BDT loses ground in Venezuelan bank ranking despite asset growth

The Banco Digital de los Trabajadores (BDT) closed April 2026 in eighth place in the asset ranking of Venezuelan banks, one notch below the seventh place it held in the first half of 2025, according to the portal Banca y Negocios, citing data from the consultancy Aristimuño Herrera y Asociados.

This slip in the overall standings coincides with a nominal increase in its balance sheet. The institution reported total assets of 193,784.3 million bolívares at the end of April 2026, a monthly increase of 13.3% and an annualized change of 473.5%. However, when the bank's size is measured in foreign currency using the same consultancy's figures, the picture changes: its balance stood at $397.8 million, 2.2% less than the $423.8 million recorded at the close of the first half of 2025.

The apparent contradiction between robust growth in bolívares and a slight contraction in dollar terms reflects inflation dynamics and the pace of devaluation relative to the nominal expansion of credit and money in circulation. In economies with high exchange-rate instability, measuring the real size of a financial institution requires looking at its performance in hard currency, where the bank shows a decline in its dollar value despite moving more bolívares.

Among the other indicators for the period, total equity closed at 38,233.7 million bolívares (equivalent to $78.5 million), while the loan portfolio reached 60,159.8 million bolívares ($123.5 million), maintaining a market share of 3.5%. Deposits totaled 91,405.1 million bolívares ($187.6 million), with a share of 3.1%.