Mr Alvaro Castellanos > Consortium Legal > Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala > Lawyer Profile
Consortium Legal Offices
DIAGONAL 6 10-01 ZONA 10 CENTRO GERENCIAL LAS MARGARITS TORRE II
OFICINA 1101
CIUDAD GUATEMALA
Guatemala
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Mr Alvaro Castellanos
Work Department
Dispute Resolution/Corporate/Banking & Finance
Position
Partner
Career
Alvaro is president of the regional firm and partner in Consortium Legal – Guatemala. With 33 years of experience in the financial services and fintech, insurance and insurtech, and aviation sectors, he specializes in banking, arbitration, foreign investment, and mergers and acquisitions.
During his career he has served as president and member of several ad hoc committees in annulment proceedings under the ICSID Convention; president of the Board of Directors of the Dispute Resolution Commission of the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala; participated as ad hoc Judge in the Tiu Tojin vs. State of Guatemala of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, was Member for Guatemala before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce -ICC- (2006-2018), member of the Editorial Board of IURISTEC (Compilation of Publications of Annotated Judicial Judgments), University Professor, Columnist in El Periódico and former Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of Rafael Landívar University.
WORK HIGHLIGHTS
- Chair an Ad Hoc Committee on annulment in an ICSID case that is about to conclude its work when it communicates the respective annulment decision (ICSID case No. ARB/12/20)
- Participated in the acquisition by Promerica Financial Corporation of Banco Citibank de Guatemala, S.A., Cititarjetas, Limitada and other related companies; in an operation that will reach US$ 1,474 billion in assets and nearly 100 bank branches.
- Consortium – Legal (Guatemala) acted as Local Counsel for the Sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner of the Notes issued by the Republic of Guatemala in the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The issuance was made for US$500,000,000.00 but the Sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner received purchase orders in aggregate of US$1.69BN.
- Acted as counsel to Citibank, N.A. (Sucursal Guatemala) to grant a loan of approximately US$3,600,000.00 to Pegamorteros de Guatemala, S.A.
- Acted as special counsel to Banco de America Central, S.A. (BAC Guatemala) to obtain a US$50,000,000.00 loan from a bank syndicate led by Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A.
Languages
Spanish, English
Memberships
Member, College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala
Member of the IBA Poverty and Social Development Committee
Member, American Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala (AMCHAM)
Member, Latin American Arbitrage Committee, International Commerce Chamber (ICC)
Member, International Bar Association (IBA)
Member, Latin American Arbitration Association (ALARB)
Education
- Candidate for Doctorate in Law, Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala
- Master of Laws (LL.M.), specialization in Comparative and International Law (Fulbright-Laspau Scholarship), Columbia University Law School, New York (1990)
- Degree in Legal and Social Sciences, Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala (1986)
Lawyer Rankings
Central America > Corporate and finance
The largest firm in Central America, Consortium Legal has offices in Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and frequently advises on complex, region-wide corporate and financial transactions, including M&A, corporate restructurings and bond issuances, acting for an impressive roster of regional and international banks and financial institutions and multinational companies. It also has expertise in project finance, particularly in the energy and mining sectors, foreign investment and fintech. Among the key contacts in the Costa Rican office are Mario Quesada-Bianchini, an expert in cross-border finance; and Randall Barquero, who leads the fintech practice, along with the experienced Juan Manuel Godoy and M&A expert Rolando Laclé Zuñiga. In Guatemala, Alfredo Rodríguez and Rafael Alvarado Riedel are the standouts for corporate work, while firm president Álvaro Castellanos specialises in banking and finance matters. Rodrigo Taboada and Olga Barreto, an expert in financial and corporate restructurings, are the key contacts in Nicaragua, while the experienced trio of Gustavo León-Gómez, José Ramón Paz Padilla and José Rafael Rivera are names to note in Honduras. In El Salvador, Óscar Samour leads the banking and finance practice, as well as heading the corporate team alongside Diego Martín and Maria Alejandra Tulipano.
Guatemala > Banking and finance
(Leading individuals)Bond issuances are a significant area of expertise for Consortium Legal‘s ‘highly competent and knowledgeable‘ team, which recently acted for BofA Securities as the global coordinator of the Republic of Guatemala’s sovereign bond issuance, which raised $1.2bn for the country’s Covid response. As part of a major regional firm, the team is active in cross-border financial transactions across Central America, working alongside its other offices in the area, and counts banks, financial institutions and multilateral organisations among its clients. The team primarily acts for clients on the lender side but also assists borrowers with corporate lending and debt restructurings. The ‘very efficient‘ Álvaro Castellanos, whose broad experience includes the fintech, insurance and aviation sectors, heads the practice. Since publication, Melissa Morán has joined the practice as a senior associate from Sfera Legal.
Guatemala > Corporate and M&A
Standing out for the ‘extraordinary one-on-one engagement‘ of its team, regional firm Consortium Legal is highly active in cross-border M&A transactions and corporate restructurings, with a solid client base including numerous major multinationals. The firm is also part of the Central American Integration Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (Ingrerarse), an alliance to promote sustainability in Central America and the Caribbean. The experienced trio of Rafael Alvarado Riedel, Alfredo Rodríguez and Álvaro Castellanos (who also coordinates the firm’s involvement in the Vance Centre’s “Keep Families Together” pro bono initiative) heads the sizeable team, with Rodríguez and Castellanos bringing additional expertise in tax and finance matters, respectively, to the table. Other notable team members include Sofía Escribá, who is experienced in the negotiation of M&A and shareholders’ agreements, and senior associate Maria Fernanda Morales, whose expertise spans corporate matters in the aeronautics, energy, telecoms, food and non-profit sectors.
Comparative Guides
| Guatemala: Banking & Finance | March 2022 | This country-specific Q&A provides an overview to Banking & Finance laws and regulations that may occur in Guatemala. |
Lawyer Rankings
- Banking and finance - Guatemala
- Corporate and M&A - Guatemala
- Leading individuals - Guatemala > Banking and finance