably above regulatory thresholds and peer averages. Our CET1 ratio reached 14.2%, reflecting our leadership in the industry. When including Tier 2 instruments, our total Basel III capital ratio stood at 18% providing wide room to support organic and inorganic growth initiatives and absorb potential market volatility. This solid capital position reflects a disciplined approach to profitability and sustained earning retention over recent years. Additionally, the modest loan growth has also contributed to maintaining positive capital gaps. Our capital strategy was designed to navigate the final stages of Basel III, implementation while preserving flexibility for both organic expansion and potential strategic opportunities. It's worth highlighting that Chile operates under one of the most demanding regulatory environments globally, characterized by higher risk-weighted asset density as compared to jurisdictions where internal models play a significant role. In fact, risk-weighted asset calculations under Basel III in Chile resemble those under the formal Basel I framework. Furthermore, local regulations impose capital requirements similar to those in markets with lower risk-weighted asset densities, including systemic surcharges, Pillar 2 charges, and the conservation and counter-cyclical buffers, all working together and on a fully loaded basis. Despite these stringent conditions, Banco de Chile consistently exceeds all capital requirements, underscoring once again the resilience and the strength of our business, and balance sheet by delivering a unique combination of lower risk and higher capital and outpacing in profitability. Please turn to slide 16 to review our asset quality. We continue to set the benchmark in asset quality, supported by disciplined risk management and the conservative provisioning framework. In the third quarter, expected credit losses only reached 80 billion pesos, marking a sequential decline and reinforcing the positive trend we saw during the year. Despite the year-on-year figure remained almost unchanged, there were notable shifts in the composition of expected credit losses. Specifically, the wholesale banking segment recorded a net provision release of 18 billion pesos, mainly driven by a comparison-based effect following the deterioration of asset quality of certain customers belonging to the real estate, construction, and financial services industries during the third quarter of 2024, as well as an improvement in the credit profile of manufacturing clients this quarter. Conversely, the retail banking segment posted a year-on-year increase of $4 billion in risk expenses, primarily due to higher levels of overdue loans above 30 days when compared to the same quarter last year. These movements were largely offset by a rise of Five billion pesos of impairment of financial assets explained by a comparison-based effect related to lower probabilities of default for fixed income securities issued by local financial institutions in the third quarter last year. a loan growth effect of 5 billion pesos driven by a 4.2% year-on-year increase in average loan balances, mainly fostered by residential mortgages, and a year-on-year increase of 2 billion pesos in provisions for cross-border loans, mostly driven by a comparison-based effect associated with the lower exposures to offshore banking counterparties and Chilean special appreciation of 4.7% in the third quarter of 2024. As a result, this performance translated into a cost of risk of 0.8% in the third quarter of 2025, which remains below our historical average and highlights the resilience of our diversified loan portfolio amid a still adjusting credit cycle. Non-performing loans across the industry remained above pre-pandemic levels, as shown in the top right chart. Our delinquency ratio stood at 1.6%, significantly below peers. This gap underscores the strength of our underwriting standards and the proactive risk management. From a forward-looking perspective, despite fluctuations observed in 2025, we believe that the delinquency indicators will continue to converge to historical levels in both retail and wholesale banking segments. Now, in terms of coverage, we maintain the highest ratio in the industry. As of September, total provisions amounted to 1.5 trillion pesos, including $821 billion in specific credit risk allowances and $631 billion in additional provisions. As a result, our total coverage ratio stands at 234%, positioning us with the highest coverage among peers. In summary, our strong asset quality metrics, exceptional coverage