The regional banking system demonstrated remarkable resilience to the international financial crisis, thanks to the banks’ conservative operating policies which left them with limited, if any, exposure to the type of toxic assets that contaminated the balance sheets of the banking system of many of the developed countries.
But, prospects of reduced global growth are undoubtedly a warning signal for the region. Against this backdrop, we can see two effects coming: a direct one on the level of activity through lower trade flows, particularly from countries tied to the U.S. such as Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela and the Caribbean.