Just on April 4 of this year, the SHCP of Rogelio Ramírez de la O, ruled out that the financial problems of Crédito Real would mean risks for the stability and operation of the Mexican financial system, and would not imply a ‘cascade’ effect for other institutions. . And although the agency emphasized payroll loans that represent 55% of Crédito Real’s business, financing for SMEs represents its second largest item with 25% of its operation, and the recent problems of Unifin, considered the second largest lender for SMEs in Mexico, they put in evidence the statement of the SHCP about a potential contagion, and the most serious thing is that they will affect smaller financial institutions due to a greater distrust of national and international investors that will complicate revolving credits and access to new sources of financing.
Even the rating agency Moody’s explained that Unifin is the third event of default by financial entities in the last two years: the bankruptcy of Alpha Holdings in 2021 and then the commercial bankruptcy of Crédito Real, “which showed fragilities in a segment that to a large extent it is regulated and shows weaker corporate governance, divergent accounting criteria and standards compared to the banking segment.”
Moody’s clarified that, although Unifin’s default would not affect the country’s financial stability because the participation of non-bank financial institutions represents less than 5% of the entire credit portfolio in the country until the first semester, 18 banks are exposed to Unifin through secured and unsecured loans for more than a billion dollars, and the largest concentration is in Nacional Financiera, Banamex, Bancomext, and Banco Santander México. In addition, the Latin American Bank for Foreign Trade (Bladex) based in Panama acted as the main underwriter of a syndicated loan for 100 million dollars where 18 other banking institutions participated.
Strategic vision
The decision of Hoteles City Express, chaired by Luis Barrios, to put a piece of land up for sale in Chile, although it is part of the chain’s strategy to preserve and capture more liquidity, also responds to the consolidation of its presence in Mexico, which is by far its main market and where it ranks as the third hotel chain in the country. In fact, the 2022-2023 opening plan is totally focused on Mexico, where openings are expected in the following months in Guadalajara, Mérida, Mazatlán, Monterrey, CDMX, and two more hotels, the Anzures hotel in CDMX, and at the airport of Cancun, they were postponed. Until June, the total portfolio of City Express added 153 hotels, where 41% are owned, 22% in
co-investment, 28% managed and franchised, and 9%
leased
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