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For over three years, Western governments have been battling one of the most severe economic crises of the last century. It commenced with the subprime mortgage crisis in the US, Northern Rock in the UK, Lehmans, and now new rumours of uncertainty coming from Europe.

In the midst of all of this, there have also been threats of hyperinflation, deflation and now sovereign debt default. Leaders around the world have been working continuously to come up with appropriate measures to “exit the crisis”. The question is – which one? It is a crisis in continual evolution.

The financial losses registered in 2007, 2008 and 2009 have resulted in a wave of complex business restructurings and reorganisations. These have forced many governments in the West to implement new innovative measures aimed at facilitating and softening the impact of the current prolonged economic downturn. The impact of the crisis on the relationship between employers and employees has also been an important issue as many seek to find the most appropriate measures to minimise the social impact of any necessary individual or collective dismissals.

In Italy, the labour laws do not allow employers to dismiss their employees purely on the basis of the alleged existence of an economic crisis. In fact, according to the Italian Civil Code and Law No 1991/223, in order to proceed with a fair collective dismissal – it is mandatory to provide evidence of a precise link between the consequences of the economic crisis on an entire business activity, that is – including any related overseas head office or subsidiaries, and the specific situation affecting the employees in the local Italian enterprise.

There is also an even higher degree of complexity when the process involves the management and reduction of staffing levels in large multinationals, with thousands of employees spread throughout various countries and continents. In these cases, the main decisions are often taken centrally at a corporate headquarters located in a specific country. However, central decision making for global enterprises has its own risks, especially when one is dealing with not only different languages and cultures – but also a range of diverse national and local laws.

In Italy, prior to implementing a reduction in the workforce – an organisation must provide evidence which justifies and proves, on an objective basis, that the loss of specific jobs, in a particular sector, will have an impact on the existence and survival of the company itself,  hence making the reduction compulsory.

The loss of skills
In this new – should we say ‘post Wall Street’ era – successful management of overstaffing issues is paramount on both a micro and macro level. At the macro level, high unemployment drains public financial resources and hinders national economic growth, hence it is important for national governments to work with businesses to create a more flexible approach, that is alternatives to mass redundancies. At the micro level, when companies dismiss employees they are not just ‘saving money’ on the balance sheet – they are also losing intangible assets in the form of skills, knowledge and relationships which could hurt the quality of their products and/or service… and more importantly their competitiveness.  And then there are the social effects which are felt outside of the corporate walls when mass dismissals are implemented – that is, the effects of high unemployment which touch local surrounding communities.

Here in Italy, despite the high impact of the ongoing economic crisis, we have witnessed a transformation – which sees management create opportunities instead of inducing unemployment.  An economic analysis published earlier this year indicated that 2009 was the first time in Italian history that an economic crisis has produced less unemployment than initially projected by the experts.

The Italian government has already provided flexible instruments for businesses, experiencing difficulties, to resort to as an alternative to individual and collective dismissals. Among these options are working hour reductions, bonuses, fringe benefit reductions, outplacement measures, outsourcing measures, the transfer of employees, and employee secondments. There is also the possibility to “force” vacations, or to use an unpaid period of leave to study or to attend to personal duties.

Government’s helping hand
In addition, the Italian government provides, by law, salary support schemes such as Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Ordinaria (CIGO) and Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Straordinaria (CIGS).  

CIGO can be accessed by businesses when temporary events, which are not related to the employer’s will, or specific temporary business events, affect the relevant market in ways which will require the suspension of economic activity. In particular, CIGO has the function of integrating wages lost by employees, especially those in the industrial sector, following a reduction in their working hours or the suspension of work. In this instance the relationship between the employer and the employee is maintained with the hope of an anticipated future upturn in work.

CIGS is also a form of intervention in support of workers’ salaries but, differently from CIGO, supports the employer in cases of economic crisis, restructuring processess, reorganisation processes, or when the downturn has a structural nature, in order to avoid the closure of a business.

