Mexico City - Mexico's biggest banks kept their balance sheets on solid ground in July despite loan defaults and a deep recession that weighed on their businesses, the country's bank regulator said on Thursday. The banks all maintained capital adequacy ratios in excess of 10 percent, a measure of capital that shows how prepared a bank is to weather losses. When a bank's ratio dips below 10 percent, the regulator requires it to come up with a plan to raise its capitalization. Leading Mexican bank BBVA Bancomer, a unit of Spain's BBVA's (BBVA.MC), had a capital adequacy ratio of 15.11 percent in July, up from 14.95 percent in June. HSBC Holding Plc's (HSBA.L) Mexican bank let its capital adequacy ratio slip marginally in July to 12.85 percent, the lowest among the country's big banks, from 13.42 percent in June. Defaults on credit cards and other consumer loans have risen in recent months as slumping U.S. demand leads to more layoffs at factories in Mexico, where the economy is expected to shrink around 7 percent in 2009. Mexican bank Banamex, whose parent Citigroup (C.N) was rescued by the U.S. government after facing billions of dollars of losses, let its capital adequacy ratio edge down to 17.51 percent in July from 17.62 percent in June. Banorte (GFNORTEO.MX), one of Mexico's locally controlled big banks, saw its ratio dip to 15.34 percent in July from 15.61 percent in June. (Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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Business News | September 2009 
Noel Randewich - Reuters
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