About

The legal team at Citibanamex, one of Mexico’s largest banks, has been involved in some very large deals that has given them recognition both within the bank and throughout the industry. When this is coupled with activities on the interpretation of banking law and lobbying with financial authorities, the team has come to be acknowledged as one of the best in the country. Led by general counsel and managing director Alejandro de Iturbide, and with over 200 members overall, the legal department has been an important factor in the company achieving its significant milestones. In the first transaction of its type in Mexico, the team facilitated a cooperation agreement worth $1bn between Pemex and First Reserve, via a cross border syndicated facility for the financing of the sale and lease back of Pemex’s ultra-low sulphur gasoline plant in 2015. In another pioneering domestic deal that same year, the team helped Linzor Capital Partners and Blackstone with the refinancing of GE Capital’s lease and real estate portfolios respectively through a securitisation and syndicated cross-border loan. Senior attorney of corporate and investment banking Maria José Mendoza, was singled out for her role in ‘delivering quick and effective results and an expert on complex and cutting edge real estate transactions’. Since then the team has helped Afore Banamex, its pensions unit, achieve the first mandate that diversifies the investment strategy of the pension fund system in yet another pioneering activity. The team also executed a syndicated cross-border revolving credit facility for New Mexico’s City airport. Away from transactions, the team’s in-depth analysis and management of foreign financial regulations (covering the Volker Rule, Dodd Frank, EMIR and EU Bail-In), managing poor market conditions through innovation and effectiveness, as well as providing reliable and quick results to the clients have also been highly commended. Other notable members of the team include: Guillermo Garcia San Pedro, legal director, who worked on the interpretation of articles in banking law that would otherwise have prevented certain loans paving the way for the above mentioned deals; Paola Osuna, senior attorney covering project finance and real estate, who is ‘known for her specialisation in emerging industries in Mexico such as energy and oil and gas’; and Gisela Vazquez, senior attorney covering markets and debt capital markets, who is ‘recognised by the industry as a leading and rising attorney’.