For businesses these schemes have been an extremely popular alternative to collective dismissals, mostly because of the extension of which type of employer could ask for it (especially with CIGS).  In May this year businesses asked for 34.7 million hours of support through an extended special CIGO system. In reference to the CIGS programme, in May 2010 the government authorised 49.6 million working hours to be sustained.

This is a decrease from the preceding month where 56.8 million hours were authorised. However, looking back 12 months this represents a 218 percent increase over what was authorised in May 2009. This indicates that the effects of the crisis are still with us.

In May, Italian unemployment was reported by EUROSTAT at 8.7 percent which is below the European Area average of 10 percent. True, recently there has been a gradual increase in unemployment levels in Italy – but far less drastic than one would imagine when considering the severity and length of the current crisis… and the overall economic situation in Italy.

Italy has the third highest public debt in the world (after the US and Japan). While these social and salary support programmes are necessary, they are not helping to ease the pressure on the public balance sheet. Recently the Italian government, like many of their European counterparts, have introduced a proposal for austerity measures to help shore up public finances. The package, at the time of writing, will still require the approval of Parliament, aims to cut spending by €24.9bn ($30.7bn) over the next two years.

The cuts take aim at reducing the costs of the public administration, the political system and the administrative system, as well as containing public employment costs – such as a proposed wage freeze for civil servants. In order to recuperate funds, the government is also stepping up its fight against tax and social security contribution evasion. These cuts and measures are designed to reduce Italy’s public debt level, and help Italy position itself for a post economic crisis world.

The Italian public and the markets are still digesting the proposed austerity measures. The financial markets seem to have welcomed them for now – while at the local level there has been resistance manifesting itself in the form of public and national employment strikes. This was particularly evident in June.

Italian macro and micro interests continue to perform ‘My Way’ – each one wanting to dance different steps on the road to recovery.  The survival of both is so intricately entwined that continual resistance and fighting over which one will take the lead, will only prolong the process.  However, with the right discipline – fiscally at both the government and at the individual level – and the right stimulus both the macro and micro aspects of the Italian economy can flourish together.

Nacional Financiera Boliviana Sociedad de Titularización S.A. (NAFIBO ST) is the leading securitisation company in Bolivia and the most innovative in Latin America having securitised future cash flows of small companies, cooperatives and NGOs oriented to microcredit. NAFIBO ST has also pioneered the use of structured notes over the past few years, while such products have been largely out of favour in many countries. Its portfolio of companies is wide ranged, from pharmaceuticals, cement producers, supermarkets to large mining operations and energy projects.

NAFIBO ST is owned by Banco de Desarrollo Productivo (BDP SAM) a second-tier bank owned by the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF). NAFIBO ST represents about 65 percent of the securities issued in the Bolivian capital markets in the last two years being one of the largest issuers in the world relative to its local market. After the Central Bank of Bolivia, through its securitisations, NAFIBO NST is the second issuer in the country and holds about 99 percent of the securitisation market.

Although it is not the only market player, competition is nonexistent for this high quality very prestigious company.

Moving forward
Considering the deep economic and structural changes carried out in Bolivia by the government, NAFIBO ST has swiftly oriented its activities in order to grab a new customer: The State of Bolivia. Billions of dollars are being demanded by the government in order to carry out an aggressive investment plan in infrastructure and productive endeavours. “If we could only grab about 10 percent of the financing needs of the State of Bolivia, we would be one of the largest securitisation companies in Latin America” says Jaime Dunn De Avila, founder and CEO of NAFIBO ST. The demand for NAFIBO ST’s services however are strong from foreign governments and public institutions in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador and as far as the north of Africa.

