Team size: 19

Country: El Salvador

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

Attention to small and medium enterprises is a priority, both for the bank and for the company. Entrepreneurs do not have time to make physical visits to the Bank’s offices, so we decided to create a system that allows the formalisation of credits. All actions are carried out automatically — notary control and case closing. We shortened the time and effort, and the system allows the areas of the credit process (business, risks, legal and disbursement), to access all the information necessary for the formalisation of the credit, which identifies each credit application with an ID that allows the areas to carry out their processes electronically and to automate stages and actions.

What are some of the key developments (legal, geopolitical or otherwise) that have affected your business over the last year?

In my country, the issue of Bitcoin as a legal tender had a certain impact on the management of state bonds, and therefore, influenced the financial system.

A wallet was created, however, there is still a lot going on around the management of said cryptocurrency. The legal frame around it has not been clarified yet, and we are still waiting to know more.

Electronic billing was recently applied to the country’s large taxpayers, which will allow better control of deposits for both the consumer and the provider of the service. The state, through the Public Treasury, will be able to better control taxes and taxpayers.

How do you think the in-house legal role will evolve in the coming years?

The legal role must change, we must embrace new technologies, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrencies that are subject to state’s issuance.

The lawyer’s role must seek knowledge in data protection and the conditions to which the data owners are subject.

It is likely that processes will be automated — the role of the entire legal management chain will disappear, but what will never disappear will be the advice of the lawyer.

Do you use any legal technology products and, if so, what areas of your work do you find it most useful for?

If we are working with blockchain for the issuance of bonds, this is a way in which we will make the physical, on-paper procedure disappear; we will convert that financial warranty product into a totally electronic product — from the request to the delivery of the bond.