“Ok,” replied Ariadna, who asked to only use one of her first names. “After a while I find out.”
Who bought Banamex?, goes to IPO
When he arrived at the bank’s offices, the atmosphere was the same: people quickening their steps and absorbed in their phones. It wasn’t until her colleagues greeted her that she really dove into the subject.
The first thing he noticed was that the majority felt uncertainty. Germán Larrea, despite what was said about him, was a visible figure as a buyer.
“I think many wanted to feel comfortable knowing who the buyer would be and start a clear process towards a new group. We wanted to put a face to the new owner,” said Ariadna.
Outside the corporate it was another day. The rest of the employees arrived without haste or fuss, the guards gave access, some employees went out to smoke and make calls, but the conversations were not about the financial news of the day. A shoe shiner outside the building was waiting for customers like any other day and, a few meters away, Tlacoyos and Tacos Cruz served their customers as normal.
A driver of the vans that Citibanamex has to take its employees to and from the nearest Metro confirmed that no one was talking about the issue.
“Everyone does their own thing, listening to music, reading, but no conversation about what you ask (sale of Citibanamex),” he told Expansión.
That the saga of the bank and its suitors has turned the page did not alter the routine of Wednesday in the heart of its corporate.
Doubts and fear, the feeling of customers and employees
At a branch east of Mexico City, Andrea Landey, a 16-year Citibanamex client, was relieved that the bank couldn’t find a buyer for an odd reason.
“This way I no longer have to change my payroll account for fear of not knowing where my savings are,” he said. “(When the sale was announced) I did get worried because I didn’t know where my money was going to go.”
Javier Florido, a client at the same branch, assured that he never feared for his savings and he even sees a good opportunity to get shares in the bank as soon as it goes public, if the price is right. He, too, does not take a dim view of the presidential desire to make Banamex a government bank.
“Financial services in Mexico are very expensive,” Florido said. “Banks charge very high commissions and for everything.”
At the Citibanamex branches in Patio Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Shopping Center, people used the ATMs and went in and out of their facilities as normal.
“I didn’t know,” commented one person asked about the Banamex sale. But later four other customers said they were aware.
“I have followed the news, and the fact that Mr. Larrea gave up (from the purchase), does not speak well. If he had already made a proposal and now he gives up, he makes me doubt that what follows will be fine, ”commented María de los Ángeles Saraza, a retiree who works at home.
“If the government buys Citibanamex, in a public-private association (app), that would make me nervous,” said César, who works in the financial sector. He added that if this scenario materializes, he will take the products he has in this bank to another institution.
Ariadna did not connect to the virtual session with Torres Cantú and Romo, minutes before that email she received another in which the resolution of the IPO was explained to all employees and what the process implies. She also read a couple of newspaper articles and with that she felt satisfied.
“Yes, I have doubts and some fear,” he said. “It’s like starting another process from scratch, we had no owner, we go to the Stock Market and who knows what will happen there.”
By Gonzalo Soto, Mario Alberto Verdusco, José Avila and Josep Rodríguez