Good morning. Welcome to Banco de Bogotá's second quarter 2025 consolidated results conference call. My name is Karen, and I'll be your operator for today's conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, management will be available for a question-and-answer session. Please note that this conference is being recorded. We also advise you to read the disclaimer available on slide number two. When applicable, in this webcast, we refer to trillions as millions of millions and to billions as thousands of millions. Thank you for your attention. Mr. César Prado , CEO of Banco de Bogotá, will be the host and speaker today. Mr. Prado, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Karen. Good morning and welcome to Banco de Bogotá's second quarter 2025 conference call. In the first half of the year, household consumption continued to be the main driver of growth for the Colombian economy, supporting an annual increase of 2.4% in GDP. Inflation rose to 4.9% in July, and no significant decrease is expected by the end of the year. Therefore, we are expecting inflation to be outside the target range set by the Central Bank once again. Growth recovery, inflationary pressures, and increasing fiscal vulnerabilities have limited the Central Bank's room for additional rate cuts. By the year's end, there could be one more 25 basis point reduction in the reference interest rate to 9%, and further cuts will be gradual during 2026. With the suspension of the fiscal rule, Moody’s and S&P Global lowered the country's credit rating.
In June, the government revised its assumed fiscal deficit for 2025 from 5.1% to 7.1% of GDP, and for 2026, from 4.3% to 6.2% of GDP, the latter depending on the approval of a tax reform. The financial sector is benefiting from relatively more favorable macroeconomic conditions, especially regarding loan quality. The banking sector has shown improvement in all segments, where consumer loans and microcredits show more progress. Unfortunately, loan growth has been slow for banks. As of June, gross loans grew 4.9% year-on-year in nominal terms, which in real terms is equivalent to 0.1% growth. The situation is more dire in consumer loans, which, as of June, were decreasing at 4.1% year-on-year in real terms. We think the current methodology for usury rates could be one of the main causes. If these rates are kept unchanged, it's likely that the consumer portfolio will keep lagging other segments.
The bank has experienced these effects as well. Loan quality is improving in all portfolios, as measured by 30-day PDLs, while loan growth is lower than was previously expected. The bank has strict pricing methodologies for its loans and places equal emphasis on profitability and loan growth. We seek to accelerate loan growth in the second half of this year, but in a profitable way. The net cost of risk also improved this quarter due to better loan quality metrics and better macroeconomic conditions, both in Colombia and Panama. NIM also experienced a slight improvement, driven by both higher loan yields and higher investment yields. We will further address these variables. There were two one-time events this quarter. First, an arbitration award that was made regarding the purchase of Multibank, positively impacting results through other income in COP 126 billion.
The second was also an arbitration award regarding Fidubogotá, where we suffered losses of COP 35 billion, which mostly came in through provision expenses. Together, these arbitration awards positively affected net income attributable to shareholders in COP 91 billion. Without these one-time events, the bank's results would have rendered an 8.2% return on equity and a 0.9% return on assets. These results show a continuation of our improvement in profitability and a steady track towards reaching our cost of equity. Here is a summary of the bank's second quarter 2025 results. Net income attributable to shareholders was COP 430 billion, 61% more than in the previous quarter, resulting in a return on assets of 1.1% and a return on equity of 10.3%. The quarter's NIM was 4.3%, having increased by 11 basis points due to increases in both investment NIM and loan NIM.
The income ratio was 25.6%, 1.6 percentage points higher than the previous quarter. Efficiency measured as cost to income was 51.3%, increasing 1.3 percentage points this quarter. Cost to assets stood at 2.8%. Consolidated gross loans reached COP 106.7 trillion, increasing by 0.3% this quarter, or 1% excluding FX fluctuations. The Colombian portfolio increased by 1.2%, while the Panamanian portfolio decreased by 4.4% in peso terms and by 1.5% in dollar terms. Deposits reached COP 107 trillion, a 2.1% increase during this quarter. Excluding the 2.9% peso revaluation during this quarter, deposits increased by 3%. The ratio of deposits to net loans was 1.05x . Deposits continued increasing their share of funding, reaching 81.3% of total funding, as savings accounts and time deposits increased by 4.5% and 1.7% respectively.
