María Belén Diana Franco is a Paraguayan lawyer with experience in banking and finance law, fiduciary structures, construction law, contracts, and arbitration. Since 2023, she has served as Legal Manager at Investor Fiduciaria S.A., where she leads the legal department and advises on the structuring and implementation of fiduciary and financing transactions across sectors including real estate, banking, construction, agribusiness, and infrastructure.
At Investor Fiduciaria, Belén advises on trust structures involving administration, guarantee, source of payment, and asset management arrangements. Her work includes the drafting and negotiation of complex contractual arrangements and the development of legal frameworks for real estate projects, secured financing, and commercial operations involving multiple stakeholders. She has participated in the structuring of transactions relating to real estate development projects, syndicated banking facilities, construction projects, including barge construction arrangements, and other asset-intensive transactions requiring coordination among financial institutions, developers, contractors, investors, and external advisers.
As Legal Manager, Belén leads the legal team and works closely with internal business functions and external stakeholders to support the execution of complex transactions. Her role requires not only technical legal analysis, but also the ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams, understand commercial objectives, and provide practical legal solutions aligned with the needs of each project.
Prior to joining Investor Fiduciaria, Belén served as Legal Adviser to the Paraguayan State, where she worked on matters of significant institutional and economic importance. During this period, she advised on legal issues relating to sovereign bond issuances, construction contracts, and strategic public matters. She also participated in matters connected with the legal and institutional framework surrounding negotiations concerning Itaipu, one of Paraguay’s most significant binational matters.
In addition, Belén worked on important arbitration proceedings, international claims, and complex cases before international courts and human rights bodies involving the defence of the Paraguayan State, gaining experience in dispute resolution, legal strategy, and cross-border institutional matters. This public sector experience, combined with her current role in the private fiduciary sector, has given her a broad perspective on the interaction between public institutions, financial markets, private investment, and large-scale projects.
Belén’s practice combines technical precision with a practical and business-oriented approach. Her experience across both the public and private sectors has positioned her as a trusted legal adviser in sophisticated transactions and complex legal environments, particularly in matters requiring legal structuring, contractual negotiation, institutional coordination, and long-term strategic vision.
