Mexican financial system stable despite complex global outlook, cenbank says

© Reuters. Mexico’s Central Bank Governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja poses for a photo after an interview with Reuters at the annual banking convention, in Acapulco, Mexico March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Javier Verdin/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico’s financial system has a resilient and solid position despite a complex global outlook, Bank of Mexico Governor Victoria Rodriguez said on Wednesday.

The banking system for Latin America’s No. 2 economy showed resilience in stress tests probing its solvency and liquidity, the bank’s financial stability report said.

“The banking system’s strong liquidity position would allow it to cope with episodes of stress greater than those experienced in the past,” Banxico, as the central bank is known, said in the report.

Speaking about projections for inflation, Rodriguez said Banxico had already taken into account an expected 20% increase in the minimum wage to around $14.41 per day from January.

The bank is keeping a close eye on prices and has said it could start discussing cutting its record-high interest rate early next year if inflation continues to decline in line with forecasts, with January data seen as especially important.

The “financial position of households” was slightly below levels when the prior report was published six months ago, Banxico noted.

It added that credit for the non-financial private sector, though still at an important level, had slowed its pace of growth.

Consumer bank credit delinquency remained low, it said, despite an uptick over the period.

Risks to Mexico’s financial stability include the possibility of a further slowdown in the global economy and an unexpected ratings downgrade for the country’s sovereign debt or state oil firm Pemex.

Banxico also pointed to risks from cyber-attacks emerging from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and said it would hold its cyber alert level at “yellow.”