Loan quality continued improving, as 30-day PDLs decreased by 14 basis points to 5.3%, while 90-day PDLs maintained their level of 3.8%. Net cost of risk decreased by 71 basis points to 1.5%, with the largest improvements in the Colombian consumer and commercial segments. Now, I will turn the presentation over to Sergio Sandoval, Banco de Bogotá's CFO.
Thank you, César, and good morning. Let's move on to Slide 4. During the second quarter, our main priority was the deployment of the go-to-market strategy for the Central Bank's new instant payment system, Bre-B!. Since then, we have achieved positive adoption from our clients, made significant progress in the registration of keys, launched education campaigns for clients and employees, and we are currently working on an innovative product offering for full deployment by September 22nd. In parallel, we continue focusing on delivering a smoother, safer, and autonomous experience for users on our digital channels. The functionalities implemented during the quarter enable easier payment, top-ups, and instant transfers. Throughout the quarter, we reached more than 384 million digital transactions, growing 5% compared to the previous period.
In this context, immediate transactions continue to gain prominence, with over 22.4 million operations driven by our free interbank transfer solutions, including those made through Tag Aval. Additionally, we continue strengthening interoperability with banks outside Grupo Aval and are preparing an innovative product for the rollout of Bre-B! in September. We also launched new functionalities in our digital banking channels. For business, we enabled the PSE payment service from mobile banking for the SME segment. For retail customers, we included credit card payments from accounts in other banks in online banking and enabled account funding via PSE in mobile banking to more than 4,600 clients in the second quarter. On the corporate side, we improved our digital offering with new tools that simplify processes and improve our experience.
The digital promissory note solution recorded more than 2,500 disbursements for more than COP 600 billion, representing a 26% increase in disbursement value compared to the previous quarter, driven by the increase in disbursement limits for businesses. We continue positioning ourselves as a value-added solution for businesses, capitalizing on our offering with over COP 44 billion processed through APIs that enable agile and secure integration for payment, collections, invoicing, and embedded finance. We achieved massive segmented and automatic digital allocation of overdraft to business with active checking accounts, improving access to business credit, reaching disbursements of COP 44 billion. We offer 100% online pre-approvals to new businesses with response within 10 minutes, achieving approvals of COP 19 billion. We ensured a digital transactional contingency solution, allowing payment continuity in the event of technical failures. We handled 13,000 requests, totaling COP 103 billion, optimizing time and operational load.
The digital placement continues to consolidate itself as one of our key pillars. We made progress in optimizing our offering in terms of experience, technology, and credit approvals for client profile, placing close to 370,000 digital products with total balances of COP 9.1 trillion. In digital vehicle placement, the user experience was improved and third parties integrated using the digital vendor model. This flow scaled up pre-approved credit cards, refinancing, and portfolio purchases, boosting cross-selling. In mortgages, we activated the upload and digital signing of documents for remodeling loans, making the experience more digital. In deposit products, we incorporated new functionalities tailored for specific digital needs. In addition, we improved the digital experience for users abroad by enabling remote opening of time deposits, both through self-managed and assisted channels. Moving on to Slide 5 .
In terms of sustainability, during this quarter, we have made significant progress in the development of our strategy. Highlights include: During these months, we received several notable awards. For the second consecutive year, Euromoney recognized us as the best ESG bank in Colombia. Asobancaria awarded us during the annual banking convention in recognition of our financial education program. Pacto Global Colombia presented us with the 2025 SDG Award for Sustainable Development Practices in two categories: Climate Action for the Colombian Amazonia Debit Card, with which, together with our clients, we plant trees in the Colombian Amazon rainforest and mangroves in the Caribbean coast, and Gender Equality for the gender impact generated through the allocation of resources from the Sustainable Subordinate Bond. We launched the second cohort of EcoTech, a program focused on strengthening startu-ps through mentoring and advising services with the purpose of boosting their growth and maturity in sustainability.
