About

Santander is an active bank within corporate and commercial banking in Mexico. Its Mexico legal team of 190 lawyers and staff is led by Fernando Borja Mujica, legal and compliance executive vice president. The legal area is integrated by: Rocio Bulhosen Aracil, vice president and corporate secretariat; Gabriel Perez Rios Aguilar, vice president litigation; Juan Llanos Reynoso, vice president corporate and investment bank; Juan M. Posada Falomir, vice-president regulatory and commercial bank. The legal team is divided into advisory and litigation services. Advisory is aligned with the business areas to better address their legal needs. Different units advise and cover specific business lines. Litigation is responsible for all legal claims against the bank. On December 2017, Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico and Banco Santander Mexico merged to meet new European Central Bank capital adequacy regulations. After the merger, a new financial group was incorporated to maintain the financial group model. In September 2018, the bank issued US$1.3bn aggregate principal amount of Tier 2 Subordinated Preferred Capital Notes in the international capital markets. They were offered under Reg 144A and Reg S of the US Securities Act and account for Tier 2 net capital. On November 2018, in order to optimise the capital use of Banco Santander Mexico, a transaction was made through an irrevocable and unconditional financial guarantee under which IFC acts as guarantor. Also the commercial legal area is actively participating in all digital and innovating initiatives and products. Borja Mujica highlights that: ‘Considering that the banking industry is highly regulated in Mexico, we have a strong interaction with financial authorities and Congress. It is important to have a solid legal area to prevent losses associated with legal claims’.