What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

This year’s most significant challenge for the bank has been obtaining the authorisation to organise and work as a multiple operation banking in Peru. This year, the bank will start its operations, adding to the current bank operation of the BCI bank in Chile and the US. BCI is a banking and financial group based in Chile with regional and global reach and has chosen Peru as its new expansion destination.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of information technology in the legal area. Contracting operations, the organisation of the secretariat of the board of directors, the administering of litigations and procedures, and the management of the legal team have changed radically. The pandemic has allowed to speed up projects in areas that before were desirable but were not that urgent such as the electronic signature for internal and external documents. Another example is the use of the cloud, a fundamental tool to achieve collaborative relationships between the legal team, allowing for efficient litigation and procedures management systems. The use of programmes and applications to collect data is now essential—especially given the possibility for the legal department to pass concrete metrics to the commercial department. Working remotely while building relationships within the company and with public administration entities has made us realise how it is not necessary to spend long hours sitting in an office to achieve results. You can be productive even while working behind a device.

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

The aspects that have affected and currently affect the Peruvian banking business are the economic and labour effects generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, together with the current political and social uncertainty in the Latin American region. This has had significant consequences, resulting in a substantial outflow of local capital abroad, a reduction in private investments, and increased interest rates and funding costs. Inflation is also rising, generated by external events such as the Ukraine-Russian war and higher energy costs. Notwithstanding, BCI has always seen Peru as a fundamental pillar in its investment strategy, and our commitment to building a long-term relationship is maintained because we trust Peru, given its great potential and outstanding growth. It has always proven to be able to overcome the most challenging obstacles.