As of June 2025, our green portfolio exceeded COP 5.6 trillion, representing a 30.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Currently, this portfolio represents 12% of the total loan portfolio in the corporate banking segment in local currency. The social loan portfolio is COP 14.9 trillion as of June. This portfolio includes more than COP 1.77 trillion disbursed during the first half of the year to SMEs owned or led by women. Additionally, regarding the social housing, also included in this portfolio, women represented 54.4% of all recipients. The total sustainable portfolio is COP 20.6 trillion as of June, representing 23% of the bank's total loan portfolio. Finally, in terms of financial education, our interactive mobile classroom benefited more than 6,000 people by the end of June.
Additionally, we visited various police and army academies, reaching more than 1,000 people during these sessions with training in sustainable finance concepts. Moving on to Slide 6, let me summarize the local macroeconomic context. In the second quarter, household consumption continued to be the main driver of growth for the Colombian economy. Despite growing domestic and external uncertainty, consumer confidence reached its highest level in three years, a situation that has supported domestic demand. This increase in household confidence has been supported by the strength of the labor market, where the unemployment rate reached its lowest level in 10 years in the second quarter, below 9%. Furthermore, alternative sources of income have strengthened. Remittances reached a record high in the second quarter, while coffee and tourism exports continue to rise.
In addition to higher incomes, household demand is now being leveraged by credit, which increased for the first time since 2023 in real terms. In this context, the best-performing economic sectors continue to be those most dependent on private consumption, such as commerce, entertainment, transportation, lodging, manufacturing, food services, and finance. Meanwhile, agricultural supply continued to rise due to lower input prices and favorable weather conditions. In fact, all other sectors, except for mining, construction, and public services, experienced annual growth. In the case of mining and construction, problems in the implementation of public policy, key to both sectors, explain in part their weak performance. While construction, investment in housing, and infrastructure are lagging, in the second quarter, imports of machinery and equipment, as well as corporate loans, continue to rise, suggesting that Colombian businesses, amid high domestic demand, have modestly expanded their investment plans.
Given this favorable context, but recognizing global risks and the uncertainty leading up to elections next year, economic growth of 2.7% is expected for 2025, close to potential levels and higher than those recorded in 2023 and 2024. On Slide 7, turning to prices, the disinflationary process resumed in the second quarter, as inflation fell from 5.1% to 4.8% between March and June, its lowest level since October 2021. In July, inflation picked up to 4.9%, and no significant gains are expected by the end of the year, which is expected to end slightly below 5%, once again outside the target range set by the Central Bank. Meanwhile, thanks to gains in inflation and its expectations, as well as a more complacent global environment towards emerging markets, the Central Bank cut its interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.25% in April.
Accumulated gains in inflation and favorable global financial conditions are expected to give Colombia's Central Bank space to cut its interest rate to around 9% by the end of the year. Nevertheless, recent inflation data imply an upward pressure on this figure, and the Central Bank's room for further rate cuts is not broader due to persistent fiscal challenges. In June, with the suspension of the fiscal rule, the government revised its assumed fiscal deficit for 2025 from 5.1% to 7.1% of GDP, and for 2026, from 4.3% to 6.2% of GDP, the latter depending on the approval of a tax reform. Given this challenging outlook, Moody’s and S&P Global lowered the country's credit rating. The most significant decision came from S&P Global, which not only assigned the country a double B rating, but also maintained its negative outlook.
