Banking and finance in Ecuador

Bustamante Fabara

The sizeable banking and finance department at Bustamante Fabara stands out for its cross-border expertise, showcasing the ability to handle secured and unsecured corporate lending as well as complex issues relating to capital markets. An additional specialism for the group is thematic bond transactions, where it plays an active role in the launch of green, blue, social and sustainable bonds. The practice increased its capabilities with the September 2022 hire of Jesús Beltrán – formerly the head of banking at Robalino – to its roster of experienced professionals; he acts as co-head of the team alongside Diego Ramírez Mesec, who is often retained by foreign lenders and financial institutions. Other key developments include the arrival of senior associates Patricio Santos, Belén Jaramillo and Juan Bernardo Guarderas, following Beltran in his move and adding considerable regulatory and transactional experience. The team’s advice to International Finance Corporation, Symbiotics Investments and LAGreen in their subscription to a $79m blue bond issuance by Banco Internacional is a key highlight in this respect.

Practice head(s):

Jesús Beltrán; Diego Ramírez


Testimonials

‘Excellent team with a lot of legal and market knowledge. Top-level advice.’

‘High level of expertise, professionalism and dynamism in a transaction. Jose Rafael Bustamante is good and Kirina Gonzales is one of the best we have worked with in Ecuador. Both super professionals with very high level of legal knowledge.’

‘The Bustamante Fabara team is excellent, the level of mastery of all banking issues has been a great help to the company where I work. They are on a par with firms in the USA dedicated for years to financial advice.’

‘The plus is the personalised attention they offer, the partners get involved, they are fast, strong and respected by other firms. In particular, it is worth mentioning the attention of Kirina Gonzalez and Jose Rafael Bustamante.’

Key clients

IDB Invest


International Finance Corporation


Proparco


U.S. International Development Finance Corporation


Goldman Sachs


Bancolombia


Banco Guayaquil


Banco del Austro


Nomura Securities


China Development Bank


Work highlights


  • Advised International Finance Corporation, Symbiotics Investments and LAGreen as international investors in their subscription of a $79m blue bond issuance by Banco Internacional.
  • Advised IDB Invest as international investor in its subscription of a $30m gender and inclusion social bonds issuance by Banco Solidario, which was executed through a public offering in the Quito Securities Exchange.
  • Advised Goldman Sachs, as sole structuring agent and placement agent, on the second series of notes issued by Banco Pichincha under its diversified payment rights securitisation programme.

Lexvalor Abogados

Lexvalor Abogados has a strong footing in Quito, demonstrated by its assistance to prominent clients in the capital markets and finance spaces; it regularly acts on behalf of domestic and international investors, trust funds and banks in corporate bond issues, securities registration, securitisations and debt transactions. Leadership of the practice is shared by Daniela Irigoyen, an expert in fiduciary businesses, and Margoth Chiriboga, who also acts as the director of the firm’s stock exchange department, specialising in private equity and structured finance deals. Key clients in this respect include Fideval, Mercapital and Sucaval, with the team’s advice to Banco Internacional del Ecuador on the country’s first blue bond issuance process making headlines. Active in this matter, María Pia Rivadeneira is a standout from the senior associate ranks, with Juan Francisco Almeida also noted for his knowledge of securitisation and guarantee structurings.

Practice head(s):

Daniela Irigoyen; Margoth Chiriboga


Testimonials

‘They work as a team to identify and act on the strengths of each lawyer with the aim of fulfilling what the client requested.’

‘Juan Francisco Almeida and Iván Plascencia stand out for the level of personalised attention, the response times, the exemplification of the doubts or queries made, the strong knowledge on financial/banking issues and in relation to the control body of the cooperatives in the country.’

‘Daniela Irigoyen is a lawyer with extensive experience in banking and finance, and in addition to having extraordinary knowledge, has a great deal of business knowledge and is very present within the relationship.’

‘Lexvalor has a team which brilliantly combines the experience of its senior partners with the versatility and energy of top-level young lawyers. This firm provides comprehensive advice.’

‘The Lexvalor team has in-depth knowledge of the securities market law and extensive experience in the structuring of commercial trusts and in the legal structuring of securitisation processes.’

‘Juan Francisco Almeida is not only an excellent professional but also a person of integrity.’