levels, and prudent risk practices continue to differentiate Banco de Chile and position us to navigate evolving credit conditions with confidence. Please turn to slide 17. Operating expenses totaled P276 billion this quarter, representing a modest increase of 1.2% when compared to the third quarter of 2024. This growth remains well below the UF variation rate of 4.2% over the last 12 months, highlighting our disciplined approach to cost management. The contained increase reflects our continued efforts to optimize resources and drive efficiency through strategic initiatives and diverse digital transformation projects across the organization. The top chart provides a detailed breakdown of annual variation expenses. Personnel expenses decreased by 1%, supported by headcount optimization of 5.7% over the last 12 months, which helped offset inflationary pressures on salaries. On the other hand, administration expenses rose by 5.3%, mainly due to higher marketing expenses linked to sponsorship activities aligned with our commercial strategy, increased IT-related costs, and to a lesser extent, higher ATM rental costs due to relocations of part of our network. As shown on the chart on the bottom right, Our efficiency ratio reached 36.8% to the nine-month period ended September 30, 2025, which significantly outperforms historical levels and competes closely with the market leader in the syndicator. This achievement underscores the effectiveness of our ongoing productivity initiatives, which should provide further efficiency gains in the future. Looking ahead, We remain confident that our strong cost discipline, branch optimization efforts, and continued investment in technology will allow us to sustain this positive trend. Please turn to slide 18. Before we conclude, I want to highlight a few ideas presented in this call. First, we have adjusted our GDP forecast. for 2025 to 2.5%, up from 2.3%, reflecting a more positive outlook for the Chilean economy. Chile continues to stand out for its strong macro-fundamentals, a resilient financial system, and a credible policy framework, making it a reliable destination for long-term investment, even amid global uncertainty. Second, Banco de Chile remains the clear leader in profitability and capital strength. As shown on the left, we delivered 927 billion pesos in net income with a CET1 ratio of 14.2% and a return on average assets of 2.3%, significantly ahead of our peers. These achievements reinforce our ability to combine strong earnings with robust capital levels. Third, we have revised our guidance for the full year 2025 We expect our return on average capital to be around 22.5%, efficiency near 37%, and cost of risk close to 0.9%. These metrics reflect our disciplined approach to both risk management and operational efficiency. Finally, we're confident in our capacity to remain the most profitable bank in Chile over the long term, supported by a strong customer base, solid asset quality, and sound capital levels. Thank you, and if you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them.
spk12: Thank you very much.
Conference Operator: We'll now move to the Q&A part of the call. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star two on your phone. That is star two on the phone. And if you're connected from the web, you can also ask a voice question. We'll give it a few moments for the questions to come in.
spk12: Okay, so our first question is from Daniel Vaz from Banco Safra. Your line is now open. Please go ahead. Hi, everyone. Thanks for the opportunity to make questions.
Daniel Vaz: I just want to touch base on your midterm targets. I think the only thing a little bit more distant that we see is the top one market share for commercial loans and consumer loans. and we see some stable market shares like in the past few months when we look at the league tables. Just wondering, you're a bank that focuses a lot on profitability and focuses on maintaining the discipline of the underwriting process. Trying to understand how are you going to tackle this top one commercial loans, consumer loans going forward, especially considering that the Chilean market is probably going to a better outlook for commercial loans. We see a little bit more appetite for consumers as well. So how exactly are you going to tackle this first position on both market shares? Is it going to the same clients or going to a more attacking position versus your competitors to steal clients' shares?
spk12: or any other things that you will highlight. Thank you.
spk03: Hi, Daniel. Thanks for the question.