Despite the complex fiscal stance between March and June, the exchange rate appreciated against the dollar by only 3%, compared to an average of 6.5% for major Latin American economies. For the remainder of the year, the exchange rate will be volatile amid conflicting forces. As the dollar remains weak globally, the country's risk premium could be affected by fiscal and electoral pressures. Furthermore, with a widening external deficit, the year-end exchange rate of around 4,200 pesos per dollar is expected. Specifically, we forecast the current account deficit to fall from -1.8% of GDP in 2024 to -2.6% of GDP in 2025, due to a stronger recovery in imports than exports, both in goods and services, where the terms of trade would be affected by lower commodity prices.
Now, I will pass on the presentation to Javier Dorich , Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Development, who will provide details on our financial results for the quarter.
Thank you, Sergio, and good morning, everyone. Starting on Slide 8, we present the highlights of the bank's balance sheet in the second quarter of 2025. Total assets reached COP 153.1 trillion, having a yearly growth of 5.3% and 2.3% this quarter. In absolute terms, growth was led by net loans and fixed income investments, which increased by COP 3.8 trillion and COP 2.8 trillion in the year, respectively. Excluding the 2.9% peso revaluation, growth for the quarter would have been 2.9%. In the last 12 months, excluding the 1.9% peso revaluation, growth was 5.7%. On the right, one can observe that the bank's loan portfolio is well diversified, in line with past quarters. The gross loan portfolio increased by 2.6% year-on-year to COP 106.7 trillion. Growth was led by the mortgage segment, where a growth of 2.8% during the quarter was attained.
The consumer segment decreased by 0.3% this quarter, but increased by 0.2% when excluding FX movements. The commercial portfolio remained stable and increased 0.7% when excluding FX. We expect loan growth to be between 6% and 7% for 2025. Moving on to Slid e 9, we present the bank's funding. Consolidated funding increased by 1.9% during the quarter to COP 131.6 trillion, where deposits increased the most in both absolute and relative terms. Deposits represent 81.3% of funding, while bank loans are 8.1% of funding, and bonds and interbank borrowings represent 7.4% and 3.1% of funding, respectively. Deposits increased by COP 2.2 trillion this quarter, or 2.1%, to COP 107 trillion, where savings accounts and time deposits increased by 4.5% and 1.7%, respectively. Time deposits make up 52.4% of total deposits, followed by savings accounts with 33.1%, checking accounts with 13.9%, and other deposits with 0.6%.
Excluding FX, deposits increased by 7% year-on-year and 3% this quarter. Excluding FX, savings accounts increased by 4.7% this quarter, time deposits increased by 2.9%, and checking accounts decreased by 3%. The deposits to net loans ratio is 1.05x , slightly above historical averages. The 30-day liquidity coverage ratio at the end of June was 134.9%, increasing from a level of 129.8% at the end of the first quarter. The NSFR, or [Foreign language] in Spanish, ended at 110.6%, a level above our risk appetite. Let's continue with Slide 10, where we present equity and capital equity levels. Shareholders' equity reached COP 16.9 trillion, a 6.5% year-on-year increase, and a 3.1% quarter-on-quarter growth. Excluding FX, growth figures are 6.8% and 3.6%, respectively. Growth is explained by the quarter's income and gains of COP 46 billion in other comprehensive income, as the available for sale fixed income portfolio achieved some appreciation.
Non-controlling interest was COP 59 billion . Total equity ended the quarter at COP 17 trillion . To the right, we can observe the tangible capital ratio and the equity over assets ratio, which increased slightly this quarter at 11.1% and 10.1%, respectively. At the bottom, we present the bank's consolidated capital adequacy. CET1 Capital increased by COP 482 billion during the quarter, mainly due to a higher net income of COP 430 billion and an increase in other comprehensive income of COP 46 billion , driven by improvements in fixed income portfolios. However, this was partially offset by the negative impact of currency revaluation. Tier 2 capital decreased by around COP 35 billion , mainly affected by peso revaluation. Risk-weighted assets increased by 1.1%, closing the quarter at COP 109 trillion , driven by a rise of COP 1.5 trillion in credit risk-weighted assets, while market risk-weighted assets decreased by COP 334 billion .
Operational risk-weighted assets increased by 1%, in line with business growth. This led to a CET1 and Tier 1 ratios of 13.3% for the quarter, increasing by 30 basis points and being 4.8 percentage points above the regulatory minimum, including buffers. The Tier 2 ratio was 1.7%, decreasing by 5 basis points over the quarter. Finally, the total capital adequacy ratio came in at 15%, 25 basis points higher than in the previous quarter, and 3.5 percentage points above the regulatory minimum, including buffers. Now, let's move to our P&L performance ratios, starting with the net interest margin on Slide 11. This quarter's loan yield increased by 10 basis points to 11.3%. Most of the improvements were in the consumer loan yield, which increased by 34 basis points to 15.3%. Also, the mortgage yield and commercial yield increased by 6 and 3 basis points, respectively.
It is noteworthy that loan yield increased by 42 basis points in Panama, improving in all segments. Investment yield improved 21 basis points this quarter to a level of 7.9%, where the Panamanian portfolio had an increase of 26 basis points on investment yield this quarter. The cost of funds remained fairly stable at 6.3%, having a reduction of 2 basis points. The cost of funds decreased by 9 basis points in Colombia and increased 14 basis points in Panama. Therefore, loan NIM improved by 10 basis points to a level of 4.9%, having improved mostly in consumer and mortgage portfolios, and both in Colombia and Panama. Investment NIM increased by 21 basis points to a level of 1.5%. Total NIM was 4.3% this quarter, improving 11 basis points this quarter due to the higher loan yield, investment yield, and a slightly lower cost of funds.
NIM improved by 2 basis points in Colombia and by 23 basis points in Panama, where the liability-sensitive balance sheet is benefiting from the Fed's decision on the second half of last year as well. Also, through the passage of time, new loans and investments are placed at current market conditions, and older loans with lower rates are settled. We expect total NIM to be around 4.3% for 2025. Moving on to Slide 12, we present loan quality ratios by geography. 30-day PDLs improved by 14 basis points to a level of 5.3%. Colombia's figure improved by 12 basis points to 5.5%, and Panama's figure improved 27 basis points to 4.3%. 90-day PDLs maintained the 3.8% level, having improved by 3 basis points. The Colombian portfolio improved by 4 basis points to a level of 4%, and the Panamanian portfolio remained at 3%.
On Slide 13, we present the loan portfolio quality by segments, as well as PDL formation and coverage. On the top right, we observe the commercial segment. 30-day PDLs maintained a 4.7% level, while the 90-day PDLs increased by 11 basis points to 4.2%, mainly due to the deterioration of commercial credit cards and overdrafts in Colombia. The consumer portfolio continues its positive trend, improving by 48 basis points in 30-day PDLs, as improvements were observed in all the products in the Colombian portfolio. We highlight improvements of 125 basis points in finance leases, 88 basis points in personal loans, and 35 basis points in credit cards at the consolidated level. For 90-day consumer PDLs, improvement was of 37 basis points, where again, the Colombian portfolio showed improvements throughout all products.
The mortgage portfolio presents improvements in both 30-day and 90-day PDLs of 5 basis points, ending at a level of 6.6% and 3.8%, respectively. For 30-day PDLs, the Colombian portfolio's improvement of 20 basis points was offset by the Panamanian portfolio's 38 basis point deterioration. For 90-day PDLs, the Colombian portfolio improved 6 basis points, while in Panama, improvement was of 10 basis points. On the bottom left, we observe the interaction of new PDL formation and charge-offs. Charge-offs decreased to levels of 2024. New 30-day PDLs were the lowest in the past three years. On Slide 14, we present gross loans by stages and segments, as well as their coverage ratios. On the top left, we can observe the total gross loan portfolio by stages. The three stages remained stable this quarter on a consolidated level.
