He was Mexico’s deputy finance minister in the first half of President Vicente Fox’s administration, pushing for fiscal reform and credited with doing an excellent job, particularly in his handling of the country’s fractious Congress (not, as bankers point out, something at which the Fox administration in general has been very good).
Forty-four per cent of Spanish bank BBVA’s 2005 attributable net profit came from Latin America. There is both a downside to this – excessive dependence on a risky region – and an upside – an incredible opportunity to leverage a strong franchise.
Banorte, Mexico’s fifth-largest bank, is doing well under the leadership of chief executive Luis Peña Kegel.Monica Campbell reports from Mexico City.These days, Luis Peña Kegel, the 45-year old chief executive of Banorte, has reason to relax in his spacious Mexico City office. Talk about a strong year. In the second quarter of 2005, Banorte delivered earnings totalling $192m, a 249% jump compared to the same 2004 period.
Credit cards are becoming more popular in Mexico but banks have barely scratched the surface of the potential customer base. Monica Campbell reports from Mexico City on how lenders are grabbing a share of this huge market.While Mexicans do not yet face the blizzard of credit card deals seen in wealthier nations, the credit card culture there is catching on fast and commercial banks are jockeying to get their share of the action.