Key clients

Mercapital Casa de Valores


SUCAVAL


Banco Pichincha


Grupo Nobis


Grupo Futuro


Corporación Favorita


Citibank


Banco Internacional


Fideval


Medicréditos


Expertfactors


Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito Andalucía


Fiduciaria Ecuador Fiduecuador Administradora de Fondos y Fideicomisos


Work highlights


  • Advised Banco Internacional del Ecuador on the first blue bonds issuance process in Ecuador and Latin America, with a value of $79m.
  • Advised Fideval on the constitution and approval of three new investment funds: Fondo Vivo, Fondo Aliado and Fondo Objetivo.
  • Issued a legal opinion and participated as legal advisor in a financing transaction by Citibank, which granted a loan for $32m in favour of Servicios de Telecomunicaciones SETEL.

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce maintains its standing as a leader in the banking and finance space, characterised by considerable knowledge of complex loans, regulated sectors, innovative products, multilateral lending, sophisticated structures and a variety of market-defining transactions. The practice, which is led by Bruno Pineda, a renowned name in the market for complex operations with capital markets, insurance, fiduciary and regulatory components, has an impressive client portfolio featuring the likes of Inter-American Development Bank, LATAM Airlines and Banco Pichincha. The firm’s cutting-edge offering is most recently evidenced by the team’s representation of International Finance Corporation and Inter-American Development Bank in their purchase of gender bonds issued by Banco Pichincha. At the senior associate level, Juan Francisco Simone stands out for his ability to navigate the fintech and insurtech sectors, noted for regulatory matters, while Adriana Orellana's practice focuses on dispute resolution in particular. Pablo Ortiz is another well-known practitioner, having formerly acted as Ecuador’s ambassador in Belgium and the European Union; he is sought by clients in the finance, aviation and media sectors to tackle corporate, commercial and regulatory issues.

Practice head(s):

Bruno Pineda


Testimonials

‘In my opinion they have the most complete team in the country. Experts in all possible areas, which means that any requirement is fulfilled in the most efficient way.’

‘Juan Francisco Simone has extensive experience before the central bank of Ecuador. His past experience in these institutions makes Juan a great support. He has a much higher knowledge of state financial control structures than other lawyers.’

Key clients

International Finance Corporation


Inter-American Development Bank


Inter-American Investment Bank


OeEB


Corporación Andina de Fomento


FMO


CEXIM


LATAM Airlines


International Finance Corporation


Banco Pichincha


Work highlights


  • Retained by International Finance Corporation and Inter-American Investment Bank to advise on the purchase of gender bonds issued by Banco Pichincha in the Ecuadorian Stock Market Senior.
  • Advised Inter-American Investment Bank on the financing of a mortgage portfolio securitisation by CTH in the Ecuadorian Stock Market.
  • Advised Banco Pichincha on the launch of its second Diversified Payment Rights’ Future Flow DPR Programme, under a total amount of $300m.

Flor Bustamante Pizarro Hurtado Abogados

Flor Bustamante Pizarro Hurtado Abogados places a strong emphasis on syndicated operations, project finance and cross-border transactions, with a client base that includes domestic and foreign financial institutions, sponsors and collateral agents, investment funds and multilateral organisations. The team’s expertise also extends to restructuring processes and financing transactions involving public entities, with the latter commonly involving sovereign guarantees. Mario Alejandro Flor, a notable figure in the renewable energy space, heads the team, which recently acted on behalf of Wheaton Precious Metals in a precious metals purchase agreement linked to the Curipamba copper project in central Ecuador. Other key practitioners include senior associates Alejandro Pérez Arellano and Alejandra Soriano, who provide extensive support in an array of financing transactions.

Practice head(s):

Mario Alejandro Flor


Key clients

IDB Invest


US International Development Finance Corporation


TMF


Deutsche Investitions Und Entwicklungsgesellschaft


WorldBusiness Capital


Atico Mining


Wheaton Precious Metals


Work highlights


  • Advised Wheaton Precious Metals on a definitive precious metals purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Adventus Mining Corporation.
  • Advised TMF Ecuador, which acted as local collateral agent in the LATAM Chapter 11 proceedings, for a deal value of $2.3bn.
  • Advised IDB Invest on the financing granted to Corporacion El Rosado, with a total cash consideration of $75m.

