Grupo Financiero Galicia
US$ 12.9 billion (2012)[2] | |
Number of employees | 5,591 |
---|---|
Website | www |
Grupo Financiero Galicia is a financial services holding company based in Buenos Aires,[3] and its banking operations are the fifth largest in Argentina, as well as the largest among all domestically-owned private banks in the country.[4]
Overview
The bank was founded in 1905 as the Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires by a consortium led by Manuel Escasany, a jeweler and clockmaker of
The bank maintained over 2,500 accounts by the end of its first year, and in 1907, it was listed on the
Following the founder's death in 1948, his son, Eduardo Escasany, became its president and by 1960, he had secured a partnership with the Ayerzas and the Brauns, two influential local families prominent in the Argentine ranching and retail sectors, respectively. The Banco de Galicia became the largest, domestically-owned private bank in Argentina in 1965 and by 1975, ranked second to the public National Mortgage Bank in new
The company's decision in 2000 to demolish its historic downtown Buenos Aires headquarters in favor of a modern, 34-story building was controversial.[7][8] A family feud among the Escasany siblings led to the establishment in 2000 of the Banco de Galicia Foundation, which owns over 94% of the outstanding shares of Banco Galicia. Though a sell-off of public shares was averted, given the controversy, the 1998–2002 Argentine great depression led to the loss of nearly half of the bank's deposits between 2001 and 2002, and to its near-insolvency, when its dollar-denominated debt of US$1.8 billion required borrowing on flexible terms from the Central Bank of Argentina; Escasany, who had also been chairman of the Argentine Banking Association, resigned as CEO in 2002. The bank recovered during 2003, however, when its losses of US$436 million were trimmed to US$73 million, and it has remained profitable in the ensuing years.[5]
The bank remains the largest private sector commercial bank in Argentina ranked by deposits, assets or loans. As of April 2009, the group maintained 236 branches and total deposits in Argentina amounted to nearly US$4.5 billion, a 6% market share, and 7.6% among private sector depositors.[4] Consolidated assets totaled US$7.7 billion and loans to the private sector, US$3.7 billion (6.5% of the market).[4][9]
Besides its holdings in Banco Galicia, GFG participates in other business sectors through four companies: Grupo Sudamericana, an insurance holding company specialized in life, retirement, and hemeowner's policies; Galicia Warrants S.A., a warehouse rental services and issuer of certificate of deposits company; Net Investment, a holding company oriented to invest in Internet projects that can have synergies with Banco Galicia; and Galval Agente de Valores S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of GFG, based in Uruguay and created with the purpose of providing custody services.[9]
Grupo Galicia Class B shares trade on the Córdoba Stock Exchange while Grupo Galicia ADSs trade on the
In 2020, Grupo Financiero Galicia introduced its first digital wallet that integrates the most important banks in Argentina in a single app.[10]
References
- ^ a b "GGAL: Grupo Financiero Galicia SA Stock Price Quote - NASDAQ CM - Bloomberg". Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
- ^ "GGAL: Grupo Financiero Galicia SA Stock Price Quote - NASDAQ CM - Bloomberg". Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
- ^ http://www.gfgsa.com/en/Static/CompanyProfile
- ^ a b c ABA: ranking Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Funding Universe: Grupo Financiero Galicia, S.A.
- ^ Yale University. South American Immigration: Argentina
- ^ Emporis: Banco de Galicia
- ^ La Nación (2/19/2000) (in Spanish)[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c GFG: Who are we Archived 2010-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "History". https. Retrieved 2024-02-19.