We highlight consumer loans, where we observe a 19 basis point reduction in stage 1 loans and a 26 basis point reduction in stage 3 loans. Stage 2 loans increased by 45 basis points. In Colombia, there was a reduction in stage 2 and 3 loans and a 52 basis point increase in stage 1 loans. In the mortgage portfolio, stage 1 loans increased by 19 basis points, having 9 basis point reductions in stages 2 and 3. On the bottom left, we can observe the coverage ratios by stages. Overall coverage remained stable, having only an 86 basis point reduction of stage 2 coverage, ending at 15.1%. On Slide 15, we present the net cost of risk and charge-off ratios. Net cost of risk improved by 71 basis points this quarter to 1.5%.
In Colombia, cost of risk improved 82 basis points to 1.7%, and in Panama, cost of risk improved by 22 basis points to 0.7%. The greatest improvement by segments was in the consumer portfolio, where a reduction of 141 basis points led to a cost of risk of 5.3%. In Colombia, the 165 basis point improvement was mainly in personal loans, but improvements were also significant in overdrafts and vehicle loans. In Panama, consumer loans improved by 37 basis points, mainly in credit card loans. Commercial loans improved their net cost of risk by 54 basis points this quarter, where the Colombian portfolio improved by 59 basis points, and the Panamanian portfolio improved by 20 basis points. The mortgage net cost of risk increased by 9 basis points to a level of 1%.
Consolidated loan provision expenses were affected by an arbitration award from Fidubogotá, which increased this expense by COP 37 billion through the charge-off of an account receivable. On the bottom half, we observe the charge-off ratios decreased this quarter to levels closer to 2024. Charge-offs over 90-day PDLs decreased by 47 percentage points to a level of 63%, having decreased both in Colombia and Panama. Charge-offs over average loans decreased by 2.1 percentage points to a level of 2.4%. For 2025, we expect net cost of risk to be between 1.9% and 2%. On Sl ide 16, we present fee income structure and details on other income. Gross fee income came in at COP 500 billion this quarter, representing an increase of 0.6% against the previous quarter. Banking fees decreased by 0.3%, while fees from fiduciary activities and fees from the storage business increased by 4.5% and 6.5% this quarter, respectively.
The fee income ratio increased by 155 basis points to a level of 25.6%, in line with past performance. Other operating income stood at COP 321 billion this quarter, coming from: First, equity methods income and dividends of COP 112 billion, having decreased 28.6% this quarter, mainly due to Corp Colombiana, which typically receives higher dividends in the first quarter. Second, net gains on investments of COP 43 billion. Third, COP 25 billion losses on net derivatives and FX positions. Finally, other income at COP 191 billion, equivalent to an 81% quarterly increase. This quarter, other income was positively impacted by an arbitration award regarding Multibank, mentioned by César. In this arbitration, the bank was awarded $32 million, including interests, due to findings that arose after the acquisition in 2020.
This award affected other income positively in COP 137 billion, or COP 126 billion after taxes, both on net income and net income attributable to shareholders. We expect the fee income ratio in the 25% area for 2025. On Slide 17, we present efficiency ratios, measured by cost to income and cost to assets. Total operating expenses came in at COP 1 trillion this quarter, representing an 11.3% increase against the second quarter of 2024 and a 3% increase during the quarter, largely driven by an increase of COP 15 billion in general administrative expenses and an increase of COP 12 billion in personal expenses. Total income came in at COP 2 trillion, increasing 22% year-on-year and 0.4% in the quarter. The cost to income ratio stands at 51.3% this quarter, 1.3 percentage points above the previous quarter.
