GRUPO FINANCIERO BANORTE ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO CONDUCT AN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.B. de C.V. (?GFNORTE?) (BMV: GFNORTEO) informs the investment public that it intends to offer its common shares in a public primary offering in Mexico and a private offering in certain foreign markets, subject to market conditions, the corresponding corporate and regulatory authorizations, and other conditions.

 

In this regard, GFNORTE has filed an application with the National Banking and Securities Commission (Comisi?n Nacional Bancaria y de Valores) to update the registration of its common shares in the National Registry of Securities (Registro Nacional de Valores) and to be allowed to publicly offer such common shares in Mexico.  

 

GFNORTE plans to conduct the offering as soon as the corresponding authorizations are obtained and market conditions permit, for an amount of up to U.S.$3.0 billion, which will consist of a public primary offering in Mexico through the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V.), and an international offering in the United States of America pursuant to Rule 144A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and outside of the United States of America in accordance with Regulation S of the Securities Act and the corresponding legislation in the countries where the offering takes place.     

 

This press release is solely for informational purposes, pursuant to the terms of article 50, section III, paragraph i) of the General Provisions Applicable to Securities Issuers and other Stock Market Participants (Disposiciones de Car?cter General Aplicables a las Emisoras de Valores y a Otros Participantes del Mercado de Valores), and does not constitute an offering of subscription or sale, nor an application to subscribe or sell shares of GFNORTE in Mexico, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction.

 

The common shares will not be registered under the Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration under the Act or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration. Common shares may only be offered in the United States to qualified institutional buyers as defined under Rule 144A, and outside of the United States pursuant to the provisions of Regulation S of the Securities Act.

 

GFNORTE reiterates to the investment public that it will continue adopting the best international corporate practices regarding Corporate Governance and information disclosure.  The Financial Group will maintain its strategic and expansion plans to consolidate a leading institution in Mexico; in this sense, we will timely inform the investment community regarding the strategy execution and evolution of our operations.  The Investor Relations Department is available for any inquiry or comment regarding this material event at: [e-mail] or in the number (55) 52.68.16.80.

About Grupo Financiero Banorte

Banorte was founded in 1899 in the city of Monterrey, where it first started operations as a small regional player. In 1992, in the banking privatization process, Banorte was acquired by a group of entrepreneurs leaded by Roberto Gonzalez Barrera. Through a series of key acquisitions after the Mexican financial crisis of the mid 1990?s, like Bancen and Banpa?s in 1997 and Bancrecer in 2002, Banorte was able to consolidate a nationwide presence in Mexico. It now operates as a financial group known as Grupo Financiero Banorte, offering universal banking products and services in the Mexican financial system. Banorte is currently the third largest banking institution in Mexico measured by size of loans and deposits. It is the largest provider of State & Municipal government financing, the second in mortgage financing and the third largest provider of commercial loans. As well as increasing its market shares, Banorte has consolidated its position as one of Mexico's most profitable banks and is recognized for its strong fundamentals by showing sound asset quality, as well as high liquidity and capitalization levels.

With more than 26 million clients and a footprint of more than 1,300 branches and approximately 6,700 ATMs nationwide, GFNORTE?s main business line is retail banking, and it also provides a wide array of products and services through its broker dealer, insurance company, retirements savings funds (Afore), mutual fund operator, leasing & factoring companies and warehousing. GFNORTE manages more than US 148 billion in assets and Banorte is the only retail bank, among the six largest institutions of the country, that is controlled by Mexican shareholders. Its decisions are taken locally without the influence of international headquarters, which has proven to be an advantage given the recent weakness of many global institutions. In 2006, Banorte entered into the U.S. Hispanic market through the purchase of Inter National Bank (?INB?), a Texas-based bank, and two remittance companies in 2007: Uniteller in New Jersey and Motran in California. In 2011, Ixe Grupo Financiero merged with GFNORTE. Its strategic partnerships include the International Finance Corporation (?IFC?) at its banking subsidiary, the Mexican Social Security Institute (?IMSS?) at the retirement savings fund management business, and the Italian insurance company Generali at the insurance and annuities business. In January 2013, GFNORTE finalized the acquisition of Afore Bancomer through Afore XXI Banorte, becoming the most relevant transaction to date in the retirement savings fund system and creating the most significant Afore in Mexico. GFNORTE?s shares trade in the Mexican Stock Exchange (?BMV?) with the ticker ?GFNORTEO?, in the Madrid Stock Exchange under the symbol ?XNOR? and in the US ADR OTC market under ?GBOOY?. For further information, visit www.banorte.com.

 

Forward-Looking Information

 

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Words such as ?believe,? ?anticipate,? ?should,? ?estimate,? ?seek,? ?expect,? ?could,? ?plan,? ?will,? and similar expressions are intended to identify forward?looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.  By their very nature, forward?looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward?looking statements will not be achieved or will differ from actual results.  You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.