The group of Colombia GNB Sudameris acquired 100% of HSBC’s operations in that country as well as operations in Peru, Uruguay, and Paraguay in a transaction valued at $400 million, said Friday by the Paraguayan press.
The operations, which include 62 offices and assets, will await orderly transfer in the coming months. This gives rise to rumors that in Paraguay, GNB Sudameris will begin operations early next year with a new brand and image.
GNB, after having been in finance for 92 years, has a worth of more than $6 billion, with its assets estimated at 500 million dollars.
“We have 106 branches in major cities of Colombia. We have nearly 2,000 ATMs in 450 towns in our country”, said the chairman of the board of the financial entity, Jaime Gilinski.
The payment service through ATMs could be one of the first proposals of the new entity in the Paraguayan financial market from 2013, while the GNB Sudameris specializes in retail, commercial, and SME.
In turn, the manager Camilo Verastegui confirmed that the banking company has successfully developed products such as “Servibanca”, whose implementation in Paraguay would be a novelty and would be one of the first concrete ideas.
HSBC has been present in Paraguay since 2007, following the acquisition of the subsidiary of Lloyds TSB Bank. The company is now in its third transition, with six agencies across the country in addition to its headquarters in Asuncion.
GNB Sudameris intends to consolidate the operations of HSBC which are more focused on corporate banking but will incorporate other strategies on par with those already offered by HSBC today.
“This transaction is the largest in the history of the bank to significantly expand the group’s presence in South America, allowing us to boost our growth with services under a regional banking platform,” said Gilinski.
