MEXICO CITY, Oct 29(Reuters) - Mexico's Grupo Financiero

Banorte reported on Tuesday a 7% hike in its

third-quarter net profit from the year-ago period, as its active

loan book topped 1 trillion pesos for a fifth consecutive

quarter, driven by corporate loans.

Banorte's net profit hit 14.24 billion Mexican pesos

($723.13 million), beating the average estimate of 13.36 billion

pesos of analysts polled by LSEG.

Quarterly revenue for the group, which owns one of the

country's largest banks and pension funds, totaled 36.68 billion

pesos, slightly below analysts' forecast of 37.77 billion pesos

but up 9% from a year earlier.

Corporate loans led Banorte's book growth, up nearly 25%

compared with the year-ago quarter, while commercial loans

leaped 10% and government loans increased 2%.

The corporate loan sector benefited from "financing needs

related to nearshoring," Banorte said in a statement, in

addition to the positive effect for exporting companies from the

Mexican peso's depreciation against dollar.

By end-September, the peso had weakened over 13% to the U.S.

dollar compared with a year ago.

Chief Executive Jose Marcos Ramirez said on a call that he

expects Banorte to keep growing next year. "We are relatively

optimistic," he said, adding that Banorte's portfolio will

continue to increase but its growth may slow.

The executive pointed to interest rate cuts and an

economic slowdown as the two variables that will counterbalance

each other in the company's budget for next year.

"Lower rates will benefit all of us, Mexicans and

banks," said Ramirez, but added that deceleration of the economy

will be bad news that may offset the rate cuts' impact.

Mexico's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by

25 basis points

two times in a row

, and it is

expected to continue

on that path, as price pressures have been easing in Latin

America's No. 2 economy.

Banorte's net interest income, the difference between what

banks earn on loans and dole out in deposits, grew 13%

year-over-year, while return on equity increased 140 basis

points to 22.9% from a year ago, but was down by 38 basis points

compared with the prior quarter.

($1 = 20.0480 Mexican pesos)