Banking in Colombia Current Demand Behavior Analysis¶

Demand Behavior¶

The current demand behavior in the Colombian banking sector reflects the engagement of both individual and business consumers, with available data from 2024 and projections for 2025 offering insights into their numbers and trends. While precise total customer counts are not uniformly available across all segments and institutions, indicators point to continued growth in individual banking fueled by digitalization and financial inclusion efforts, while the business segment navigates challenges in lending despite anticipated economic improvements.

Detailed report on the number of individual and business consumers¶

Based on the provided information, a specific consolidated number for all individual and business banking customers in Colombia for 2024 and 2025 is not available. However, the reports offer insights into the magnitude and characteristics of these customer groups.

Individual Consumers (B2C): This segment constitutes a large and actively engaged customer base for Colombian banks. Major banks like Bancolombia serve over 30 million customers, and Davivienda serves approximately 24 million clients, with a significant overlap likely existing between these figures. [Context] The widespread adoption of digital banking platforms is a key characteristic of this segment, as evidenced by Davivienda's Daviplata reaching 18.5 million users by the end of 2024. [Context] This highlights the increasing number of individuals utilizing digital channels for basic banking services. Historical data indicates a positive trend in financial inclusion, with bank account ownership among Colombian adults rising from 39% in 2011 to 60% in 2021. While more recent comprehensive figures on overall account ownership are not available for 2024-2025, ongoing initiatives and the growth of digital platforms suggest a continued, albeit possibly slower, increase in the number of individuals entering the formal financial system. [Context, 4, 5, 7] Individual consumers drive demand for retail deposit products (savings and checking accounts, CDTs) and various forms of retail and mortgage lending. [Context]

Business Consumers (B2B): This segment encompasses a wide range of entities, from microenterprises to large corporations and institutions. The total number of businesses actively banking in Colombia is not specified in the provided materials. However, the substantial volume of credit directed towards businesses indicates a large number of business customers. Commercial loans represented 46% of the total credit portfolio (COP 686 trillion in March 2024), and microcredit accounted for 8%, demonstrating significant engagement in borrowing by businesses of various sizes. [Context] Businesses are key users of corporate and institutional deposit services, as well as a broad array of specialized financial services including fiduciary services, investment banking, brokerage, leasing, and factoring. [Context] The growth of the Fintech ecosystem, with 394 local startups in Q1 2024, also points to an increasing number of businesses involved in or utilizing digital financial services and potentially forming B2B relationships with traditional banks. The regulatory environment and reporting requirements for Colombian companies further suggest a considerable number of formal businesses interacting with the banking sector.

Table showing the growth/decline in the number of customers¶

While precise net changes in the total number of individual and business customers across the entire sector are not explicitly reported for 2024-2025, the following table summarizes the observed or inferred trends based on available indicators:

Customer Segment	Indicator	Trend in 2024-2025 (Based on Available Data)	Notes
Individual	Users of Digital Banking Platforms (e.g., Daviplata)	Growing	Daviplata reached 18.5 million users by end-2024, indicating significant expansion in digital individual customer base. [Context]
Individual	Overall Financial Inclusion (Account Ownership)	Likely Growing (Continuation of historical trend and impact of digital acceleration)	Historical data shows increasing account ownership (up to 60% in 2021). Ongoing financial inclusion efforts and digital adoption are expected to continue this trend. [Context, 4, 5, 7]
Individual	Engagement in Consumer Lending	Mixed (Potential increase in numbers offset by rising delinquency impacting new loan origination)	Rising delinquency rates observed in consumer lending [Context] may constrain growth in the number of new individual borrowers despite potential underlying demand.
Business	Engagement in Commercial and Microcredit Lending	Slow Growth/Partial Recovery (Volume), Number of Borrowers Uncertain (Impacted by challenges)	Credit portfolio growth was sluggish but showed recent signs of acceleration. [Context] Rising delinquency and slow credit growth, particularly for SMEs [Context], might temper the growth in the number of active business borrowers.
Business	Investment and Economic Activity	Recovering/Projected Growth	Weak investment in 2023 is expected to rebound in 2025, which could lead to an increase in the number of businesses seeking financing and engaging with banks.
Business	Utilization of Digital/Fintech Services	Growing	Growth in the Fintech ecosystem suggests increasing adoption of digital financial services by businesses, potentially through direct relationships with Fintechs or partnerships with banks.

Overall, the number of individual banking customers is likely growing, largely driven by increased financial inclusion through digital channels. The trend for the number of business customers is less clear; while the volume of business activity with banks is substantial, challenges in the lending environment may be impacting growth in the number of businesses actively borrowing, even as economic conditions are projected to improve.

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