Founded in 1997, Banrural was born from the privatization of a state-run bank called Bandesa. It's success stems from the fact that it was specifically created to serve the underprivileged people of rural Guatemala who never had access to the modern financial system. It's privately held and it's stock owners are the State, NGO's, Mayan Organizations and the General Public. With more than 1000 branches and 10,000 employees, it quickly became the country's most successful financial institution in recent years, in terms of sustained growth and net income.