Dunn is the only certified securitisation professor by the Congreso Latinoamericano de Fideicomiso (COLAFI) of the Federación Latinoamericana de Bancos (FELABAN). He has been educated at Colgate University in Hamilton New York and holds an MBA degree from Universidad Catolica and the Harvard Institute of International Development. Dunn is not only a pioneer on securitisation in his own country and Latin America, but has also worked on securitisation norms, regulation and projects in many countries including Egypt. As a young municipal bond and later on a mortgage-backed securities trader in a fixed income securities trader in New York, came back to Bolivia in the late 90s and decided to create what it is today the largest securities market of its country. Dunn began the challenge being a co-author of today’s Securities Market Law of Bolivia and many of its regulations. He has also written several books and articles on this issue. He keeps busy giving over 40 worldwide seminars on securitisation on an average of 11 countries per year, promoting Bolivia and its new highly successful securitisation market.

NAFIBO ST holds the most advanced and best trained specialists in securitisation in Bolivia and the region. It’s a 14 people company (including secretary and cleaning personnel) with more than $600m in securitisations to its name and close to $300m in administration today. “Only NAFIBO ST paper hold an AAA rating in Bolivia”, says Dunn. Its investors are widely spread from local mutual funds, pension funds, international institutional investors and surprisingly a large amount of retail investors that hold less than $100. Clearly NAFIBO ST is bringing the usually seen as far-reaching securities market to the common people.

NAFIBO ST securitisation business starts at $1.5m, an amount unheard of anywhere in the world, in an area of business which averages around $50m. Clearly NAFIBO ST strategy is in harmony with the size of the Bolivian economy. Bolivia is a landlocked country with about 10 million people and GDP sitting at around $18bn. As one of the poorest countries in the world, Bolivia has shown an unusual growth in transactions through its local securities market. Most of the growth is accounted to NAFIBO STs market operations. Securitisation placements are extreme for NAFIBO ST, beginning around $1.5m, but lately amounts have passed the $150m. “Doing a $1.5m securitisation deal is more exciting” says Dunn, “What’s more challenging, surgery on an elephant’s or mosquito’s heart?” then asks.

NAFIBO ST’s structured notes with up to 100 percent capital guarantee are one of a kind since they are completely arranged using local assets. Bolivian treasuries bought to local pension funds are combined with future cash flows or other riskier assets created even AAA rated securities where risk has been perfectly managed at a point of almost disappearing. “That is the alchemy of securitisation” says Dunn, known for using curious magic acts on its seminars to the perplexion of its audience.

International faith
Another interesting securitisation is related with Societe Generale, the prestigious French bank. This involves the securitisation of a structured note fully designed and provided by Societe Generale and re-packaged and sold though a local SPV in Bolivia. Through this mechanism, Bolivian investors are able to invest in various strategies and hedge funds fully diversified and with a 105 percent capital protection granted by Societe Generale.

In its repositioning strategy in Bolivia and the region, NAFIBO ST is changing its denomination to “BDP ST”, looking to leverage on BDP SAM, its largest stock holder and the most important development-oriented financial institution. Through this change, NAFIBO ST is looking to initiate Bolivia as its largest investment banking customer, maintaining an important portfolio of private companies. NAFIBO ST has seen a great opportunity in combining the private and public sectors as one under new government rules Bolivia has what is known as a “plural” economy, where government-run and private companies must coexist.

Bolivia has been placed in the top two world leaders in microfinance, with NAFIBO ST in the forefront. The firm is rapidly becoming recognised on the securitisation world platform of unusual cash flows and institutions.

Back in the fifties, Mifel was a small company servicing SMEs on financial strategies. Later on, it began to grow a small fund to operate with and eventually obtained the first private concession for an exchange house in Mexico back in the tumultuous and complicated eighties. In 1993, Mifel set up a leasing company and in that same year Grupo Financiero Mifel was born, a step that paved the way for the concession of one of the first new private banking licenses to be granted since the industry was nationalised in Mexico back in 1982. In 2003, the group introduced a new management team led by Daniel Becker and several very talented members of a new generation.

