Chile

The Board of Directors is proposing to retain 35% of 2005 net income in order to finance commercial growth and investments in 2006 and to maintain a solid capital base

Chile's third largest bank, state-owned BancoEstado expects to achieve a 4-5% market share in the local factoring business by year-end, according to

Chile's factoring industry will see business volume grow 25% this year due in part to new players entering the market

Chilean bank Banco Security expects to grow its lending portfolio 10-12% this year, up from

The Chilean subsidiary of French credit insurer Coface aims to grow premiums by 11-12% this year, up from

Chilean financial services group Grupo Security saw 2005 profits grow 25.8% to

HNS Banco is a joint venture between Chilean businessman Jacob Ergas and US financial services firm GE Capital and focuses on the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment. The bank operates in the factoring and leasing markets

Grupo Security owned Banco Security is active in factoring, insurance, stock brokering and

 In Chile, Coface competes with Mapfre Garantías y Créditos, a unit of Spain's Mapfre, and Continental