Monterrey, N.L., April 24 th , 2013. Banorte, one of the largest financial institutions in Mexico, subsidiary of Grupo Financiero Banorte (BMV: GFNORTEO), and Western Union (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, announced today a five-year agreement that will allow Banorte to offer Western Union® global money transfer services.
Banorte has more than 1,300 branches across Mexico. In the first stage, Western Union services will be offered at most of Banorte branches, followed by a nationwide rollout.
“The agreement with Western Union enhances our international payment services for our customers and their relatives living abroad,” said Alejandro Valenzuela, CEO of Grupo Financiero Banorte. “We are very pleased with our new relationship with Western Union, which will position Banorte as one of the leaders in the international payments market.”
“Having Western Union services in Banorte branches will allow us to extend our reach and deliver reliable financial services to consumers across the country,” said Odilon Almeida, Western Union Americas President. “Western Union’s international scale, coupled with a globally-recognized brand known for speed and reliability, is the foundation that has allowed our organization to continue growing our agent network in Mexico, and around the world.”
Western Union has an extensive presence in Mexico, with a strategically combined network of agent locations that include banks, national retail chains and independent locations. Western Union, in conjunction with its Orlandi Valuta and Vigo brands, connects consumers in Mexico to more than 510,000 agent locations across 200 countries and territories worldwide.
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of December 31, 2012, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of approximately 510,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2012, The Western Union Company completed 231 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $79 billion of capital between consumers, and 432 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com .
About Grupo Financiero Banorte
Banorte was founded in 1899 in the city of Monterrey, where it first started operations as a small regional player. In 1992, in the banking privatization process, Banorte was acquired by a group of entrepreneurs leaded by Roberto Gonzalez Barrera. Through a series of key acquisitions after the Mexican financial crisis of the mid 1990’s, like Bancen and Banpaís in 1997 and Bancrecer in 2002, Banorte was able to consolidate a nationwide presence in Mexico. It now operates as a financial group known as Grupo Financiero Banorte (GFNorte), offering universal banking products and services in the Mexican financial system. Banorte is currently the third largest banking institution in Mexico measured by size of loans and deposits. It is the second largest provider of State & Municipal government and mortgage financing and the third largest provider of commercial loans. As well as increasing its market shares, Banorte has consolidated its position as one of Mexico's most profitable banks and is recognized for its strong fundamentals by showing sound asset quality, as well as high capitalization and liquidity levels.
With more than 22 million clients and a footprint of more than 1,300 branches and more than 6,700 ATMs nationwide, GFNorte’s main business line is retail banking, and it also provides a wide array of products and services through its broker dealer, annuities & insurance companies, retirements savings funds (Afore), mutual funds, leasing & factoring company and warehousing. GFNorte manages more than US $114 billion in assets and Banorte is the full retail bank, among the six largest institutions, that is controlled by Mexican shareholders. Its decisions are taken locally without the influence of international headquarters, which has proven to be an advantage given the recent weakness of many global institutions. In 2006, Banorte entered into the US Hispanic market through the purchase of Inter National Bank (INB), a Texas-based bank, and two remittance companies in 2007: Uniteller in New Jersey and Motran in California. Its strategic partnerships include the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at its banking subsidiary, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) at the retirement savings fund management business, and the Italian insurance company Generali at the insurance and annuities business. In January 2013, GFNorte finalized the acquisition of Afore Bancomer through Afore XXI Banorte, becoming the most relevant transaction to date in the retirement savings fund system, creating the most significant Afore in Mexico. GFNorte’s shares trade in the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) with the ticker “GFNORTEO”, in the Madrid Stock Exchange under the symbol “XNOR” and in the US ADR OTC market under “GBOOY”. For more information, visit www.banorte.com .
GFNORTE reiterates to the investment public that it will continue adopting the best international corporate practices regarding Corporate Governance and information disclosure. Through its top management, the Financial Group will maintain its strategic and expansion plans to consolidate a leading institution in Mexico. The Investor Relations Department is available for any inquiry or comment regarding this material event at: investor@banorte.com or in the number (55) 52.68.16.80.