The institution then went through a period of change that put it at the forefront of Mexico’s financial sector in terms of the quality of its top-flight services, products and the highest standards of excellence. Mifel’s is among México’s most demanding clientele, something very much appreciated by the team since it keeps it persevering at what it does best so as to constantly improve on it.

Mifel’s name stems from the first letters in both the given and family name of Mifel’s founder: Mike Feldman. He was a well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist. Three generations later, the companies he set to build are solidly growing and still run by the family, regardless of institutionalisation. Since those days, Mifel is a customer service oriented company. Although this is a common theme among many institutions today, Mifel’s establishment of the perspective dates back to the company’s inception.
    
Growth to date
Today, Mifel is a full bank with more than 50 products and services, such as electronic banking, ATM’s, credit and debit cards etc. It consists of a bank, a factoring company, a leasing company and an investment portfolio management team. Mifel’s factoring company was created to provide liquidity to the suppliers of retail chains through any bank, which together with its strategy of innovation and service quality has allowed the institution to be a leader in the field. On the leasing side, Mifel has been steadily growing given its much diversified portfolio of customers in several areas, while its investment manager role is supported by 20 proprietary funds and 32 more that Mifel co-distributes from eight other financial firms. This allows Mifel to offer satisfactory returns to its clients and help them pursue their investment objectives.

On the banking side, Mifel has a strong and innovative physical presence in 32 banking outlets in the country, most of them in Mexico City which is of course the country’s economic and financial centre of gravity. Besides that, it has 16 bank modules widely distributed throughout the country and oriented specifically to the agricultural business sector, an area with great success and even more potential. Today, Mifel is the fifth largest distributor of federal farm funding in the country, a position it has steadily seen rising in the past few years.

Overall, Mifel Financial Group assets for the end of 2009 are $2.5bn, of which the majority is supported by its own deposits provided by its stable and loyal customer base from its private banking area and its well-located and efficient branches throughout the country, all of which have an average deposit base well above Mifel’s competitor’s level. Its portfolio, meanwhile, has been growing steadily in the areas where Mifel has been concentrating its placement efforts. A very efficient distribution across several sectors diminishes risk substantially: states and municipalities, construction developers, mortgage, factoring, corporative, small and midsized companies, agribusiness and leasing. Such portfolio is roughly 85 percent in Mifel’s banking activities, 11 percent in its factoring and four percent in the leasing businesses, well guarded by a capital base that as of the end of last year stood at 16.7 percent, well above the regulatory minimum required by the authorities and which gives Mifel a good base from which to grow in the future.

Grupo Financiero Mifel is an energetic team, able to differentiate itself and provide its customers with that which they expect from any financial institution: an unwavering commitment to service and quality. Mifel’s team strives always to be successful in communicating to its customers the concept of value it provides them with, a concept that stems from a five pillar design: human capital; first rate service; banking wisdom; best available technology, and always updated infrastructure. This all has allowed Mifel not only to grow in a healthy manner throughout the last few years but also to weather the storms that the financial sector has faced worldwide in the last couple of years. Furthermore, its business model allows Mifel to look into the future with the confidence that it has the tools to be successful with.

Technology at hand
One of the main drivers of Mifel’s future results is a comprehensive technology programme that encourages efficiency and contributes to strategic product and service quality goals. At the heart of this is EVOTEC, which stands for Technological Evolution at the institution. Mifel studied six different options for a completely new and comprehensive technological platform before deciding to partner with Finacle of Infosys, an Indian company at the forefront of banking platforms worldwide.

