“This is a good deal for GE, and furthers our objective of reducing the overall size of GE Capital,” said Dmitri Stockton, chief executive of GE Capital Global Banking.

Last year, GE Capital increased its ownership in BAC – Credomatic to 75% from 49.99%, as mandated in the original agreement, which added billons to its balance sheet at a time when the parent company’s management had wanted to reduce its financial exposure.

BAC International Bank has operations in Central America and Mexico, with about $5.1 billion in loan assets and $5.5 billion in deposits. They are a Central American bank and consumer credit-card services provider.

Grupo Aval is Colombia’s largest banking holding group.

Honduras

Jacobo Atala, executive president of BAC Honduras, said the agreement is for 100% of the shares and, no staff or brand name changes are expected.

“We are honored to have been considered as a group that can give them these opportunities for growth in Central America, ” he said.

He added that although BAC | Credomatic has had a good relationship with GE, there will be many opportunities for growth and learning for BAC – Credomatic from a group leader in the Colombian financial system, such as Grupo Aval.

“We are confident that this transaction will not involve changes to the image or the organizational structure of the company in Honduras and the rest of the region,” he said.

In Honduras, BAC – Credomatic competes for first place in assets, portfolio, deposits and profits in bank rankings.

Grupo Aval is the largest financial conglomerate in Colombia, with $34,713 million in assets. They have experience which spans more than one hundred years, and are focused on finding new business opportunities and growth in the region. Central America is the logical next step, with more than 40 million inhabitants and more than $100,000 million in gross domestic product. This makes the figures very interesting for the Colombian financial group.

Founded in 1952, BAC International Bank has operations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Mexico, with approximately $5.1 billion in loan portfolios and $5,500 million in deposits.