Mexico hinders the sale of Banamex

The sale operation of the Mexican Banamex enters a new stage after elEconomista revealed that Citi considers dividing its subsidiary to take it to the market.

This maneuver would make a lot of sense for the American bank, since with the division it could increase the final amount received for an operation that is now valued at its lowest fork at around 9,500 million. But Banamex businesses being put up for sale would also be positive for interested Spanish entities: Santander and BBVA. The splitting of the Aztec bank would allow the Cantabrian bank to undertake a growth operation in Mexico that would provide it with significant synergies without the need to carry out a capital increase. With it, it would also overtake BBVA as the country’s leading bank, achieving a market share of 25%. BBVA, for its part, would also benefit, since it could opt for a purchase that until now was ruled out because the Mexican authorities would not allow the bank chaired by Carlos Torres to gain a third of the country’s banking quota . All this makes clear the interest that Spanish entities have in Citi finally deciding to cut up the sale of Banamex. However, this division does not mean the end of the obstacles that the operation presents.

The sale by businesses of the Aztec bank, which Citi is studying, would be positive for interested Spanish entities

The great difficulty continues to be in the interest of the Government of Mexico to demonize Spanish investments in the country to stop them, or even drive them away, while maneuvering to promote Banamex to remain in the hands of Mexican banks. Unfortunately, political interests enter again into a purely economic operation and may prevent Santander and BBVA from promoting their growth in the Aztec country.