The Dominican Republic’s largest financial institution, Banreservas, is poised for a new era of growth and innovation under the leadership of its newly appointed CEO, Dr. Leonardo Aguilera. Assuming the helm in August 2025, Dr. Aguilera, an economist with extensive experience in both academia and the public sector, including a prior role leading the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa), has outlined a strategic vision for Banreservas that prioritizes digital advancement, enhanced financial inclusion, and strengthened economic contributions. This strategic pivot aims to solidify the bank’s leading position within the Dominican economy and expand its reach both domestically and internationally.
Banreservas has demonstrated a significant uptick in lending activity in recent years, a trend that has directly translated into tangible benefits for the Dominican economy. This expanded credit access has empowered a diverse range of entities, from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to diversify their product and service offerings, optimize operational efficiencies, and ultimately, foster job creation and elevate income levels across the nation. The bank’s expertise in structuring bespoke financing solutions has also proven instrumental in attracting foreign investment.
A cornerstone of the Dominican economy, the tourism sector, has particularly benefited from Banreservas’ increased financing. Investments in essential infrastructure, including hotels, resorts, airlines, cruise ports, transportation networks, and various tourist attractions, have been significantly bolstered by the availability of bank financing. Furthermore, this credit expansion has extended to strengthening the broader tourism supply chain. By providing crucial funding to local suppliers and service providers – encompassing everything from agricultural producers and artisans to transportation services – Banreservas reinforces the entire ecosystem that supports this vital industry. Consumer lending also plays a pivotal role in stimulating domestic tourism, offering accessible financing options for travel and leisure, thereby generating positive ripple effects across retail, hospitality, and agricultural sectors.
Banreservas currently holds a commanding position in the credit card market, having issued an impressive 1.44 million credit cards and 3.77 million debit cards. This represents a substantial year-over-year increase of 24.5 percent, underscoring the bank’s growing penetration in this segment. Beyond card services, the bank is a key player in administering payment platforms for social assistance programs, reaching approximately 855,000 beneficiaries and actively supporting merchants through a variety of annual promotional campaigns.
Financial inclusion, a critical driver of equitable economic development, is a central tenet of Banreservas’ mandate under Dr. Aguilera. A flagship initiative in this regard is the PUEDO program, a large-scale collaboration with the Ministry of Education. PUEDO aims to deliver comprehensive financial education within public schools, having already engaged 4,300 students across 17 institutions in key provinces, with a particular focus on upper primary and secondary students. The program is undergoing significant expansion, set to reach over 7,800 schools nationwide and extend its educational outreach to educators. Recent engagements, such as a gathering of over 1,000 students from the southern region, have highlighted a palpable enthusiasm among young learners for understanding money management and the importance of saving.
Complementing these educational efforts, the "Banking is the Nation" program has successfully integrated over 900,000 Dominicans, many from historically vulnerable communities, into the formal financial system. This is achieved through a strategic combination of accessible digital accounts, efficient disbursement of government payrolls, and streamlined access to social subsidies. This initiative is further fortified by more than 4,000 financial literacy workshops conducted across the country.
Recognizing the significant economic and social ties that bind the Dominican diaspora to their homeland, Banreservas is actively pursuing an internationalization strategy to enhance financial service access for Dominicans living abroad. This strategy is crucial given that over 2.5 million Dominicans residing in the United States and Europe contribute over $10 billion annually in remittances, a vital lifeline for the national economy. The establishment of representative offices in Madrid, New York, and Miami marks a historic achievement, making Banreservas the first Dominican bank with a physical presence in both Spain and the U.S., fulfilling a commitment made by President Luis Abinader. These international outposts have already served over 60,000 clients, facilitated the opening of more than 25,000 savings accounts, and processed mortgage applications valued at over RD$3 billion.
Looking ahead, the bank intends to further solidify its international presence, offering enhanced opportunities for Dominicans abroad to engage dynamically with the financial system. Through participation in international real estate fairs held in New York, Lawrence, and Madrid in 2024 and 2025, Banreservas has actively showcased a diverse portfolio of residential projects to Dominican communities overseas. By collaborating with leading developers and real estate agents within the Dominican market, the bank provides personalized advice, preferential financing terms, and the assurance that comes with a trusted financial partner. Banreservas views members of the diaspora not merely as remittance senders but as active participants in the nation’s growth narrative. Future initiatives will focus on developing innovative digital solutions to enable seamless, secure, and remote management of their financial lives, aligning with the President’s commitment to supporting Dominican communities abroad.
