Foley Secures Deal for Ecuadorean Bank

Foley recently served as lead counsel for the controlling shareholders of Banco de la Producción S.A., better known as Produbanco, in the highly complex sale of a controlling interest to Promerica Financial Corporation. Produbanco is one of the largest banks in Ecuador and has been in operation since November 1978, under its parent company Grupo Financiero Producción, Ecuador’s fourth largest financial group. The transaction closed after two years of negotiations and is the first sale of an Ecuadorean bank to foreign investors since tightened banking regulations in Ecuador were implemented in 2012.

The Foley team along with Ecuador counsel, Esteban Cordova, successfully navigated the legal business and political environment in Ecuador and handled the intricacies of the cross-border transaction, including adhering to Ecuador’s antitrust regulations, and reconciling the interests of the purchaser and multiple selling shareholders.

The Foley team included Marina Choundas and Melisande Brodeur-Frohman and was led by Francisco Cerezo.