The investigation initiated by the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) in 2016 for possible absolute monopolistic practices in the market for debt securities issued by the Federal Government reached the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), presided over by Norma Piña. The investigation covered both the primary and secondary markets. Collusion was found among traders from different financial intermediaries through chats, resulting in sanctions against banks and traders.
From 2010 to 2013, seven financial intermediaries - Banamex, Barclays Bank, BBVA Bancomer, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Santander, and J.P. Morgan - engaged in absolute monopolistic practices through 142 bilateral agreements in the secondary market. Although the sanctioned behavior did not affect the primary market or the entirety of public debt, damage to the public investor was identified at 29.4 million pesos, and fines totaling 35.1 million pesos were imposed.
The First Collegiate Court in Administrative Matters requested the Court to exercise its power of attraction to handle cases related to sanctions against banks and traders for anticompetitive behavior. It will be analyzed whether the sanctions were correct in cases such as Banco Santander and Deutsche Bank Mexico.
On another topic, Infonavit under the direction of Octavio Romero Oropeza will report pseudo-collection agencies to the Attorney General's Office for illegally dispossessing housing from more than 200 thousand beneficiaries. The goal is to remedy the harm and strengthen criminal complaints against those responsible.
The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), directed by Emilia Calleja, approved the acquisition of 49% of the shares of Altán, allowing it to appoint two members to the board of directors. With this move, conditions of the Federal Telecommunications Institute are met, benefiting thousands of localities with the installation of towers.
Finally, the work of Techreo directed by Iliana de Silva in the low-income sector, using business intelligence to provide financial services to small businesses, was recognized by the NGO Accion and The Coca Cola Foundation. The Mexican company has begun to address the financing gap of more than 1.7 trillion dollars for this segment of the population.
