Team size: 50+

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

The standardisation of our credit agreements, traditionally in-house lawyers individually prepared and reviewed each credit agreement entered by the Bank. Since taking over as general counsel, I implemented a standardisation process that allows credit agreements to be executed without the legal department’s intervention – so long as our clients refrain from negotiating any clauses in the standardised agreement and the credit transaction remains unsecured by collateral. Currently, 30% of our credit agreements are standardised thus allowing execution and disbursement within one day. The cost of standardisation was zero, saving the Bank money by reducing the time spent on each transaction and allowing us to allocate our resources more efficiently.

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?

Apart from the usual challenges that all general counsel face and will continue to face, such as being fully involved in all aspects of their firms, helping the firm grow, and identifying and mitigating potential legal risks, the main developments I foresee are social and technological.

From a social perspective, ESG has become central to the way companies operate, and the legal department has an incredibly relevant role to play in that regard. Legal teams are responsible for helping to develop internal policies and monitoring compliance, tracking external developments, and helping to build an internal culture of respect, diversity, inclusion, compliance, governance, and accountability.

From a technological point of view, we are on the brink of a new technological revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) will change the way we work and interact. We need to have the technological, legal, and ethical assets in place to be able to address the benefits and challenges that AI will bring.

How would you assess the impact of new technologies on the legal landscape in Mexico, and what measures would you propose to leverage these technologies while ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations?

As general counsel of a Mexican bank, I will address this question from a banking perspective. In Mexico, banks have traditionally had a very conservative approach to technology, using it mainly to operate banking products and services. Since the introduction of the new Fintech Law in 2018, that approach has changed, as new non-banking financial entities have forced traditional banks to “think outside the box” and find new ways to compete, acquire clients, and provide better service.

This change in mindset was difficult from a legal point of view, as banking regulation was not ready for digital banks as we know them today, but gradually regulation has been updated. The reality is that technology will always be more advanced than regulation, but for the banking sector, that is a good thing, as regulation has the purpose of protecting our clients and ultimately the system, so every change must be fully thought through and analysed. In Mexico, we are still getting accustomed to digital banking, therefore the main challenges we face are more operational than legal.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental at Banco Sabadell and in my department. The legal and compliance department we were involved in the creation of the equity and inclusion committee, where we have two representatives. I have set as a priority to reach a 50%-50% ratio of women to men, currently half of my reports are women and in Sabadell 62% of the promotions of directors have been made to women. We also have maternity and paternity leave that applies equally to mothers and fathers. All our team members are aware of Banco Sabadell’s diversity and inclusion policies, and we consistently practice them in our day-to-day work – as they are part of our core values as teammates and as individuals.