In 36 years of experience, Ica Box It has become one of the most reliable and safe alternatives in the microfinance sector. Created to promote Peruvian entrepreneurs and families, Walter Leyvacentral business manager of the entity, tells us the reasons for their growth, their achievements and the Christmas campaign they promote.
Why is Caja Ica a good prospect for those who save and for entrepreneurs who need credit?
We have focused our strategy on getting closer to the customer, that is why we have focused on the characteristics of subsegments. Today we talk about multi-segmentation. Before there were four or five segments, today we could talk about hundreds of subsegments by socioeconomic level, psychographics, region and age. There are people who have access to electronic channels, others reject them and some do not even have Internet, it is a very varied audience and for each of them we have possibilities. The other leg of the strategy is our service. Caja Ica has more than 2,000 people working and the majority are young people from the same regions where we are located who are previously trained and motivated. We have very good indicators of appreciation, quality of service, coverage.
What is the impact of the service and products that Caja Ica gives to its clients?
The biggest impact is that our portfolios have increased substantially. Caja Ica is one of the top boxes in growth both in customers and volume. We have reached more than S/2,000 million loans distributed in 11 regions of the country and reaching almost 100 points of sale between stores and offices. But we have also now considered a lot the impact of alternative channels.
Which ones, for example?
We have a very powerful, very simple and intuitive mobile app to help our clients access our savings services. We have the onboarding model, where only with a photograph you can open your credit or debit card, access a savings account, open a fixed term or request a loan. And our advisors in the same app can evaluate, approve and disburse the credit. Suddenly that fits very well for a city, but for a rural area where sometimes there is not even Internet, we have to continue with the more traditional channels which are correspondent agents, ATMs or home banking itself, which is still a very good alternative.
In what state is the financial health of Caja Ica?
We are the bank that has strengthened its assets the fastest over the last three years. The shareholders, which are mostly the municipality of Ica, have once again capitalized 100% of all profits so that this machinery continues to function. That means confidence to continue growing. We are working on moving to the capital market, which is the issuance of negotiable certificates of deposits that will catapult us to a much higher level. Furthermore, with Cofide we are requesting a perpetual subordinated debt, that is, a debt that they will give us for 60 years, something never seen in the country. This will allow us to boost the growth of the portfolio and clients, make microcredits reach more people and in better conditions, generating development and quality of life.
What aspects are you working on in the area of sustainability?
Municipal savings banks have economic objectives of profitability, but we were born with social objectives. Within these there is an axis of sustainability. Green credits are now very popular, where credits are granted based on a commitment from the client to reduce the impact of damage to the environment. We recently closed an insurance policy with Fogapi that covers up to 60% of the credit if the client has an improvement in their climatological impact. If someone wants to buy a conservative one and buys an ecological one, they will have access to a lower rate, the same if they want to buy a car and it is a hybrid. Sustainability should not be seen as an ornament but as an important part of what we do. That sensitivity is what we are bringing to our work teams.
What is Caja Ica’s commitment to this Christmas campaign?
We have developed a campaign tailored to clients. Our slogan is “Caja Ica transforms dreams into reality.” For this reason, we are giving away nine prizes of S/7,000, one for each regional area, to savings customers who open an account by December 31 and to credit customers who pay on time. These types of awards are highly valued because dreams are not necessarily an object, but rather a hope, it is an improvement, it is the family, it is the business.
So, there are options for those who got their AFP and want to save that money.
The savings banks are paying between 6.5 and 7% rate. We invite everyone to make transfers and start earning interest or paying less in the case of credits. We also have a range of oncology insurance that is different from traditional ones. We are working on pet insurance, multi-risk insurance, parametric insurance, in case an accident occurs. We are an alternative for savings, credits and insurance, all through our website, mobile app, correspondent agents and offices located in the most residential and most rural areas.
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