Mifel is thus in the midst of developing its new technological coordinates, ones that represent quite an institutional revolution since it does not want growth to hamper that which distinguishes the institution: service. On the contrary, service ought to be a more tangible asset for Mifel’s customer base as the institution grows. In this regard, technological changes might not be perceived by customers as of the first day of inception, but they are nonetheless key going forward. Mifel’s new information system will transform its banking core from scratch. A decision like this is often shied away by larger, more consolidated institutions, but it was not something that Mifel could give itself the luxury to refrain from embarking upon. All processes that in one way or another touch directly Mifel’s client exposure have been readily analysed with the following objective: “to make life easier for the customer”, which is the deciding factor when dilemmas come into place; everything in favour of the client, both today and tomorrow. Mifel is thus in the 15th month in the development of its new platform and will deliver by November of this year. Mifel’s new coordinates working with its clients will be forever changed, placing Mifel in the lead in terms of quality, innovative and flexible services.

It is in the light of this major breakthrough that Mifel finds itself as recipient for the second year in a row of World Finance’s prestigious award as best private bank in Mexico. Results speak for themselves, Mifel has its mission well in focus which is “to be recognised by our capability to understand and not only care for our unique and irreplaceable base of customers through a long term integral relationship in a safe atmosphere for generations to come delivering our capacities developed through the years.

The bank has remained the most profitable in Bolivia for the fourth year in a row. In order to achieve these profits, the bank cut costs significantly, therefore being able to counteract the significant decrease in interest rates that affected the financial system. The bank continued its growth strategy both in deposits, loans and investments. The bank opted to reinforce the sale of products and services that aim to retain customers, and sell them complementary products, therefore making the relationships more profitable and advantageous for both the bank and the customers.

The liquidity indicators were improved considerably during the past year. The bank decided to keep more liquid investments outside the country in order to diversify its risk, but also to seek larger returns.

Among the most important actions done in the past year are:

1 The bank continued its commercial strategy, and its growth continued, especially in the retail banking division, therefore diversifying its risk and owning a less concentrated loan portfolio.

2 The bank branch network reached 69 offices, the largest for any bank in Bolivia. The bank opened four offices in the past twelve months in two different cities. The expansion aims to have our customers spend less time in our offices, and keep serving non customers of the bank in all sort of services.

3 The bank purchased and installed its own ATM switch, therefore the bank has been able to obtain a higher and better control of its network, and has released new and innovative services that are unique in the country in this channel, such as the payment of loans, and credit cards, transfer to third party accounts, and providing a consolidated position of the customer. The bank currently has 215 ATMs, remaining as the largest network in the country, and is going to install 36 more until August.

4 The bank’s home page (www.bmsc.com.bo) was rereleased during the past year. This new design aimed at making the page more accessible to our clients, release an image more according to the image released in 2008, but most importantly it includes a new version of digital certification by Verisign, therefore being the only bank in Bolivia to have a visual authentication feature for its home page and it also has a new application firewall to prevent hacker attacks.

5 The bank launched for the second year its campaign for its Super Makro Cuenta product. This saving account offers $5,000 prizes every week, and on May 2009 it offered a large prize of $142,000. The campaign was successful once again, and the product continues to position itself as the most important savings account product in the country. In order to expand this benefit to our base of customers the bank decided that all savings account opened through an agreement to pay salaries for companies, will now be part of this product.

6 The bank continued its release of insurance products. The Debit Card Insurance released in 2008 achieved a high success and now almost 30 percent of retail division debit cards have the insurance. Among the new insurances released are one to protect the contents of customers homes, and perhaps the most innovative service in the financial market, is the Purse Insurance, which protects female customers against purse snatching.

7 At the end of 2009 the bank improved its internal loan  process and was able to launch a campaign to approve its vehicle and personal loans in 24 hours. Beginning in February 2010 the bank has included its mortgages products in its 24 hour approval process.

8 Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz also worked to improve the quality of its service, and automatised its most important business processes, including work flows for the loan process, for the pricing processes and others. The bank changed, in the past year, significantly 65 processes that will relieve the front office personnel work load, and aims at having a higher quality of service in our branches.

9 The bank released its new fidelity programme, “Puntos por Todo”, which rewards customers with points for every type of transaction that they execute in certain channels or with certain products. For example the bank rewards internet transactions, credit and debit card purchases, the timely payment of loan charges, the increase of deposits, among others.

