LatinNews Daily - 4 August 2023

* Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has confirmed that his government will not be purchasing Banamex, one of the country’s largest retail banks, from the US financial giant Citigroup. López Obrador stated that a responsible acquisition was unrealistic within the timeframe of his presidential term, which is due to end in December 2024, given that the purchase “would take a year”. However, he suggested that the following administration could proceed with the acquisition instead. Speaking at a regular morning press conference, López Obrador explained that he had considered the acquisition of Banamex as “it was crucial to have a government-owned bank, a bank to manage all government funds and accounts, saving us commission costs [and contributing] to retaining Banamex’s cultural heritage within our country”. These comments follow the failure in May of negotiations between Citigroup and Grupo México, the country’s largest conglomerate owned by Germán Larrera, after which Citigroup announced it would sell its shares in an initial public offering (IPO). This announcement came the day after López Obrador had expressed interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Banamex.