Bolsa Mexicana de Valores SAB de CV

BMV:BOLSAA

Earnings Call Transcript 2021-Q2

[Operator]

Greetings, and welcome to Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Ramón Güémez, CFO.

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, second quarter 2021 earnings conference call. Before proceeding, I'd like to provide a brief safe harbor statement. This presentation contains forward-looking statements and information related to Bolsa that are based on the analysis and expectations of its management as well as assumptions made and information currently available at Bolsa. Such statements reflect the current views of Bolsa related to future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions.

Many factors could cause the current results, performance or achievements of Bolsa to be somewhat different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, changes in general, economic, political, governmental and business conditions, both in a global scale and in individual countries in which Bolsa does business. Such as changes in monetary policies and inflation rates, in prices, in business strategy and various other factors.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary considerably from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected or targeted. Bolsa does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. I would also like to remind participants that today's call is being recorded, and a replay of this call will be available online on July 23 at Bolsa's corporate website, www.bmv.com.mx.

During this call, all figures are in Mexican pesos and compared to the second quarter of 2020, unless stated otherwise. This call is intended for the financial community only, and the floor will be open at the end to address any questions you may have.

Joining us for today's call are José-Oriol Bosch, CEO; José Manuel Allende, SVP Capital Formation and Information Services and trading services; Roberto González, SVP, Central Security Deposit and Post Trade; Claudio Gutierrez, SVP Technology; Hugo Contreras, SVP, Compliance and Regulations; Gabriel Rodríguez, SIF ICAP, CEO; and Alfredo Guillén, COO; Jose Miguel de Dios, MexDer CEO; Rosa Crespo, Director of Human Resources; Luis René Ramón, Director of Investor Relations; and myself, Ramón Güémez, CFO. I would now like to turn the call over to Oriol Bosch, our CEO.

[José-Oriol Par, executive]

Thank you, Ramón, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. In terms of today's format, I will first go over the results of each business line and then open the line for Q&A. If you want to ask a question, you need to dial in the number that was provided in the press release yesterday. All in all, our diversified business model supported the financial performance this quarter as we continue to execute on our technological transformation strategy and focus on achieving our internal targets to deliver a stronger shareholder value over the next year.

If you go please to Slide 3, I will talk about the second quarter 2021 key financial highlights. As you can see, the revenue was MXN 965 million that was down 4% compared to the second quarter of 2020, explained by the atypical volatility in the financial market from March to July 2020 due to COVID-19, as well as lower listings in 2020 that generated fewer maintenance fees in 2021. The reduction of listing and maintenance fees in capital formation and the exchange rate impact mainly in information services. On the other hand, the results showed a higher value traded in equity trading and derivatives as well as greater value of assets under custody.

Expenses were MXN 439 million, up only 1% and well under control. The difference is the result of BMV's transformation towards a hybrid infrastructure, acquisition of new software and extension of hardware lease contracts. We have been able to achieve this by maintaining a cost discipline strategy.

EBITDA was registered at MXN 584 million with an EBITDA margin of 60% and net income reached MXN 352 million, down 4%.

On next slide, on Slide #4, the key financial highlights, but for the first 6 months of the year, the revenue for the first semester is up to June 2021 was MXN 1.9 billion, down 2% compared to the first semester of 2020 due to the atypical volatility in financial markets during the first half of 2020, the reduction of the fee schedule in capital formation and a weaker U.S. dollar in 2021. Despite the challenging conditions, our diversified business portfolio is delivering a resilient financial performance. Expenses were MXN 895 million, up 2%, maintaining a cost discipline as BMV transform towards a hybrid infrastructure and a seamless technological platform. EBITDA was recorded at MXN 1.2 billion with an EBITDA margin of 60%, 6-0. Net income reached MXN 731 million, down 11%. The dollars in BMV's treasury in the first quarter of 2020 and the depreciation of the peso against the dollar generated a typical financial income last year.

On next Slide, #5, the revenue by business line in the first semester of 2021. As mentioned before, BMV has a well-diversified business model with transactional business lines, equity derivatives and OTC weighting 36% of the second quarter 2021 revenue. Central securities deposit, 33%, Information Services, 16%; capital formation 13% and others, which consist of colocation and infrastructure and BMV as whole 2%. As for the difference between first semester of 2021 versus the first semester of 2020, we are down 2%, but we are confident that in the short term, we will return to a stronger results as we continue to deliver value to our clients and shareholders.

On the next slide, #6, regarding our operating expenses for the first half of the year. The operating expenses were up only 2% in the first 6 months of 2021, compared to the same month of 2020. Personnel expenses were down MXN 12 million, MXN 8 million because of lower variable compensation in SIF ICAP and MXN 4 million due to a corporate restructuring to optimize operations in June 2021. The expected savings from the restructuring of the business is a reduction of MXN 12 million per quarter.

Technology was up MXN 20 million, MXN 12 million explained by the extension of hardware leases to maximize the useful life of the equipment and shift to a hybrid infrastructure on-site and cloud and MXN 8 million in licenses, explained by the following project. Disaster recovery plan, reinforcement for the equity and derivatives trading infrastructure, robotic process automatization and electronic securities in Indeval. The future of market infrastructure is all about technology, and we will continue investing in it and analyzing disruptive innovation to implement products and services in Mexico.