The loan portfolio increased significantly in the retail division, and the corporate division deposits grew at a very large rate and the bank has as of March 31st 2010 was still the largest bank in terms of loans and deposits.

The bank has a loan portfolio of approximately $796,000,000 and deposits for almost $1,638,000,000. Those figures account for a 19.5 percent of the loans market share and 23.5 percent of the deposits market share, and although keeping both shares is quite difficult in any country or market, the bank aims every year at maintaining its market position.

However, the bank is not the leader only because of its size or its origins and tradition, but also because of its solvency, growth, and specially commitment with all of its stakeholders. The bank has consistently grown in its profits, grown in assets and deposits; this sustainable growth reflects a serious strategy and the help of the human resources available at the bank. The reputation and the conservative and solvency image that customers have of the bank is also a very important intangible, which no other bank in Bolivia has.

Founded in 1926, Banca March is the foremost family-owned Spanish bank. Soundness, prudence and a close-knit relationship with its clients are the cornerstone values of a bank that has been around for nearly a century. Banca March also has the best solvency ratio among Spanish banks and one of the highest in European banking (19.7 percent Core Capital and Tier 1 as at December 2009). Its non-performing loan ratio is one of the lowest in the Spanish financial system (2.82 percent in 2009), namely due to the excellent quality of its investment portfolio, and it has a high allowance coverage ratio for insolvencies (97.20 percent), in accordance with the standards comprised in the bank’s philosophy. Banca March maintains its A2 Moody’s rating for long-term deposits, and P1 – the highest level – for short-term deposits. As Bank President Carlos March points out, “as part of our banking and family enterprise business philosophy, which has been in place for nearly one hundred years, one of the constants in our corporate values has been to allocate the majority of our profit to strengthening the balance sheet as a symbolic sign of our prudence.”

 During the past three fiscal years Banca March has taken important steps to develop a new strategic focus: as regional bank on the Balearic Islands – where it was founded and has its headquarters – and as the bank of reference for the mid-to-high and high client segments for Private Banking, Wealth Management and Business Banking (particularly family-owned businesses and entrepreneurial families). The bank continues to place emphasis on these strategic areas, all the while markedly reinforcing its teams.

“We are a family bank, with the fourth generation currently filling the highest levels of the Board. We are focused on meeting our clients’ needs and managing their equity in all its different facets: entrepreneurial, financial and diversification. Our success is based on having a very clearly defined strategy. Our objective is to reinforce long-term relationships with our clients, with the hope of continuing these into the coming generations. Offering family-owned businesses added value is one of our corporate values, and one of which we are very proud,” says Banca March CEO Francisco Verdú.

The wealth management team is made up of 50 professionals spread across six regional locations: Madrid, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Levante and Aragon, the latter three having opened in 2009 and 2010.

Most impressive has been the growth in wealth management in the regions of Catalonia and Levante, where the volume of assets under management has doubled. The private banking segment, which is aimed mainly at mid-sized patrimonies, has also been strengthened as a result of streamlining and organisational changes, and the incorporation of specialised teams in the most important offices within the network.

“At a time of crisis within the private banking industry, we have known how to value our offer and have obtained excellent results in spite of the situation,” says Rafael Gascó, Managing Director of wealth management for Banca March. “The crisis in private banking is due to clients losing confidence in their money managers, basically for two reasons: because sales were given priority over service and because the products being sold were incomprehensible not only to the clients, but to the bankers themselves.”

“One of the most crucial parts of our value proposition is estate planning. As a result of continuing regulatory and fiscal changes, we must constantly revise our clients’ estate planning needs,” adds Gascó. “Due to changing sentiments emerging within this sector and clients’ increased aversion to risk, it is essential that we be able to offer them products with value added which generate foreseeable cash flows, and are also transparent and simple to understand. This is something we appreciate at Banca March.”

