Peru's Banco de Credito eyes strong 5-year growth

LIMA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Peru's financial sector could grow between 15 percent and 20 percent annually during the next five years, as the local economy rebounds from the global economic crisis, the head of the country's largest bank said on Friday. Peru's economy, which expanded by nearly 10 percent last year, is expected to ease to around 1 percent this year on the global slowdown. But analysts predict growth rates of about 5 percent in 2010, and beyond, and Banco de Credito's Chief Executive Walter Bayly told reporters banks will ride the rising tide. "We think GDP (gross domestic product) could grow in the next five years at 5 percent per year, and typically the financial system grows between 3.0 and 3.5 times more than GDP," said Bayly. "That's to say we can expect a growth of between 15 and 20 percent," he said. Banco de Credito is controlled by Credicorp , Peru's largest financial holding company. Late on Thursday, Credicorp posted a 31 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, boosted by lower loan loss provisions and a strong showing in its insurance business. (Reporting by Teresa Cespedes; Writing by Dana Ford; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz) Keywords: PERU ECONOMY/FINANCE ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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