Bancolombia's Grupo Cibest buys payroll-loan fintech Avista Colombia

What's the deal? Grupo CibestDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Colombian financial holding behind BancolombiaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has closed its acquisition of 100% of Avista ColombiaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a fintech specialising in payroll-deduction loans (creditos por libranza). The deal folds the startup into the holding while letting it keep its brand, strategy, and focus.

What does Avista do? Founded in 2019, Avista builds digital tools to give financing to underserved segments, including the "silver economy" of older Colombians. It operates across 1,007 municipalities in all 32 of Colombia's departments.

The numbers: Avista has served more than 146,000 Colombians, with disbursements of roughly $2.9 trillion Colombian pesos. As of June 2026, its total loan portfolio stands at $1.5 trillion pesos.

What's the endgame? Cibest says the deal will back Avista with the holding's financial, operational, commercial, and technological capabilities. That means stronger capital, cheaper funding, and better risk management, while customer service stays unchanged.

Why it matters: Avista is a certified B Corp and a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, and it carries ratings from FitchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and BRC Ratings. Chief executive officer Juan Carlos Mora said the fintech's arrival "potencia las capacidades del holding para impactar positivamente a mas personas."

The signal: The acquisition shows Colombia's largest banking group buying inclusion-focused fintech capability rather than building it, targeting an ageing population as a growth market. Avista stays independent within the group, keeping its focus on payroll and pension-linked lending.

Read more: Valora Analitik

Image credit: Generated with Gemini