A well-established powerhouse in the Guatemalan banking and finance space, Alta QIL+4 Abogados, which formed a regional outfit in May 2021, can now leverage its presence across Central America to handle a greater volume of cross-border transactions. The ‘extremely knowledgeable‘ team is also well versed in international financial deals governed by New York law, with several members who are dual qualified. Its enviably broad practice spans syndicated and bilateral loans, debt refinancing, the financing of infrastructure and energy projects, and capital markets transactions. Leading the five-partner team are managing partner Marcos Ibargüen, Alejandro Cofiño (a high-profile name for international bond offerings and energy project finance), José Quiñones (who brings extensive tax expertise in financial transactions) and the ‘fantastic‘ Andrés Lowenthal (an expert in international deals). The deep bench also includes recently promoted partner Melissa Echeverría and senior associates Santiago Granados and Ignacio Grazioso, who are noted for their expertise in aeronautical matters and public services projects, respectively.

Central American firm Arias handles a mix of transactional and regulatory banking and finance matters in Guatemala, with a strong track record in leading the firm’s regional teams on cross-border mandates. The practice is especially adept at advising international lenders, including banks, multilateral institutions and private funds, on granting loans to domestic borrowers, although the team has experience on both sides of transactions. On the regulatory front, the team has marked expertise in fintech matters, and also assists with securities and insurance regulatory issues. Following the departure of former department head Jorge Luis Arenales in March 2023, Luis Pedro del Valle now leads the team, bringing wide-ranging experience in domestic and cross-border transactions to the table. Among the strong cohort of junior team members, key names include senior associate Cindy Arrivillaga (who is noted for international matters) and associates Francisco Zuluaga, Andrés Marroquín and Florencio Gramajo (who recently returned from the foreign lawyer trainee programme at Holland & Knight LLP‘s Miami office).

Regional firm Consortium Legal houses a comprehensive banking and finance practice in Guatemala, with expertise spanning syndicated and cross-border loans, debt restructuring, and the development and implementation of new financial products. Capital markets transactions are an additional strength, where the team has a strong recent record in assisting on both the lender and borrower side. The ‘attentive‘ department, which offers ‘personalised attention‘ to clients, is particularly adept at advising international banks and multilateral development finance institutions and can leverage the firm’s sizeable network of offices in Central America to handle regional mandates. Other thriving areas of the practice include regulatory and, in particular, fintech matters; the firm offers a dedicated team of practitioners from its regional offices in this space. Firm president Álvaro Castellanos leads the department and is widely recognised for his longstanding practice in the banking, fintech and insurtech spheres, and highly experienced senior associate Melissa Morán has also established an active practice, covering syndicated loans, international debt issuances and project finance.

With an expanding presence in the Northern Triangle region of Central America, Mayora & Mayora, S.C. is equally skilled in handling domestic and regional financial transactions. Praised for its ‘quality client service‘, the team advises on the gamut of banking and finance matters, from syndicated loans and regulatory issues to project finance and debt restructuring, with particular expertise in acting for international and regional banks and development finance institutions. The capital markets sphere is also a key source of mandates; the practice, which is experienced in international debt issuances and derivatives transactions, counts the National Stock Exchange among its clients. Claudia Pereira, an expert in secured transactions, trusts and project finance, leads the team. María Fernanda Morales Pellecer has significant strength in banking regulation, benefitting from her past in-house experience at several major banks, and regional managing partner Eduardo Mayora remains a leading figure in the practice. Senior associate Carlos Ortega provides support across the full range of matters.

International mandates are a mainstay of the banking and finance practice at Aguilar Castillo Love, which benefits from the firm’s growing footprint in Latin America when advising international lenders, particularly banks and investment funds, on cross-border transactions. The firm has a thriving practice in the regulatory (particularly fintech) and capital markets spaces, with a strong record of handling bond issuances, and is also developing significant expertise in ESG-related financings. In addition, the team is experienced in advising domestic borrowers, particularly on the financing of energy projects, drawing on firm-wide expertise in the sector. At the head of the practice, Juan Carlos Castillo Chacón is widely sought after for his advice on regulatory issues, securities and project finance, and Natalia Callejas Aquino stands out for her strength in fintech matters, with an emphasis on cryptocurrencies. Associate Rudy Villatoro is currently on secondment at leading Mexican firm Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, S.C.

Regional firm BLP significantly strengthened its banking and finance practice in June 2023 with the high-profile hire of Jorge Luis Arenales, founding partner of Arias‘ Guatemala office. Arenales is renowned for his expertise in financial transactions, particularly project finance. The team advises on the full spread of financial matters, from acquisition finance and debt restructuring to syndicated loans and bond issuances, with a strong skill set in multi-jurisdictional transactions. In particular, the practice is consistently active in assisting international lenders, including banks and multilateral financial institutions, while thanks to the firm’s strength in the corporate sphere, major regional companies also make up a substantial portion of its client base. María Inés Arenales, who brings extensive experience in cross-border financial transactions and capital markets matters to the table, leads the team. The growing associate bench includes senior associates Carolina Saadeh, who joined the firm from independent practice in 2022 and has a focus on regulatory matters, and the recently promoted Gustavo Gamboa. Since publication, María Inés Arenales has left the firm for her own practice.

Leveraging the wider firm’s longstanding strength in litigation, the banking and finance team at established Guatemalan practice Carrillo & Asociados is widely recognised for its specialism in restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy matters, with an emphasis on cross-border proceedings. In addition to transactional and regulatory matters, another key element of the workload is assisting local and international clients with fraud investigations and the recovery of assets. Rodrigo Callejas, who leads the strategic litigation practice group, is a go-to name for restructurings and insolvencies, and partner and certified fraud examiner Emanuel Callejas stands out for international asset recovery matters.

With an extensive network of offices in Central America to draw on for support, Lexincorp‘s banking and finance team has significant experience in regional transactions, where it is skilled in acting on both the lender and borrower sides. Its wide-ranging practice spans national and international syndicated loans, the establishment of trusts, refinancings, debt recovery, and regulatory and fintech matters. Julio Aparicio, who is also sought after for his expertise in M&A in the banking sector, leads the team in conjunction with Gonzalo Menéndez González.