Chile Watch: BBVA mulls Forum sale, constitutional court amends banking bill
Spanish banking giant BBVA is considering a full or partial sale of its Chilean car financing business Forum.
The lender said in a statement it is studying its options - which include retaining the business.
Earlier this year, when unnamed sources said such a move was on the table, a price tag of US$1bn was cited.
Forum controls around 22% of the new car financing market in Chile. The company has agreements with some of the biggest car dealers through which it offers financing to buyers.
The news comes after BBVA offloaded its banking operations to Canada's Scotiabank.
"BBVA maintains its strategic commitment with the Latin American market and will continue to invest in the region, which remains a priority for the growth of its business," BBVA said in a statement.
Formed in 1993, Forum became a part of BBVA Chile in 2006.
At the end of last year Forum held assets of 1.43tn pesos (US$2.07bn), up from 1.18tn pesos a year earlier. For the whole of 2017, Forum reported a profit of 45.1bn pesos, up from 44.8bn pesos the previous year and 39.9bn pesos in 2015.
***
Chile's constitutional court has given the green light to the government's banking bill, approved recently by congress.
The court made several amendments, however.
The court, among other changes, ruled against a section of the bill that granted tax officials power to obtain bank account details of individuals under investigation without seeking a warrant, local paper El Mercurio reported. The court also ruled that bank clients must be informed if information subject to bank secrecy provisions is sought by tax officials.
The finance ministry said it was analyzing the decision and that it respected decisions of the court, the paper reported.
The court, upon receiving a complaint, can analyze a bill to determine whether it is unconstitutional, and make associated rulings. The power wielded by the court in the legislative process has been questioned in the country.
Subscribe to the leading business intelligence platform in Latin America with different tools for Providers, Contractors, Operators, Government, Legal, Financial and Insurance industries.
News in: Political Risk & Macro (Chile)
US$1.5bn transmission line creates headache for Chile govt
Senators accuse the executive of trying to implement a regulatory exception that would benefit the companies building the Kimal-Lo Aguirre line.
Mining players demand legal certainty and investment after Chile's proposed new constitution is voted down
For now, the option to replace Chile’s constitution appears to be closed.
Subscribe to Latin America’s most trusted business intelligence platform.
Other projects
Get key information on thousands of projects in Latin America, from current stage, to capex, related companies, key contacts and more.
- Project: Horizonte wind farm
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 hours from now
- Project: Los Humeros III - Phase B geothermal project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
48 minutes from now
- Project: Batolio Photovoltaic Plant
- Current stage:
- Updated:
10 minutes from now
- Project: Morovis Solar project
- Current stage:
- Updated:
9 minutes from now
- Project: Kuara photocoltaic complex (Phase 1 - Stage 1)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 hours from now
- Project: Upgrade of the Philip S.W. Goldson Highway (Fifth Road)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
17 hours ago
- Project: Modernization of Five Generating Units of the Belisario Domínguez Hydroelectric Plant (Angostura)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
2 hours from now
- Project: Víctor Ramos Guardia High Complexity Hospital
- Current stage:
- Updated:
17 hours ago
- Project: Aroeira 5 wind farm (Aroeira wind complex)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
1 hour from now
- Project: Aroeira 4 wind farm (Aroeira wind complex)
- Current stage:
- Updated:
18 hours ago
Other companies
Get key information on thousands of companies in Latin America, from projects, to contacts, shareholders, related news and more.
- Company: Telcosub USA LLC  (Telcosub USA)
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Consorcio Troncal 68
- Company: CEMOSA Colombia
-
La descripción contenida en este perfil fue extraída directamente desde una fuente oficial y no ha sido editada ni modificada por los investigadores de BNamericas, pero puede ha...
- Company: MASTER S.A. de Ingeniería y Arquitectura
-
The description contained in this profile was taken directly from an official source and has not been edited or modified by BNamericas researchers, but may have been automatical...
- Company: Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile  (CODELCO)
-
Chile's state-controlled miner Corporación Nacional del Cobre (Codelco), considered the world's largest copper and molybdenum producer, is engaged in the exploration, processing...
- Company: Nexans USA Inc.
- Company: Consorcio Unión