Bankaool bets on branches and anti–money laundering controls after a year of declining profits
The bank aims to regain its growth pace in 2026 through physical expansion and a focus on small and midsize businesses, after absorbing operations and strengthening compliance.
In an environment of heightened regulatory scrutiny of the financial system, Bankaool closed out 2025 with profits down nearly 50%, reporting 165 million pesos compared with 327 million in 2024, in a year marked by money-laundering allegations against financial institutions and a rapid process of operational expansion. The Chihuahua-based institution, led by Juan Antonio Pérez Simón, says its anti–money laundering (AML) controls “were strong from the start,” and that the investments made to absorb operations and shore up processes explain much of the lower profitability.
The bank grew inorganically during 2025: it brought in Intercam’s foreign-exchange desk and added about 250 former employees, in addition to acquiring more than 40 branches previously operated by CI Banco in states including Veracruz, Puebla, Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Nuevo León, Jalisco, Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Chiapas, and Campeche. These units will be integrated into a base of 25 branches in Chihuahua, in an explicit bet on a physical footprint in a country where, despite the advance of digitization, a preference for in-person service remains a trust factor for large segments of users.
The strategy comes at a time when credit and consumption are sending mixed signals: on the one hand, bank lending continues to expand in specific niches; on the other, borrowing costs remain high after Banxico’s high-rate cycle, which pressures margins and credit demand, particularly among small and midsize businesses (SMEs). In that context, Bankaool is looking to use its territorial expansion and greater operating capacity to return to prior growth rates, albeit with a clear priority: financing SMEs and strengthening its regional positioning.
On compliance, Pérez Simón said the bank has held meetings with FinCEN and with other authorities in the United States, aiming to validate internal processes and meet control requirements tied to cross-border operations. The emphasis is significant: for Mexican banks, maintaining correspondent relationships and seamless access to international payments depends largely on strict standards for know-your-customer practices, transaction monitoring, and traceability—especially when foreign-exchange transactions are involved or when flows are linked to foreign trade and remittances.
In addition, Bankaool expects to join Veradat at a later date, the scheme promoted by the Mexican Banking Association (ABM) to share alerts and useful information among banks without violating bank secrecy, in order to anticipate potential fraud and money-laundering risks. The debate over collaborative tools like this is gaining relevance in a system where illicit schemes are becoming more sophisticated and where the costs of a reputational event translate into losses, heavier audit burdens, and business restrictions.
Physical expansion and SME lending: the trade-off between scale and profitability
The plan to open 13 new branches and consolidate acquisitions reflects a particular read of the Mexican market: physical infrastructure can still accelerate deposit gathering and loan origination in areas where financial inclusion and competition are not evenly distributed. However, rolling out branches entails meaningful expenses—build-outs, security, staffing, technology, and compliance—that typically weigh on results in the short term. Bankaool’s challenge will be translating scale into a larger loan book and better operating efficiency at a time when the financial sector is under pressure to contain costs while also raising AML and cybersecurity standards.
In 2025, the bank originated 15.86 billion pesos in loans, according to data from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), and for 2026 it is seeking to deepen its participation in SME financing with support from Mexico’s development banks. Its plans include operating credit lines with FIRA and taking part in agricultural support programs such as “Cosechando Soberanía,” as well as continuing talks with Nacional Financiera (Nafin) to expand access to business credit. In the current environment, this focus could matter: private investment remains uneven by region and sector, and financing backed by guarantees or development funding often serves as a lever for companies with thinner credit histories or working-capital needs.
By contrast, the bank is ruling out an aggressive push into consumer credit via cards, viewing the product as riskier due to how some customers use revolving credit lines. The decision reflects a conservative stance toward a segment that, while profitable for players with scale and advanced analytics, can also deteriorate quickly amid income shocks, persistent inflation, or restrictive financial conditions.
Heading into high-spillover events such as the 2026 World Cup, the institution expects to be ready to support companies with financing and collections solutions, such as payment terminals. Still, bank leadership tempers the optimism: it believes the event’s magnitude may be overstated in terms of visitor counts. From a macro perspective, the opportunity for local businesses exists, but its realization will depend on logistical capacity, security, connectivity, and whether tourist spending actually spreads through regional supply chains.
In the corporate backdrop, Bankaool is operating after the investment it received in late 2023 from Grupo Omni, owned by Moisés Chaves—a conglomerate that has made notable acquisitions in other sectors, such as pharmaceutical distributor Marzam in 2025 and the e-commerce platform Jüsto in early 2026. Bank management says it is not involved in those purchases, a point that matters for separating risks across businesses and maintaining a prudent profile with regulators and counterparties.
In sum, Bankaool faces a 2026 focused on execution: integrating branches and staff, improving the efficiency of its inorganic growth, and showing that stronger AML efforts can coexist with expansion and profitability. In an increasingly closely watched financial system and with monetary conditions still restrictive, operational consistency and risk discipline will be key to recovering margins and credibility in the market.