Cost to assets increased by 6 basis points, coming in at a 2.8% level. We expect cost to income ratio to be around 50% and cost to assets around 2.6% for 2025. On Slide 18, we show the company's overall profitability. Without the one-time effects of the arbitration awards, increases in profitability were mainly due to the improvement in cost of risk and NIM. With regards to the net cost of risk, the consumer and commercial portfolios reduced their cost of risk, both in Colombia and in Panama, as asset quality continues to improve due to better macroeconomic conditions and prudent credit policies. The 11 basis point increase in NIM is attributable to higher loan and investment yields. We expect to continue improving upon these variables in the future.
As previously mentioned, the quarter's net income attributable to shareholders was COP 430 billion, having increased by 118% year-on-year and 61% against the previous quarter. As a consequence, return on assets was 1.1%, increasing by 42 basis points this quarter. Return on equity was 10.3%, increasing by 3.9 percentage points. Excluding the one-time effects from arbitration awards, we would have reported a recurring net income attributable to shareholders of COP 339.4 billion, rendering a return on assets of 0.9% and a return on equity of 8.2%. The overall effect of the arbitration awards was 2.2 percentage points in ROE. We highlight the bank's results without these awards, as they reflect an increase in banking profitability through higher NIM and lower cost of risk. Finally, on Slide 19, I'd like to summarize the general guidance for 2025, reflecting both this quarter's results and our expectations for the rest of the year.
Loan growth is expected to be between 6% and 7%. Net interest margin is expected around 4.3%. Net cost of risk is expected to be between 1.9% and 2%. Fee income ratio should come in around 25%. Cost to income ratio and cost to assets ratio should be around 50% and 2.6%, respectively. Finally, return on average equity should be around the 8.5% area. We are open to your questions.
Thank you very much. We will now proceed with our Q&A session. In order to proceed with our Q&A session, we can address your written questions through our Q&A chat box, live questions, or by phone. Please note the following instructions. For the Q&A chat box, please type your question and we'll read it. After addressing the questions received in the Q&A chat box, we will proceed with the live questions. If you wish to ask your question live, please place your request and we'll open your microphone and call your name accordingly. If you are connected by phone, please press the star button and number five to access the Q&A feature. If you're using a speaker phone, you may need to pick up your handset before pressing the numbers. Once again, for the Q&A chat box, please type your question in and we'll proceed to read your question.
If you wish to ask your question live, please place your request and we'll open your microphone and call your name accordingly. If you are connected by phone, please press the star button and number five to access the Q&A feature. If you're using a speaker phone, you may need to pick up your handset before pressing the numbers. Right now, we're standing by for questions. Once again, we will now begin our Q&A session. We can address your written questions through our Q&A chat box, live questions, or by phone. Please note the following instructions. For the Q&A chat box, please type your question and we'll read it. After addressing the questions received in the Q&A chat box, we will proceed to live questions. If you wish to ask your question live, please place your request and we'll open your microphone and call your name accordingly.
If you are connected by phone, please press the star button and number five to access the Q&A feature. If you're using a speaker phone, you may need to pick up your handset before pressing the numbers. Right now, we're standing by for questions. Once again, for the Q&A chat box, please type your questions in the Q&A chat box. We'll read your questions there. If you wish to ask your questions live, please place your request and we'll open your microphone and call your name accordingly. If you are connected by phone, please press the star button and number five to access the Q&A feature. If you're using a speaker phone, you may need to pick up your handset before pressing the numbers. Right now, we're standing by for questions. Okay, there seems to be no questions on either of our lines.
Okay, so we'll proceed now with the final remarks from Mr. César Prado. Mr. Prado, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Karen. This quarter reflects a continuation of the trend started in early 2024, where gradual positive results have been obtained mainly in NIM and cost of risk, resulting in a gradual improvement of results and return on equity. We still have a long way to go, but our strategy and transformation are aligned at making Banco de Bogotá more profitable and sustainable. We will continue our efforts to return to two-digit ROAs in the short term. Thank you for attending today's meeting, and I hope you will join us for the next conference call.
Mr. Prado, thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Have a nice day.