MEXICO CITY, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Mexican bank Banorte posted a 15% increase in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, propelled by double-digit growth in almost all of its loan sectors.
Profits during the quarter grew to 13.3 billion pesos ($761.4 million), under the LSEG analyst estimate of 13.44 billion pesos.
Net interest income (NII), the difference between what banks earn on loans and dole out to pay down liabilities, grew 8% year-over-year on Banorte's loan book growth, higher interest rates and a normalization in the valuation of some pension accounts.
Mexico's central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate at 11.25% since March after hiking it a historic 725 basis points starting mid-2021.
Banorte's performing loan book saw a 15% bump from the year-ago period, with growth led by commercial, corporate and consumer loans to top 1 trillion pesos.
Corporate and consumer loans saw a boost from "initial opportunities related to nearshoring," or businesses bringing operations closer to home, Banorte said.
Loan-loss previsions, however, also climbed 44% from the year-ago period to reach 4.54 billion pesos, with cost of risk rising to 1.8% from 1.4%.
Revenue for the group, which owns one of the country's largest banks and pension funds, rose 16% to total 33.8 billion pesos, slightly above the LSEG estimate of 33.61 billion pesos.
Return on equity jumped 210 basis points from the year-ago quarter to nearly 22%, which Banorte attributed to sustained, organic expansion.
Non-financial costs, meanwhile, grew 11% to total 11.54 billion pesos, with labor costs rising 15%, as the firm expands its
account manager base
.
($1 = 17.4279 Mexican pesos at end-September) (Reporting by Kylie Madry and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by David Alire Garcia, Brendan O'Boyle and Chris Reese)