As of June 2024, the Uruguayan banking market has recorded a total of 3,571,102 clients, of which 62,748 are non-residents and 3,508,354 are residents. This represents a 1.4% year-over-year increase in non-resident clients and a 5.7% increase for resident clients.
The five banks with the largest growth in market share, measured by the number of clients, are Banco Santander Uruguay, which gained 1.01 percentage points, Banco Itaú Uruguay with 0.60 percentage points, HSBC Uruguay with 0.02 percentage points, Banque Heritage Uruguay with 0.01 percentage points, and Citibank N.A. Uruguay, also gaining 0.01 percentage points.
In terms of total number of clients, Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (BROU), Banco Itaú Uruguay, and Banco Santander Uruguay dominate the market. Together, these three institutions account for 80% of the country's banking clients. Following them in significance are Scotiabank Uruguay, Banco Hipotecario del Uruguay, and BBVA Uruguay, which also maintain a notable presence in the market.
Regarding deposits, the banking sector in Uruguay held a total of 1,712,881 million Uruguayan pesos by the end of June 2024. Of this amount, 136,851 million pesos were from non-residents, making up 8.0% of the total deposits. Resident deposits amounted to 1,576,030 million pesos.
Deposits were mainly concentrated in short-term categories, with 80.9% held in accounts with terms of 0 to 30 days. Medium-term deposits, spanning from 31 to 365 days, represented 11.3%, while long-term deposits exceeding 366 days accounted for 7.8%. In terms of currency distribution, 71% of the deposits were in foreign currencies, while 29% were held in Uruguayan pesos. The dominance of foreign currency deposits reflects the broader economic and investment behaviors of both residents and non-residents in Uruguay.
Market share in total deposit volumes is led by Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay, which holds 41.5% of total deposits. Banco Santander Uruguay follows with 17.6%, while Banco Itaú Uruguay holds 15.2%. BBVA Uruguay and Scotiabank Uruguay command 8.7% and 8.4%, respectively. The remaining share, 8.7%, is distributed among other smaller banks operating in the country.