Rodrigo Aravena: Maybe Rodrigo will start on the first part there. Perfect. Well, thank you very much for the question. Today we have a more positive view of the Chilean economy in the future. Even though the economic growth expected for this year, which is around 2.3%, 2.5%, and probably in the next year, the economic growth will be similar, it's very important to pay attention to the composition of the growth. Because, for example, in the last year, when the economy grew by 2.6%, we have to remember that the key drivers were exports, which are not very relevant as a driver for long growth, for example, right? More recently, we have seen some positive signs for investment, including the acceleration for capital good imports and also the pipeline of protected projects for the next five years. It's also improving a lot, especially in the last quarter. In terms of consumption, we see that the... The lower trend for inflation is also a positive new for the perspective for consumption as well. So at the end of the day, in our baseline scenario, we're going to have a more dynamic domestic demand, especially on the investment side. which will be a positive driver for long growth in the future. Even though we are not expecting an important acceleration in parts of investment, because we have to remember that in Chile, between 50% and 55% of investment is related with construction. That part of investment will likely recover not in the short term, but the 45% remaining of investment, which is related with machinery and equipment, Today it's getting better. So that's why, even though we are not expecting important changes in the GDP forecast for the next year, we are expecting a different composition growth with more dynamism in domestic demand, which is good news for for long growth in the future. Also, we have to pay attention to the evolution and the final result of elections in Chile. We're going to have elections for new president, for the Senate, for the lower house as well. So at the end of the day, there are important factors that could accelerate or not accelerate
Pablo Mejia: the economic growth in the future but i think that so far the most important asset to keep in mind is the potential recovery in domestic demand so so yeah in terms of our midterm targets these are midterm targets that go beyond not only 2026 but it's a midterm aspiration And in those aspirations, as shown on the slide, we want to be number one in terms of total commercial loans and consumer loans. So our growth strategy is focused on three key ideas. So the first, and we'll go into each one of these a little bit, is digital transformation as a growth engine for the bank. Also, as a second area of focus is focus in the high potential segments. Notwithstanding all, the entire commercial loan book is interesting for us, but it's been more challenging in this environment. And third is operational productivity. So in the digital transformation area, What we've been focusing is leveraging technology to scale the efficiency, enhance customer experience, and really drive new growth opportunities across the bank in all the segments. And in that regard, what we're seeing is an increase on digital onboarding. Most of the transactions are being done online and we're expanding our digital capabilities in order to capture this new growth through different channels of the bank in order to grow consumer loans in the middle and upper income segments. And we're also implementing the use of AI across the bank in order to improve the service, improve the understanding of our customers and risk management as well. So all of this is improving the customer experience and operational efficiencies and the ability to grow. And in the high potential customer segments or high potential segments, what we're looking to do is to grow and create a larger business value creation. And in that area where we're focused on, uh, in commercial loans, especially as SMEs, where we see, um, uh, potential to continue growing in the medium term, we've seen good levels of growth recently, especially if we exclude certain, uh, government guaranteed loans, uh, consumer loans as well. Uh, there's a large, uh, area to grow. If we look at what's happened today versus prior to the pandemic, this segment has decreased its importance in the overall proportion of loans in Chile. So the loans to GDP penetration has come from levels above 90% to around the 75%. And one of the strongest hits not the most important in the total loan book of the industry is consumer loans so the strongest hit with a lower percentage in the mix is consumer loans that drop somewhere um almost 20 18 so this area we think will continue to grow once the economy improves once unemployment reduces there's better growth in in labor uh across the board so here is a very uh interesting area to grow, SME, is very interesting because it's also very cyclical in terms of the economy. So as long as the economy continues to improve, better unemployment, we should see a better activity in these segments. And with a better overall view, business view of Chile, there should be more demand for loans in these two segments. And finally, in the large corporate segment, we've seen very little growth, very low demand, but as Rodrigo said, there's a lot of projects in the pipeline with a positive evolution in the future that should also help drive loan growth for the industry. Saying that, we're in a very good position to capture this growth, organically or inorganically, because we have a huge level of capital. that allows us to do this. We don't have any impediments that make us more reluctant to grow and take on growth because we have a very good level of capital in order to do this, and that's the idea of the capital that we have. And finally, operational productivity, which is what we mentioned in the presentation.
spk03: This helps all the areas improve overall and maintain a profitability high.
spk02: Thank you, Rodrigo. Thank you, Pablo. You're welcome. Thank you.
Conference Operator: Our next question is from Tito Labarda from Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.
Tito Labarda: Hi, Pablo, Rodrigo. Thank you for the call and taking my question. Just with the upcoming presidential elections, just kind of curious, sort of, you know, where you think things stand from here and, you know, depending on which candidates win, how do you see that potentially impacting the macro outlook for next year and then also, you know, trickling down to the bank's profitability? Thank you.