Banreservas’ strategic objectives through 2030 are anchored in three core pillars. The first is the deepening of its digital transformation, with a relentless focus on enhancing digital capabilities to deliver faster, more secure, and highly personalized solutions for both corporate and retail clients. This encompasses the optimization of payment platforms, cash management services, and financing solutions, with an unwavering emphasis on user experience and regional interoperability.
The second priority involves optimizing capital to fuel innovation and expansion. Following a significant capital increase authorized by Law 13-24, Banreservas is now in a considerably stronger financial position. This strengthened capital base will be strategically deployed to accelerate technological innovation, expand banking infrastructure, and enhance its comprehensive suite of transactional products. Key investment areas include bolstering cybersecurity measures, implementing process automation, developing new digital channels, and strategically expanding into key regional markets.
The third critical objective is the expansion of financial inclusion. Banreservas will drive initiatives in underserved communities by integrating accessible digital solutions and forging strategic partnerships to broaden the reach of its transactional services. The bank will continue to develop specialized products tailored to support the growth of micro and small businesses, facilitating their access to credit, modern payment methods, and essential financial tools that foster sustainability and competitiveness.
In September 2025, Banreservas announced the allocation of RD$7 billion to finance national productive sectors at preferential rates. This substantial funding is earmarked for critical sectors of the Dominican economy, including construction, commerce, manufacturing, exports, healthcare, and agriculture, underscoring the bank’s commitment to supporting the nation’s economic engines.
The CREE program, a long-standing initiative supporting entrepreneurs and innovative projects, has channeled over RD$72 million in equity investments since its inception in 2015. CREE is set to remain Banreservas’ flagship initiative for fostering innovation, combining equity investment with specialized mentorship to drive national socioeconomic development. The program aims to broaden its reach, supporting a greater number of founders at both the early and growth stages of their ventures, while concurrently strengthening their business models. The overarching vision is to solidify CREE as a dynamic engine of innovation, transforming promising ideas into high-impact projects that address pressing social and economic challenges and contribute to a more prosperous future for all Dominicans.
Beyond CREE, Banreservas actively supports entrepreneurs and SMEs through its Fomenta Pymes program, which offers flexible financing, expert technical advice, and specialized support designed to enhance management capabilities and competitiveness. This program facilitates crucial access to credit, provides valuable training tools, and connects entrepreneurs with vital support networks, thereby empowering businesses to achieve sustainable growth, generate employment, and stimulate local economies.
The digitalization of banking services at Banreservas is progressing rapidly, with a clear vision for the next five years. The recent launch of the TuBanco Personas platform has modernized online banking for individuals, delivering a faster, more intuitive, and secure user experience. The AI-powered virtual assistant, Alma, has emerged as a pivotal self-service channel, enhancing customer interaction and support. The redesigned Personas app empowers customers with greater autonomy in managing their accounts, time deposits, cards, and loans. The Banreservas MIO Digital Account has significantly expanded access to financial services for traditionally underserved segments, while the digital onboarding process allows new customers to join the bank without the need for in-person visits. Furthermore, Banreservas Wallet complements existing contactless payment options like Apple Pay and Google Pay, offering enhanced convenience.
For business clients, Banreservas has implemented sophisticated solutions to optimize cash management and digital transactions. These include Automated Deposit Vaults and a direct interconnection platform with corporate ERP systems, enabling the seamless, automatic reconciliation of high volumes of transactions. The introduction of a Digital Token for businesses modernizes authentication across digital channels, replacing less secure physical devices with a more efficient and robust solution that aligns with international cybersecurity standards. These comprehensive digital offerings solidify Banreservas’ leadership in the financial sector.
Over the next five years, Banreservas’ digitalization strategy will be built upon four key pillars. Firstly, achieving 100 percent digital onboarding and services, ensuring that both individuals and businesses can initiate, manage, and conclude all their banking products through digital channels, supported by advanced biometrics and stringent security controls. Secondly, leveraging AI-powered hyper-personalization, utilizing artificial intelligence and data analytics to deliver more contextual, proactive, and tailored financial solutions to customers. Thirdly, enhancing cloud scalability and resilience by consolidating migration to cloud platforms, thereby increasing agility in responding to regulatory changes, managing demand spikes, and accelerating new product launches. Fourthly, expanding into digital ecosystems and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) through deepened partnerships with fintechs, corporations, and government entities, fostering innovation and self-service capabilities. Through this forward-looking roadmap, Banreservas aims not only to modernize its digital channels but also to fundamentally redefine the customer’s interaction with financial services, placing innovation, accessibility, and inclusion at the very core of its strategic framework.
