annual report grupo security - Banco Security

annual report 2007grupo securitypage 61of revenues developed by the Company, by having subsidiaries doing business in different sectors of the financialindustry.The most important asset of Grupo Security is Banco Security which provided it with 90.5% of the dividends receivedin 2007. The solvency rating of Banco Security is AA-, granted by both Feller-Rate and Fitch Ratings, with stableoutlook.The second largest dividend flow for Grupo Security in 2007 came from Factoring Security which, although nothaving an official credit rating, is managed with risk and solvency criteria very similar to the bank’s.With respect to the Group’s insurance companies, Vida Security is rated as AA+ by Fitch Ratings andInternational Credit Ratings, while Penta Security is rated as A+ by Fitch Ratings and AA- by InternationalCredit Ratings.R I S K F A C T O R Sh i g h t y c o m p e t i t i v e b u s i n e s s a r e a i n w h i c h t h e g r o u p p a r t i c i p a t e sThe industries in which Grupo Security participates are characterized by tough competition (banking and insurancesindustries principally) and a reducing trend in margins. The mergers between companies and the continuous alliancesbetween competitors are evidence of this. While this represents potential difficulties for companies in producingprofits, it is believed that in the case of Grupo Security, the potential negative effects are offset by its strong brandimage in its objective market, its high degree of customer loyalty and the niche strategy followed.This permits the provision of personalized and specialized products and services to its customers, a difficult taskfor larger entities which also focus on the more mass segments of the population. This also generates a favorableposition for facing future competition.