Bankaool speeds up its physical expansion after a year under pressure over money-laundering allegations
The bank is betting on more branches and more lending to SMBs to regain profitability, while insisting its anti–money laundering compliance is already robust.
Bankaool, a bank originally from the state of Chihuahua that in recent years has sought to scale up its nationwide footprint, ended 2025 with a significant drop in profits amid extraordinary investments and an environment of heightened regulatory scrutiny for Mexico’s financial system. The bank posted earnings of 165 million pesos, nearly 50% below the 327 million reported in 2024, after absorbing operations, staff, and locations from other institutions and ramping up integration- and compliance-related costs.
This episode comes at a time when Mexico is facing growing pressure to strengthen anti–money laundering controls, partly due to increased flows of illicit funds linked to criminal economies and the country’s role as a trade and financial corridor. For small and mid-sized banks, the challenge is twofold: sustain growth without disproportionately increasing compliance spending, while also demonstrating traceability and sound corporate governance to supervisors and counterparties.
Juan Antonio Pérez Simón, Bankaool’s CEO, said the institution does not plan to further “reinforce” its anti–money laundering (AML) prevention strategy because, he argues, the area “was built strong from the start” and is staffed by professionals with long track records. In parallel, the bank has held meetings with U.S. (United States) authorities and, according to the executive, its processes have been reviewed and validated—an especially sensitive point for any intermediary seeking to operate with correspondent banking relationships, transfers, and services tied to the international financial system.
The hit to profitability is explained largely by the expansion strategy and inorganic growth executed during 2025. Bankaool integrated part of Intercam’s foreign-exchange operation and added around 250 former employees, in addition to agreeing to purchase more than 40 CI Banco branches across a broad list of states, from Veracruz and Puebla to Baja California, Nuevo León, and the Yucatán Peninsula. These locations add to its historical base in Chihuahua.
The bet runs counter to the narrative of rapid digitization: the bank is seeking a “built-out presence” to attract deposits, originate loans, and deepen relationships with customers who still prefer in-person service—particularly in regions where financial inclusion is advancing, but trust in fully digital channels remains uneven. In Mexico, the expansion of electronic payments has been notable, but it coexists with an economy that relies heavily on cash, features high informality, and faces connectivity gaps—factors that keep traditional infrastructure relevant.
More lending to SMBs in a high-rate, moderate-growth environment
After its step up in scale, Bankaool is looking to consolidate its operations and accelerate loan origination, with an emphasis on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). In 2025 it extended 15.86 billion pesos in financing, according to figures from Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV). The focus on SMBs comes at a time when the cost of money has remained restrictive and domestic demand is sending mixed signals: consumption has held up in some segments, but private investment typically feels the strain of prolonged periods of high rates and increased regulatory uncertainty.
In this context, the bank has sought to leverage credit lines and programs from Mexico’s development banks. It maintains a credit line with FIRA and aims to participate in “Cosechando Soberanía” to finance agricultural activities; it also reports talks with Nacional Financiera (Nafin) to expand funding for SMBs. These types of arrangements, common within Mexico’s financial architecture, serve as shock absorbers when commercial banks become more selective: they reduce risk, lower funding costs, and allow for broader coverage, though they also demand operational discipline and traceability—especially in sectors with high informality and significant cash flows.
By contrast, Bankaool is ruling out entering consumer lending through credit cards, viewing it as a higher-risk product due to the potential for over-indebtedness. The decision reflects a conservative read on delinquency and margins: while consumer credit is often more profitable in terms of interest rates, it is also more volatile in the face of employment and inflation shocks and requires more sophistication in underwriting, collections, and analytics.
Looking ahead to the FIFA World Cup to be held in Mexico, the bank anticipates an opportunity to meet companies’ liquidity needs—including payment-collection solutions—though the CEO himself tempers expectations about visitor volumes. In macro terms, major events tend to create temporary spikes in services (hospitality, transportation, retail), but their structural impact depends on investment in infrastructure, security, and urban capacity, as well as the extent to which spending stays in local economies rather than leaking to outside providers.
Finally, the case highlights an ongoing dilemma in Mexican banking: growing through acquisitions and physical reach in a still-uneven market, while AML control requirements tighten and transparency pressures rise to maintain relationships with the global financial system. Bankaool’s profit recovery will depend on how effectively it converts its expansion into deposit growth and a profitable loan book, without integration and compliance costs once again eroding its margins.
