“The meeting approved Hank González’s appointment with 76% of votes in favor and 21% abstentions; it should be noted that the percentage of abstentions is within the typical range observed in most items voted on at shareholder meetings,” the Mexican bank said in a statement.

A member of a family of businesspeople and politicians, Carlos Hank González left the general management of Grupo Financiero Interacciones to join the Board of Directors of Banorte.

Hank González is a member of the González family, which controls around 11% of Banorte and are the heirs of founder Roberto González Barrera.

His presence at Banorte suggests that the family is seeking to strengthen its position on the board of directors, amid reports of friction with the bank’s current chairman, former central banker Guillermo Ortiz, who took office in 2011.

Read: https://expansion.mx/negocios/2014/10/22/carlos-hank-gonzalez-es-nombrado-consejero-de-banorte

In this regard, Carlos Hank González, president of the group, stated, “Banorte is an ally of Mexico’s future. As the Mexican champion of banking, we are closer than ever to supporting families and regions in our country, which allows us to be close to achieving our goal for 2020.”

Banorte reached the halfway point of its Vision 20/20 with a steady pace. The consumer loan portfolio amounted to 256.76 billion pesos in the second quarter of 2018, due to a 32 percent increase in auto loans, which led Banorte to lead growth in this banking market, and a 17 percent increase in home loans, more than double the banking average.

This growth resulted in more than 10,500 families benefiting from home loans in the first half of the year and more than 35,100 people accessing auto loans.

The credit card portfolio balance increased by 10 percent compared to the same period last year, leading growth among its main competitors, and the payroll balance increased by 9 percent. In total, the current loan portfolio reached a balance of 640.66 billion pesos, representing an annual increase of 8 percent.

Among the key indicators for the quarter, the following stand out: an increase in Return on Equity (ROE), which stood at 19.1 percent, compared to 16.4 percent in the previous year; Return on Assets (ROA), at 2.1 percent, compared to 1.8 percent in the same period last year; and the Efficiency Ratio, which improved to 39.5 percent from 42.9 percent.

The Capitalization Index (ICAP) strengthened, reaching 17.8 percent, well above the minimum level of 10.5 percent required by financial authorities.

During the first half of the year, the merger of Grupo Financiero Interacciones into Banorte was also approved, consolidating this institution as the main driver of infrastructure financing in our country, a field in which there is enormous opportunity.

Finally, another significant event for Banorte in the second quarter of the year was the delivery of the 100th house in its “Adopt a Community” program, which focuses on the comprehensive reconstruction of nine communities in seven states of the republic affected by the September earthquakes.

Read: https://www.milenio.com/negocios/banorte-alcanzar-meta-carlos-hank-gonzalez

A little over a year ago, what Banorte called a “generational change” took place: experienced banker Guillermo Ortiz stepped down as chairman of the financial group’s board of directors to make way for Carlos Hank González, a young businessman with banking and politics running through his veins.

On the occasion of the 79th Banking Convention, the grandson of Banorte’s founder, Roberto González Barrera, and PRI politician Carlos Hank González spoke with MILENIO, and without hesitation expressed that despite the challenges and a year that looks challenging, he remains realistically optimistic about Mexico, due to the strength of its economic fundamentals.

The chairman of the board of Grupo Financiero Banorte is aware that Mexico has not managed to take the next step and exploit its true potential; however, he emphasizes that two things are needed to achieve this: first, to give time for structural reforms to mature, and second, for Mexicans themselves to believe that they have the capacity to reach those levels.

Being at the helm of Banorte is a huge responsibility, because it is an institution with a very important tradition in Mexico, especially since it is now the largest national financial group. But I think that what we have rediscovered this year is precisely that awareness that we are the most important bank for Mexicans. That is a competitive advantage that also gives us a great responsibility toward our users, because it helps us develop better products. In short, I would say that what we have achieved is to renew our commitment to being Mexico’s strongest bank.

What are your plans for 2016?

I believe that the most important challenge is to transition to technological evolution. We have invested very aggressively in this area, especially in a project we are working on with IBM, which will allow us not only to better understand our customers’ needs, but also to offer them more and better ways to serve them, and above all, at a lower price.

Read: https://www.milenio.com/negocios/lograr-potencial-mexico-creersela-carlos-hank-gonzalez