How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

For several years now, the role of legal management has changed from a focus on regulatory knowledge to a focus on supporting company decision-making. In this way, and as part of this change, I am convinced that the role of lawyers within companies should be to provide strategic advice that will enable the business to move forward. During periods of instability, creating bodies that allow us to share knowledge and reflect on events and trends that drive our society with a look not only at the present, but also in the future of Chile, becomes something invaluable in the current times. The legal look at these new challenges becomes no longer voluntary but indispensable.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently?

The search for greater competition and financial inclusion has been a trend in recent years in Chile. In 2023 the Fintech Law (or Open Finance) was enacted in Chile aiming to promote competition and financial inclusion, allowing new players to enter the market using technological means. It is important to consider that the issuance of regulations that create or develop an open finance system, which facilitates innovation and increases competition is no longer desirable, but becomes mandatory in current times. According to Chile’s Fintech Radar report, conducted in 2021 by Finnovista in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Chilean Ministry of Finance and FinteChile, the vast majority (85%) of Chilean fintechs estimate that an open finance regulatory framework would contribute positively to their growth. Equal importance (56%) is given to the existence of interfaces and information platforms as the main enabler of their business model.

In this sense, the Fintech Law should not be seen as a regulatory framework that slows down or restricts the development of an ecosystem of Fintech companies in Chile, but precisely the opposite: it aims to be an important pillar for its development and sustainable growth.