The Centro Financiero BHD and the Grupo Financiero Leon have officially announced the signing of an agreement, which has been approved by the Monetary Board, for a merger of the two financial entities. During a meeting with reporters and executives of the media yesterday, Wednesday 4 December, the presidents of the Centro Financiero BHD, Luis Molina Achecar, and of the Grupo Financiero Leon, Carlos Guillermo Leon, said the merger creates the BHD Leon Financial Center that will be headed by Molina Achecar with Carlos Guillermo Leon as the vice-president. “There is no bad business with good people and we are associating ourselves with good people,” said Molina Achecar, who stated that the fusion seeks to make a better proposal and create more value and benefits for its clients.
They said that beginning with the close of this deal, they foresee that the BHD Leon Financial Center will have capital of RD$23 billion, assets of RD$200 billion and market participation of 20%.
The merger includes the companies Banco BHD, Banco Leon, BHD International Bank Panama, BHD Valores, Valores Leon, AFP Siembra, ARS Palic Salud, Mapfre BHD, Fiduciaria BHD, BHD Fondos, Tecnocom, and the Compania Nacional de Seguridad (CONASE). The main executives of the financial entities said that this alliance represents a reaffirmation of their confidence in the country’s investment climate as well as their commitment towards strengthening the financial sector and the economic and social development of the Dominican Republic.
The alliance includes three phases, the first the Centro Financiero BHD Leon; a second merger in January-March of the two banks and brokerage houses that will turn these entities into the Banco BHD Leon and Valores BHD Leon, pending approval from the Monetary Board. The merger of the two Dominican financial groups includes the purchase of the stock of the Banco Sabadell of Spain, currently at Centro Financiero BHD, and will be effective in January next year. The actual merger process is expected to last six months.
www.diariolibre.com/destacada/2013/12/05/i413857_surge-nuevo-coloso-bancario.html