Paulo Gonzalez's questions to Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC) leadership • Q1 2024
Question
Paulo Gonzalez of Banchile sought clarity on the drivers for the Net Interest Margin (NIM) guidance of at least 3.2% and questioned if reaching the long-term ROE target of 17-19% would require a NIM in the high 3% range.
Answer
CFO Emiliano Muratore explained that the primary NIM driver is the normalization of monetary policy (falling rates), rather than the FCIC maturity, which has a more arithmetic effect. He confirmed the bank's higher sensitivity to interest rates and agreed that achieving the long-term ROE target would require high single-digit loan growth and a NIM in the 'high 3s', noting that historical NIMs above 4% are now harder to achieve due to a larger mortgage portfolio.