About

Positioned at the intersection of litigation and regulatory matters at BBVA Chile, the legal team managed by senior attorney Benjamin Vial utilises ligation as a tool to prevent future contingencies, whilst maintaining a more proactive and less reactive approach to the regulation area. Having recently assimilated responsibilities for corporate governance at the bank, Vial’s team has produced a harmonic relationship with the internal regulatory practice, whilst also maintaining a ‘deep, close and fluid relationship’ with the general counsel, CEO and other senior management. Improved communication lines between the two functions, upper management and other departments within the company ensures a more proactive and early approach to new regulations, and enables Vial’s team to aptly handle the accelerating regulatory transformation of the financial services industry in Chile. Besides its regulatory work, the team has recently been focused on dealing with the complexities of the impending merger of the company with Scotiabank Chile, which would undoubtedly have a profound impact on the legal function and the wider company. The team has also recently gathered attention with its work on a long lasting litigation against Corfo, involving a remedy before Chile’s Constitutional Court, as well as its advice on the ongoing liquidation of a major insurance claim arising from damages suffered by BBVA Chile as a consequence a flood occurred in Santiago. Comprised of exceptional attorneys such as the aforementioned Benjamin Vial, as well as Alberto Vergara, Valerie Ranson and Jose Enrique Estay, the team has grown into an indispensable element of BBVA’s business in Chile. ‘Their passion, knowledge and flexibility among several capabilities, has allowed us to introduce changes on how we work, face relevant challenges and provide high quality legal advice,’ deputy legal counsel Alberto Vergara explains.