Juan Pablo de Botton Falcón, CEO of Nafin and Bancomext
“I have the honor of leading two institutions with a great history that I respect. I aspire to contribute to making them more sustainable, more inclusive and more digital in the future ”, says Juan Pablo de Botton Falcón, CEO of Nacional Financiera (Nafin) and Bancomext.
In this vision, digital transformation is key, emphasizes De Botton: “digitization is the best way to solve financial inclusion, to reach companies and areas where we have not had a sufficient presence. Digitization is also key to making us more efficient and more sustainable, in the broadest sense of the word ”.
Cultural change
Juan Pablo de Botton took over the management of these development banks in March 2021. He is an expert in Data Science. Before that, he was at the SAT in the Strategic Planning Department, where he was in charge of the tax service technology area. Two months after arriving at Nafin and Bancomext, he created a Deputy General Directorate for Digital Banking.
“For the bank it implies a profound cultural change, how we think about digital from the inside, but also the message we send outside, how we want to be perceived. Technology is transforming financial services and we must be an active part in this transformation. I believe in free software development, being very selective in purchasing licenses from third parties. It is very important to promote in-house development, because digital development is at the heart of the bank and it should stay there ”.
Within Nafin and Bancomext, it was done without requesting additional resources. “The people at the bank have adopted it relatively quickly. Outwards, it will be noticed in the services we provide, in the speed with which we can attend, it will make us closer to companies and regions … It will allow us to advance in inclusion, it allows us to add value to the products we have and also to be able to more direct with small businesses ”.
—How does the director of Nafin and Bancomext understand development banking?
We are talking about public sector banks. We are obliged to use the resources we manage well, we must pay attention to the collection and social impact of the projects we promote. We must be very careful about the risks we take… We have an overdue portfolio of 0.6% at Nacional Financiera and 2.1% at Bancomext, compared to the 2.5% average for commercial banks.
– What role can they play in the context of reactivation and regional development plans?
In the history of these banks there were many moments in which the credit they granted grew at double-digit rates, but this growth did not translate into growth of the economy, sectors or regions … It is one of the greatest challenges, achieve greater impact. I belong to a generation that expects the impact not only to be economic, but also social and environmental.
—How to reconcile the need to transform Nafin and Bancomext, with their history?
They are banks with more than 80 years of history, each one. There have been many very valuable people, there still are. Intergenerational and interdisciplinary dialogue is very important to get the bank to penetrate into niches, into regions, into industries that it has not been able to reach. The fact is that there is a new reality, we have the lessons that the pandemic leaves us; everything that comes with technological changes and the political and social transformation that Mexico is experiencing. The new reality requires new solutions. It is not a question of denying what has been done well in these institutions, but of being aware that we face new challenges that require that the intervention of development banks be different. Bancomext and Nafin’s priorities must respond to these changes: how we want Mexico to be in 20 or 30 years and what we must do to achieve it ”.
—In this conversation, you repeatedly refer to the need for development banking to have more impact, what do you mean?
I think about the impact that we can have if we contribute effectively to prosperity and growth, also on environmental and social issues. I would like Nacional Financiera and Bancomext to contribute to the development of the next great industrial value chain, I would like us to be involved in promoting the next Cancun … There are emblematic projects of the federal government that give us the opportunity to do this.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx