This small nation – with just 3.3 million people and a current GDP of $31.6 billion, according to the IMF – is meanwhile becoming a more attractive to foreign banks.

“Twelve months after the beginning of one of the deepest financial crises of current times, the Uruguayan banking system appears sound, liquid and profitable, without any significant consequence for economic and financial performance,” says Fernando Calloia, president of Banco República Oriental del Uruguay, the country’s biggest bank, which is state-owned and accounts for more than 40% of market share ...