Emilio Ilac on success in Latin America | Puente | Video

World Finance interviews Emilio Ilac, Managing Director of Institutional Clients at Puente, on the key to their success in Latin America.

September 9, 2013
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Transcript

Puente is an Argentinian investment banking firm that has been offering integral services within the financial and capital markets since 1915. With plans to expand into other areas of LatAm, Emilio Ilac, Managing Director of Institutional Clients at Puente talks about what makes Puente so successful in the region.

World Finance: Puente has a long history in Argentina, what can you tell us about the bank today?

Emilio Ilac: Puente is a leading investment bank in Argentina. We’ve been around since 1915, that makes it 98 years of experience in capital markets. Today we’re based in Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, and we just bought an operation in Peru, so that probably makes us one of the experts in Latin American markets since we’re a specialised investment bank. Our three core businesses are investment banking, wealth management, and sales and trading. Regarding investment banking, last year we’ve issued more than $1.1bn. Regarding sub-sovereign credits, that’s provincial and municipalities and corporate credits, top leading corporate credits. Regarding wealth management, we have $2bn approximately of assets under management, and regarding sales and trading, last year we’ve traded more than $5bn.

World Finance: So what are the key factors that make Puente an award winning bank?

Emilio Ilac: As I said before Nick, we have 98 years just in Argentina, so that probably assures all our clients that we’re a solid company. In today’s markets, I think that’s probably a great asset. Another key factor of Puente is that Puente is a detail orientated bank, so it’s always solving the necessities of their clients. Regarding access to capital markets, investing, any type of situation or problem that needs an efficient process in the middle, Puente is probably your solution.

“Puente helps you through the whole process, you don’t have to have knowledge in investment banking”

World Finance: Talking of solutions then, so why is it a good choice for investment banking?

Emilio Ilac: Well Puente helps probably in a different way than most of the other big investment banks, Puente helps you through the whole process since the beginning to the end, and you don’t have to have knowledge in investment banking or DCM, debt capital markets, to do any type of process with Puente. Puente last year issued more than $1.1bn in local markets for sub-sovereign credits, that’s all the provinces and municipalities, and are the corporate leaders in the country. So I would say today, Puente as an investment bank is the go-to investment bank to make new issuances in our country. We have approximately 90 percent of the market share in 2012 for sub-sovereign credits, the whole team of Puente we have over 20, 000 clients, can vow for our experience in that.

World Finance: How can an institution get finance through the capital markets?

Emilio Ilac: Well the first thing Puente does usually when a company needs access or an institution needs access to capital markets is it evaluates its needs. If it truly needs to go to the capital markets. Sometimes a company with a private placement is enough, sometimes when an IPO it’s enough, so Puente I would say from the beginning helps them to find exactly the specialised situation to solve that need they have.

“Puente has been around for 98 years, and I would say the two key underlining factors would be of course trust and professionalism”

World Finance: We talked about the solutions for investment banking, so why do your clients choose Puente for wealth management?

Emilio Ilac: Well Nick, as I told you before, Puente has been around for 98 years, and I would say the two key underlining factors would be of course trust and professionalism of our team. Puente is completely integrated into the markets, so our clients can basically do anything they want in investment. We have specialised teams that are focussed on each region in the world, and are focussed on each credit they go on and invest. So I would say Puente solves on a 100 percent basis, all the client’s needs regarding investments, and that’s why most of our clients, our over 20,000 clients, trust Puente on a daily basis.

World Finance: Emilio, thank you

Emilio Ilac: Thank you Nick