By Amy Guthrie and Liz Moyer
MEXICO CITY--Mexico's banking and securities regulator, the
CNBV, said Friday it has authorized Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)
to set up a brokerage in the country.
In the creation of Goldman Sachs Mexico, Casa de Bolsa, Goldman
aims to "transfer some of the activities it realizes in other
countries and boost operations to convert itself into an important
participant in the Mexican market," the CNBV said in a statement.
The decision builds on Goldman's decades-long investment banking
presence in Mexico City, and is consistent with the firm's general
expansion in Latin America, says Michael DuVally, a spokesman for
Goldman Sachs.
"From a sales and trading perspective, we have, over the years,
developed strong relationships with local Mexican clients, but
believe it's now vitally important to operate in closer proximity
to these clients," Mr. DuVally said.
Goldman intends to build out the broker dealer through the first
half of next year, and to be operational in the third quarter of
2013. The brokerage's focus will be on fixed income products, Mr.
DuVally said.
Mexico's top brokerages in terms of operations are run by
billionaire Carlos Slim's Grupo Financiero Inbursa SAB (GPFOY,
GFINBUR.MX), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya
Argentaria SA (BBVA), respectively.
Combined, Mexican brokerages reported $370 million in financing
margin for brokerage services in the first half of 2012, and $290
million in net profit, according to CNBV data.
Write to Amy Guthrie at amy.guthrie@dowjones.com
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