Rodrigo Aravena: Hi, Tito. Thank you for the question. I'm Rodrigo Aravena. I think that it's very important to be aware that in Chile we have a political system which is based on important counterweights between the central government, the Congress, the YADC system, etc. So that's why it's not only a matter of who's going to be the next president of Chile. We have also taken into consideration the the future composition of the Congress as well. According to the surveys, there's going to be a runoff in December, but we're going to have the final results of the Congress in November, starting in the next week. Even though there's uncertainty about the final composition of the Congress and also in terms of who's going to win the election. I think that it's worth mentioning that today, which is an important difference compared to the election that we had four years ago, that there are some consensus in Chile between different candidates, different political parties as well, in terms of Put on the table, I would say, three important aspects in the policy agenda. First of all, there is a consensus in Chile in terms of the need to improve the long-term sources of economic growth when we analyze all the different proposals. they are aware about the importance to promote more economic growth management investment, especially considering that the external environment will be a bit more challenging in the future. So we don't have important differences in terms of the diagnosis of the importance of economic growth. Also, today there are not important proposals with higher tax rates. In fact, there are some proposals that are based on lower corporate tax rates, for example, which is good news as well for the future. And also, we also have an important consensus in terms of the importance to improve, for example, the licenses and permit system that we have in Chile, which is an important factor to promote investment in the future. I see which is the main difference compared to the elections that we had four years ago. There are not important differences in terms of proposals for economic growth, for taxes, etc. So when we consider this scenario and also the recent improvement in some living indicators, I think that we have good reasons to expect more dynamism in domestic demand in the future, especially in investment and consumption, even though we have uncertainty for the final result of the presidential election.
Pablo Mejia: And in terms of the banks, the most... The most important result of this is more demand and activity in Chile, which should drive loan growth in all the segments. So in commercial loans, large corporates and multinationals, concessions and SMEs, consumer loans, et cetera. So what we've seen is a period of low growth, high interest rates, and now we're moving into a more attractive period with better business confidence, hopefully better consumer confidence. and that should lead to stronger loan growth, and we have the capital in order to grow.
spk03: So we don't need more capital, so that means additional points in terms of the bottom line for ROE.
spk11: Okay, great. Thank you, guys.
spk02: You're welcome. Thank you.
Conference Operator: Our next question is from Neha Agarwala from HSBC. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.
Neha Agarwala: Hi. Congratulations on the results. Just a quick one on the outlook for 2026. What kind of pickup can we expect in the coming quarters in terms of loan growth? And what would be the drivers for earnings for 2026, given that there should be some pressure on the NEMS with easing inflation. Thank you.
Pablo Mejia: Hi Neha. I think in 2026, well, today we don't have guidance yet because we're working on the budget and it's something that's being discussed internally. in the bank. But what we can say is similar to what we've said in the other questions is what we're seeing is a better overall aspect of Chile in the next years. And this should allow us to have, and the banking industry, to have better results in terms of loans, the main area, the main driver for growth for us in the following year. The inflation level, what we expect is to return to levels close to the 3%. Similar in terms of the overnight rate, not too much lower. We're already close to the long-term levels there. So in order to really generate a stronger bottom line over the next years, we should see loan growth as the main driver. Well, what we have, and what's very positive for Banco de Chile, is that we have an attractive level of CET1 total basal ratio, and this is allowing us to grow when the opportunities arise, and hopefully that's sooner than later.
Rodrigo Aravena: And also, hi, Neha, this is Rodrigo Aradena. Important to mention as well that we are not expecting important changes in interest rates for the next year. It's likely that the central bank will reduce the interest rate by 25 basis points over the next meeting or probably in the first quarter of the next year. Today, the annual inflation is at 3.4%. So for the next year, it's reasonable to expect a convergence towards the central bank target, which is 3%. So, I mean, we're not expecting important adjustments in the key factors behind the ROE and NIMS as well, since we are not seeing important rules for adjustment in both interest rates and inflation as well.
spk02: Thank you, Rodrigo and Pablo. You're welcome.
spk12: Thank you.
