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Viewing cable 08BUENOSAIRES1418, Argentina's Buenos Aires Province-owned Bank

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08BUENOSAIRES1418 2008-10-15 19:10 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Buenos Aires
VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1418/01 2891910
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151910Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2249
RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001418 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN ECON EINV PGOV PINR AR
SUBJECT: Argentina's Buenos Aires Province-owned Bank 
Seek to Expand Venture Capital, Micro Finance Profile 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (SBU) Guillermo Francos, President of Argentina's second largest 
public bank, Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (BP), is looking 
to expand secured lending to provincial small and medium enterprise 
for investment in new productive capacity.  Outside of BP's regular 
lending activity, Francos sees an opportunity to have a significant 
impact on provincial new business generation via a provincial 
venture capital fund to be structured with World Bank, IDB, and 
perhaps OPIC support (if 620Q sanctions are lifted).  Francos also 
called micro-financing an exciting "outside-the-envelope" 
opportunity for BP, with informal surveys pointing to 800,000 
potential micro-finance clients in the province.  On provincial 
politics, Francos called Governor Scioli of "presidential weight" in 
upcoming 2011 elections.  Key for Scioli, Francos said, will be to 
manage well, connect on a human level with his provincial 
constituents, and maintain good relations with the Kirchner 
administration to keep needed federal funds flowing into provincial 
coffers.  End Summary 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Bank Focus on Venture Capital, Micro-Finance 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (BP) President 
Guillermo Francos and BP Director Carlos Magarinos hosted Ambassador 
and Econ Counselor to lunch October 1 to discuss BP's efforts to 
support credit expansion and investment in Argentina's largest and 
most densely populated province, which holds 35% of the nation's 
population and contributes 38% of total GDP. 
 
3. (SBU) Francos called BP's overriding mandate to expand secured 
lending to provincial small and medium enterprise (Pymes) for 
investment in new productive capacity to meet burgeoning domestic 
demand.  Cash-flow financing for business and personal use are not a 
priority and the domestic mortgage market remains stagnant, he said. 
 Francos said he was unconcerned by Standard and Poor's April 2008 
downgrade of BP from "B+ stable" to "B+ negative" since it reflected 
a broader provincial downgrade which BP could not escape. 
 
4. (SBU) Outside of BP's regular lending activity, Francos said he 
sees an opportunity to have a significant impact on provincial new 
business generation and employment via participation in a "sizeable" 
venture capital fund.  Director Carlos Magarinos said he had already 
been in touch with the World Bank and IDB on this.  Francos said he 
was aware of OPIC's substantial expertise and involvement in 
regional investment funds and noted he had met OPIC President 
Mosbacher in Miami during the spring 2008 IDB meeting in Miami. 
(Note: OPIC remains closed in Argentina pending resolution of 620Q 
sanctions). 
 
5. (SBU) Francos also called micro-financing an exciting "outside 
the envelope" opportunity for BP to improve the wellbeing of Buenos 
Aires province residents.  He said that informal bank surveys 
indicated that there were 800,000 potential micro-finance clients 
for small loans in the ARP 1,000 - 1,500 (roughly US$ 300-450) 
range. 
 
6. Francos and Magarinos said they planned to attend the annual 
mid-October Bank/Fund meetings in Washington.  They asked Ambassador 
to pass a letter to Senator Dodd (who Magarinos said he had met in 
the 1990s while working for the United Nations) requesting a meeting 
with him.  (Post forwarded the letter to Dodd's staff in early 
October.) 
 
-------------------------- 
Francos on Governor Scioli 
-------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) In an earlier conversation with EconCouns, Francos freely 
admitted that he has little financial background but emphasized he 
is close to Province of Buenos Aires Govenor Daniel Scioli.  He 
highlighted polls calling Scioli one of Argentina's most trusted 
politicians and called him of "presidential weight" in upcoming 2011 
elections.  Key for Scioli, Francos he said, will be to manage well, 
continue connecting on a human level with his provincial 
constituents, and -- most challenging -- maintain good relations 
with a jealous and periodically vindictive Kirchner administration 
to keep needed federal funds flowing into provincial coffers. 
 
--------------------------- 
Background: Banco Provincia 
--------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) Banco Provincia (BP) was founded in 1822, which makes it 
the oldest financial institution in Latin America, with 342 branches 
 
in the province and city of Buenos Aires.  BP is the second largest 
public bank in Argentina after federally administered Banco de la 
Nacion.  Within the broader Argentine banking sector, BP ranks 
second in terms of assets and deposits, sixth in terms of loans and 
seventh in terms of net worth.  While BP's role as financial agent 
for the province offers it a source of cheap and ready liquidity, in 
an earlier conversation with EconCouns Francos called it an 
inefficient behemoth whose operating expenses are "out of control." 
(S&P notes that operating expenses consume 86% of total revenues, 
significantly higher than the cost structures of other public 
Argentine banks). 
 
--------------------------- 
Bio Data: Guillermo Francos 
--------------------------- 
 
9. (SBU) Guillermo Francos was named President of Banco Provincia in 
December 2007 when the Provincial Senate accepted his appointment to 
replace Martin Lousteau who has been designated Ministry of Economy. 
 Previously, Francos worked as a Director of Aeropuertos Argentinas 
2000 for the Eurnekian group and as the head of LAPA airlines before 
it went bankrupt in 2003.  Francos' political background includes 
serving as a parliamentary deputy from 1998 to 2000 representing the 
"Accion por la Republica" party founded by former Minister of 
Economy Domingo Cavallo.  He resigned his seat citing "moral 
fatige" following the Senate labor reform scandal (which also saw 
the resignation of then-VP Carlos Alvarez) in 2000.  Earlier, in 
1994 he served as Undersecretary of General Inspection Office in the 
city of Buenos Aires during the first Menem administration.  One of 
Francos' sons works as an attorney for a Washington DC firm, 
specializing in ICC arbitration. 
 
WAYNE