As the Latin American region further develops and its middle-class continues to grow, Latin America’s financial services sector is rapidly expanding. This Canning House Finance Conference looked at several of these opportunities and how the City of London can play a bigger role in the development of the financial services sector in Latin America, particularly in areas of green finance, infrastructure finance and financial technology.
Welcoming words were given by Christopher Garnett, Principal of ChuteCourt Asesores Limited, Lord Mountevans, Honorary President of Canning House & Former Lord Mayor, and Alderman Sir Charles Bowman, Senior Partner at PwC & Former Lord Mayor, highlighting the many opportunities for more collaboration between City of London and Latin American countries.
An excellent keynote was delivered by Ramiro Blazquez, Head of Research and Strategy at BancTrust & Co.: “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”. A sharp reduction in poverty and a growing middle class is set against a challenging global backdrop, which has lead to an increase in public debt and more volatility. Argentina and Venezuela were distinguished as particularly concerning.
The first panel discussed green finance opportunities. Excellent insights were given by Sir Roger Gifford, Chair of the Green Finance Initiative, who chaired the discussion, and Kate Levick from E3G, Nick Harris from The Carbon Trust and Allan Walker from the Department for International Trade (DIT).
Infrastructure deficit is a huge problem in Latin America. In the second panel, Christopher Garnett spoke with Renato Lulia-Jacob from Itau, Mark Dennison from Eversheds Sutherland and Federico Girardotti from Mott MacDonald about how the region can attract more UK investment & partnerships in development projects.
The third and final panel looked at fintech in Latin America. Tamara Medina Sapovalova representing Tech London Advocates spoke with Fin Gnieser from SalaryFits, Archie Cochrane from Anthemis Group, and Marta Viñas Sánchez from BBVA.
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