2012 Annual Report - Ixe

Notas a los Estados Financieros
Message from the CEO
Grupo Financiero Banorte
of Grupo Financiero Banorte
For Grupo Financiero Banorte, 2012 will be remembered as the year in which
Roberto González Barrera, our boss, majority shareholder, Chairman Emeritus and
founder of the modern-day Banorte, passed away. Roberto left this institution with
a great legacy by transforming it from a small regional bank with a market share of
less than 3% to one of Mexico’s 3 leading financial institutions with 14% of the loan
portfolio and deposits, and the only bank in Mexico controlled by Mexicans. Roberto
always held a deep love for Mexico, as reflected in all of the decisions he made at
Banorte’s helm. Not only did he spearhead efforts for growth, but he also created
one of the most modern corporate governance structures in the country to ensure
the smooth running of the bank. In this regard, the appointment of Guillermo Ortiz
as Chairman of the Board was another step further in the institutionalization of the
Financial Group, and an indication of Roberto’s great vision in paving the way for his
succession in the Board of Directors of Grupo Financiero Banorte. Few businessmen
have been able to implement such institutional handovers, but Roberto understood
that it was a necessary decision to ensure the institution’s continuity, given that it
concerned one of the most public companies in Mexico with a very large minority
shareholder base.
Our beloved Roberto will be sorely missed, and we will seek to continue his legacy
by taking Banorte to new levels of excellence with a long-term institutional vision
for the future.
2012 was also marked by several important events for the development of the
institution. However, the most relevant one was undoubtedly our consolidation as a
leading institution in the retirement savings segment through the acquisition of Afore
Bancomer. The merger of Afore Bancomer with Afore XXI Banorte increased our
customer base to around 12 million while assets under management rose to around
Ps. 550 billion, or almost 30% of all of the funds managed by Mexico’s retirement
savings system. The acquisition is, without doubt, one of Banorte’s most important
transformational transactions in recent years.
During the year we opened the Contact Center, named for Roberto González
Barrera, designed to integrate the activities that take place in 14 “Contact Centers”
across the country with a view to achieving important synergies. With an initial
investment of more than Ps. 620 million and more than 40 thousand square meters of
construction. The Contact Center will attend Banorte and Ixe customers through 1,700
executives, mostly college students, using a cutting-edge technology platform and
security systems. In line with the institution’s vision for protecting the environment, the
building is environmentally friendly, as it operates with maximum energy efficiency
and savings in water consumption.
Some major organizational changes also took place in 2012. Héctor Ávila was
appointed Managing Director of Legal, Gabriel Casillas became Managing Director
of Economic Research, Marcos Ramírez became Managing Director of Casa de
Bolsa Banorte Ixe (following the merger of Casa de Bolsa Banorte with Ixe Casa
de Bolsa at the beginning of the year), Luis Pietrini became Managing Director of
Wealth and Private Banking, René Pimentel became Managing Director of Asset
Management and Business Development, Alejandro Aguilar became Managing
Director of Mutual Funds, Samuel Munafo became Managing Director of Inter
National Bank, Alejandro Vázquez Managing Director of Institutional Relations and
Communication and Javier Salgado Deputy Managing Director of Planning and
Finance, among others. As of January 2013, David Aarón Margolín was appointed
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