Robalino

Robalino acts on behalf of a portfolio of domestic banks in cross-border transactions, focusing on pioneering work on socially motivated finance deals as well as in relation to securitisation and structured finance matters. Key areas of work in this regard include green and sustainable bond offerings, credit facilities, debt restructurings and derivatives transactions. The firm stands out for combining its vision of sustainability with traditional finance work, recently evidenced by its advice to FMO regarding the $6m financing to Ecua America Teak used to finance working capital, capital expenditure and the acquisition of new land to plant teak trees. Director Carol Riofrio stands at the forefront of these efforts, having joined from Grupo FINCA in December 2022, and bringing notable experience from her previous role as legal manager for a bank specialised in microcredits. This role sees Riofrío working closely with Martín Pallares and Javier Robalino, who are specialists in private equity projects and complex M&A deals. In October 2022, the firm saw the departure of seasoned practitioner Jesús Beltrán.

Practice head(s):

Carol Riofrío


Testimonials

‘Since the arrival of Carol Riofrío, the group has been on an upward path in terms of quality of care and level of responses. Her commitment and knowledge are indisputable.’        

Key clients

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden FMO


Pay Retailers


Banco de Guayaquil


Banco Solidario


Grupo Bolivar


Arthur J. Gallagher


Miller Insurance


Atlantida


Jetsmart


Instituto De Investigaciones Socio Economicas y Tecnologicas Insotec


Banco para la Asistencia Comunitaria Finca


Work highlights


  • Advised FMO on a $6m financing to Ecua America Teak.
  • Advised Pay Retailers on the gathering of information as well as a deal valued at $6m.
  • Supported Grupo Bolivar in complex negotiations related to a spin-off and further post–closing matters.

Carmigniani Pérez Abogados

Carmigniani Pérez Abogados is retained by a range of commercial banks, private financial entities, venture capital funds and specialised credit institutions, which seek advice from the firm's teams in Guayaquil and Quito. The banking and finance department, which is jointly led by Eduardo Carmigniani and Pedro Pérez in Guayaquil and Hugo García-Larriva in Quito, covers acquisition financing, financial restructurings, long-term credit facilities matters and high-stakes disputes, where García-Larriva is a particular standout.

Practice head(s):

Eduardo Carmigniani; Pedro Pérez; Hugo García-Larriva


Key clients

Banco de Guayaquil


Banco Bolivariano


Banco Solidario


Medianet


Work highlights


  • Advised Banco Solidario in a lawsuit filed against the Superintendency of Banks regarding an administrative act.
  • Advising Banco Guayaquil on an appeal challenging an expert appraisal of damages relating to a 2011 moral damages claim.

Coronel & Pérez

The banking and finance practice at Coronel & Pérez is under the leadership of managing partner and international counsel Octavio Rosselli Becerra, a former legal head at multilateral lending institution Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF). The team works from offices in both Quito and Guayaquil, with the experienced Rosselli handling a range of matters including foreign investment, cross border financial structuring, public-private associations, concessions and infrastructure projects, corporate law and M&A. Key support is provided by senior partners Hernán Pérez Loose and César Coronel Jones.

Dentons Paz Horowitz

Dentons Paz Horowitz continues to solidify its standing as a local powerhouse with significant international reach, made possible by the fact Dentons and Paz Horowitz combined efforts in the country in July 2021. The firm’s banking and finance group draws from this joint expertise to advise insurers, banks, investment funds, brokers and regulators on loan agreements, structurings, cross-border project financings, and guarantees and security instruments, with efforts steered by credit operations and regulatory compliance specialist Rocio Cordova in Quito. Legal director Maria Del Mar Heredia advises on complex M&A transactions in an array of industries.

Practice head(s):

Rocío Córdova


Testimonials

‘Rocío Córdova is an excellent professional.’

‘Roció Córdova is one of the lawyers who helps us with quick consultations, which is what we value the most.’  

‘The team led by Rocio Córdova has greatly improved in terms of client relations, especially in the flexibility of consultations. Sometimes we need to ask questions quickly and this has helped us act promptly in our cases.’

Key clients

Trilinc Global Sustainable Income Fund II Master


GAWA Capital Partners


Enabling Qapital


BlueOrchard


Cochapamba


Incofin Investment Management


International Finance Corporation


Kiva Capital Management


COLDAY


Exness


Work highlights


  • Advised International Finance Corporation in relation to a loan agreement with an international pharmaceutical company for $30m.
  • Provided Ripple with advice regarding the start of its operations in Ecuador.