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Mexico Treads Lightly on Foreign Bank IPOs
 Noel Randewich & Emily Chasan - Reuters
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May 05, 2010
Mexico City - Mexico's bank regulator would like to see foreign banks list their local subsidiaries on the stock market but has no plans to twist the arms of major players like BBVA, Santander or Citigroup.
Speaking at the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit in Mexico City, National Bank and Securities Commission head Guillermo Babatz said foreign banks that invested in Mexico's financial industry after a 1995 crisis left it in a shambles should not face abrupt rule changes.
"It would be very desirable... for the Mexican subsidiaries of foreign banks to list their shares on the Mexican exchange and for investors to follow the bank's stock here in Mexico, and for there to be a fiduciary responsibility for Mexican bank directors," Babatz said.
"While this would be good, it's very important that we are absolutely clear about the property rights of whoever comes to invest in Mexico," he said.
BBVA's head of operations for Latin America, Vicente Rodero, at the Reuters summit in Madrid, played down recent speculation that BBVA might list part of its Mexican unit Bancomer to raise funds for further expansion in the region.
He said BBVA (BBVA.MC) sees lots of room for growth in Mexico and prefers not to share with investors who might buy local-issued stock.
Bancomer is Mexico's largest bank, followed by Citigroup (C.N) and arch-rival Santander.
The $8 billion IPO of Santander's (SAN.MC) Brazilian unit last September was a record for Brazil and could tempt financial groups with big Latin American operations to do more listings.
"The Santander IPO helps... strengthen the idea that a global bank is nothing more than an amalgamation of banks that are self-sufficient at the local level," Babatz said.
Santander has recently been considering a stock market float of a minority stake in its UK arm.
(Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
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