Conference Operator: Just a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, it's star two on your phone, star two. If you're connected from the web, you can also ask a voice question. Our next question is from Andres Soto from Santander.
spk12: Your line is now open. Please go ahead. Hello, Rodrigo, Pablo.
Andres Soto: Thank you for the presentation. My first question is for your long road next year, which I will assume you are expecting an acceleration versus 2025. Which segments are you expecting to see faster growth? Is it going to be commercial lending? In your comments about the third quarter results, you mentioned some market share losses in consumer, as other players are focusing in the lower segments of the population. So I would like to understand what is missing for you guys to take a more – optimistic view on consumer lending. You have mentioned in this call this is a segment that is still depressed compared to the pre-pandemic levels. So what is missing for you to see faster growth in the consumer and overall what is going to be the driver in 2046 for the total loan growth?
Pablo Mejia: Well, in terms of loan growth, what we're seeing, the main driver, as you know, commercial loans is the largest mix of the portfolio. And what's been most impacted over the last five, six years has been commercial loans as importance in terms of volumes. So in terms of volumes, we should see a recovery in terms of commercial loans. Within that, we're expecting with better business confidence, with less uncertainty, we should see a return of larger corporate demand in Chile. SMEs as well should have a very good activity in this environment with a better business Global activity and GDP, unemployment, they're much more cyclical, as I mentioned. And then consumer loans, we should see slowly, as we should continue to see slowly, the consumer loans will continue to improve in line with unemployment rates. For what's happened in the consumer loan segment is that some players in Chile have implemented or have focused on the lower income segments where we're not active today, penetrating that market more than us. Probably we have a customer base that's a higher net worth customer base. as well that it's not demanding as much loans um but we continue to grow uh well so in a new environment next year with better business and consumer confidence we should see we should see uh more attractive loan growth in this segment and we're implementing different digital initiatives to understand the customers in order to offer them products to the channels that they desire with business intelligence, much more focused on each customer rather than global plans that are focused over the entire segment. So we're trying to personalize much more of the information that's going to these customers.
spk03: Next year should be a more positive year overall.
Andres Soto: Thank you, Pablo. My next question is regarding Capital. Your core equity tier one is 400 base points. above all your peers, basically. What level do you guys feel necessary for the growth that you see ahead and how you imagine the capital normalization of Banco de Chile taking place? How long is going to take place for you to get to a level you see as the adequate level for capital?
Daniel Galarza: Hi, Andrés. This is Daniel Velarse. From the capital point of view, as we have said, of course, we have today important buffers and power gaps over the regulatory limits. Basically, everything depends on how the portfolio will normalize in terms of long growth in the future. and basically in which products we will increase and we will expand our portfolio in the future as well. As Pablo said, we are expecting to grow more in commercial and consumer loans. We want to be leaders in those lending products, and those products are more intensive in terms of use of capital, of course. Everything depends on the evolution of loan growth in the future. So probably we will have a normalization in terms of capital buffers probably over the mid-term, two years or something like that, depending on the economic activity in the country.
Andres Soto: And which level will be that?
Daniel Galarza: Well, we don't have a specific target, but in the long run, we need, and our aim is to be always at least 1.5%, 2%, something like that, in the range of 1% to 2% above regulatory limits.
Andres Soto: Perfect. That's helpful. Thank you, guys, and congratulations on the results.
spk02: Thank you. Thank you.
Conference Operator: We would like to thank everyone for the questions and the participation. I will now hand it back to the Banco de Chile team for the closing remarks.
Pablo Mejia: Thanks for listening, and we look forward to speaking with you for your results next year.
Conference Operator: That concludes the call for today. Thank you, and have a nice day.
