In a changing financial landscape, how does the company remain competitive against new phenomena such as fintech and blockchain, and how does the legal team assist with this?
Banco Guayaquil is leading the digital transformation in the Ecuadorian financial market. Its outstanding products such as loans, savings accounts and time deposits can be done entirely online. It has been particularly challenging for our legal team to put forward a technology-friendly process given limited regulations and court judgements. Nevertheless, we have successfully drafted the contracts for these products while protecting our customers’ rights.
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
Because of confidentiality agreements, I cannot disclose specific transactions. However, I can mention that we helped in the legal implementation of a platform for enabling a major app that operates fully online, automatically issuing payments for their clients and contractors. We also implemented the legal agreements related to a B2B enterprise solution that helps business pay their suppliers immediately while financing the payments to the purchaser for a specific period.
Where are also constantly involved in complex settlement transactions, where we deal with all the legal issues of receiving real estate in payment and then reselling them to third parties.
In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?
In-house counsel have a crucial function in helping the company fulfil its objectives. It is essential to understand the business needs and be able to resolve any legal challenges that may encounter in the process. The most important attribute to have is being creative and having commercial awareness.
Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives?
My team and I have had a pivotal role in helping the bank through the process of obtaining ISO 37001 antibribery and ethics certification. We were one of the first companies in Ecuador to obtain that certification. We are also constantly involved in international lending transactions where major covenants are diversity, corporate social responsibility, and woman empowerment. The bank is part of many global initiatives that promote these objectives.