One of the aspects that differentiates Banca March is the joint investment contract. Clients have the possibility of investing in different businesses in which the March Group brings management capabilities and know-how, and takes a stake in the projects it launches. Through Deyá Capital, a venture capital firm created in 2008 and held principally by Corporación Financiera Alba (Banca March’s Group), the bank offers the possibility to jointly acquire significant stakes in companies not listed on the Iberian market. Up to now, investments have been made in Ros Roca and Ocibar, and new opportunities are at an advanced stage. In line with this philosophy of providing offers with a high degree of value added, Banca March offered its clients the chance to invest in the so-called “Proyecto Arbol” (sale and lease back of BBVA real estate) and it is currently studying other similar projects.  

During the last two years, Banca March’s wealth management/private banking business has recorded more than double-digit sustained growth, making it one of the companies with the most assets under management in this segment, while already being one of the companies with a major presence on the national market place. “We are proud to say that we are a respected brand not only by our clients, but also by our competitors and by professionals working in this segment,” highlights the head of wealth management. 

Profile
The Banca March Group encompasses a variety of activities: banking, conducted directly by the parent company, Banca March; investment and pension fund management, handled by March Gestión; and insurance activities, through Banca March as the associated banking-insurance operator, and March-Unipsa as insurance brokers. March Unipsa is one of the top five Spanish brokers in the insurance business and the first one composed entirely of Spanish capital.

Through its business banking unit and corporate finance department, the bank provides the strategic consulting services necessary to implement companies’ expansion plans, helping them obtain credit as well as assisting them in finding partners in this growth process.

March Gestión, Banca March’s investment arm, combines creating long-term value with safeguarding equity in the belief that active management is an important source of value added for the profitability of any investment portfolio. March Group’s experience in investing in business projects, in the tactical allocation of assets and in the selection of medium and long-term investments are the characteristics which predominate the work of the management professionals.

A prime example of this investment philosophy are the SICAVs (Investment Company with Variable Capital) managed by March Gestión de Fondos. Torrenova, one of the group’s banner portfolios, has accumulated a return well above the Euribor 3M, IBEX 35 or MSCI World in the last decade. These returns have been achieved through sustained growth in contrast to the considerable fluctuations recorded in the key indicators.

At the end of 2009 March Gestión launched Vini Catena F.I., the first global equity fund investing in a selection of some of the finest companies involved in the wine value chain, a very attractive sector in terms of yield/risk to diversify any investment portfolio. Since its launch in December 2009, and despite the overall drop in stock exchanges, this equity fund yielded a nine percent return.

In 2009 March Gestión recorded double-digit growth in assets under management and added 23 new SICAVs. More than 80 percent of its funds and SICAVs exceeded benchmark rates.

Through the group’s majority shareholding in the listed firm Corporación Financiera Alba, Banca March owns significant stakes in some of Europe’s most important companies for infrastructure, construction and services, energy, information technology and defence, and health, etc. It is major shareholder in ACS and Acerinox, and a main shareholder in companies such as Prosegur and Indra. Moreover, through its venture capital fund Deyá Capital, held in large part by Alba, the bank holds significant stakes in companies such as Ros Roca and Ocibar.

In addition, through its Fundación Juan March, established in 1955, it is involved in fostering culture and the arts. It is a family-run, patrimonial and operative institution dedicating its resources and activities to the fields of the humanities and science. The Fundación Juan March organises art exhibits, concerts as well as series of conferences and seminars. It administers a music and theatre library in its Madrid headquarters and directs the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in Cuenca and the Museu Juan March in Palma de Mallorca. Moreover, it is active in the field of research through its Centre for Advanced Studies.

Banca March is a driving force behind the Asociación de Empresa Familiar (Association of Family Businesses) and sponsors the Banca March Chair of Family Business at the University of the Balearic Islands.

For more information tel: +34 914 364 323;  www.bancamarch.es