Depreciation showed an increment of MXN 13 million, MXN 12 million due to the acquisition of hardware post-trade disaster recovery plan, DRP, which has started in the third quarter of 2020 and moving from InfiniBand to Ethernet network for communication in capital markets. Additionally, MXN 1 million for the amortization of completed projects. Rental maintenance was down MXN 3 million because of lower maintenance and electricity consumption at BMV's building. Consulting fees were down MXN 2 million because of fewer legal and financial consulting services and sub-custody were down MXN 2 million because of weaker dollar and better commercial terms.

In others, we increased MXN 5 million, up MXN 7 million for the option to purchase the remaining shares of SIF ICAP Chile, partially offset due to fewer provisions for promotional activities and events.

On the next slide, #7, regarding equity trading and clearing. Cash equity trading revenue was 3% higher than the second quarter of 2020 due to higher value traded. The average daily traded value, the ADTV for the second quarter of 2021 was MXN 17.5 billion, an improvement of 6%. Local market increased 3%, represented 46% of total ADTV and BMV stands at 96% market share. Global market increased 9%, amounted to 54% of total ADTV and BMV had an 88% market share. Investors in Mexico have the option of investing in almost 2,800 foreign securities that are listed on the SIC. This year, 253 new securities have been listed in Mexico, of which 173 are company shares and the remaining 80 are ETFs.

In the first semester of 2021, BMV had 92% market share, which is proof of BMV's expertise and continuous high level of service. As for CCV, clearing revenues decreased MXN 9 million as a result of extraordinary revenues last year and change in the criteria for the cross trades.

Next Slide #8 on the operational highlights. In the second quarter of 2021, the average daily trading value was MXN 17.5 billion with a monthly range of MXN 17.1 billion to MXN 17.8 billion. For the results up to June, the average daily trading value was MXN 18.4 billion, up 7% compared to the first 6 months of 2020. We're actively working together with financial institutions and regulators to incentivize financial inclusion and increased retail participation in financial markets. Historically, financial awareness in Mexico has been low. But the landscape is rapidly changing. To give you some context, according to the National Banking and Securities Commission, there were less than 300,000 brokerage accounts in Mexico in 2019. And since then, that number has increased to over 1 million accounts. It is a gradual process, but we are committed to continue working together with financial institutions, issuers and regulators through strategic alliances. BMV school with this robust education platform and opening our doors to everyone to visit the trading floor, the museum as well as cultural and promotional events.

In the next Slide, #9, on derivatives and trading and clearing. The revenue in MexDer and Asigna was down MXN 3 million or 5%. U.S. dollar futures increased 43%, recording the highest volume per quarter in the last 3 years. However, TIIE Swaps and IPC index futures were down 42% and 43%, respectively. The open interest for the TIIE Swaps market is now MXN 1.4 billion. Furthermore, MexDer is working to launch options and futures of global technological companies such as Tesla, Netflix, Apple and Facebook, given the success of the global market platform [indiscernible]. The average margin deposits were MXN 35 billion in the second quarter. This is down 16%, and the average margin deposits up to June were MXN 36.5 billion.

In Slide #10, regarding the OTC trading, SIF ICAP revenue was down MXN 14 million or 8% compared to the second quarter of 2020. SIF ICAP Mexico decreased MXN 4 million or 6% and SIF ICAP Chile decreased MXN 10 million or 9%. This behavior was explained by lower volatility and lower trading activity in forward interest rate swaps and Chilean government securities.

Regarding the capital formation in Slide #11, the listing revenue reached MXN 11 million, down MXN 1 million or 8% compared to the second quarter of 2020, which is explained by a lower amount placed in the equity market. You may remember that in the second quarter of last year, FIBRA IDEAL issued FIBRAS E for MXN 25.8 billion. While this year, we had the follow-on of Vesta for MXN 4.6 billion and Vasconia for MXN 354 million. We also had the listing of Alterna, Actinver’s spin-off and Sempra Energy listing derived from the public offering acquisition and reciprocal subscription of IEnova.

Regarding the debt market, 270 short-term debt issues were placed for an amount of MXN 40 billion, 38% higher versus second quarter of 2020 and 30 long-term issues for an amount of MXN 35 billion, that's 15% higher versus second quarter 2020. Furthermore, a CERPI of Walton Street México was listed for MXN 397 million. We are witnessing a gradual recovery to pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, we had the issuance of fixed green bonds for a total of MXN 8.6 billion in the first semester of 2021. Since 2016, BMV has assisted in financing green, social and sustainable projects for an amount close to MXN 60 billion. BMV being a central point of contact for issuers, investors and market intermediaries as a vital institution that services as I mentioned in the Mexican economy transition towards sustainable development.

Since June 2021, companies in Mexico can issue sustainable linked bonds as a financing alternative while contributing to achieve their ESG objectives and initially defined sustainable KPIs over the period of time. Maintenance fees were down MXN 16 million, MXN 10 million due to the new fee schedule announced in January 2021 and MXN 6 million because of early debt amortization, which no longer generate maintenance fees and lower listings in 2020.

In next slide, #12, Central -- regarding the Central Securities Depository, Indeval's revenue was up MXN 8 million compared to the second quarter of 2020. Explained by the growth in the value of assets under custody, which increased 14% and 29% in the local and global market, respectively. Services related to the global market such as cross-border transactions, dividends and tax formats as well as settlement showed a similar revenue to that of second quarter 2020. In the bottom right corner, you may find Indeval's revenue distribution which is 40% global market services, 37% custody, 20% settlements and 3% in other.

In next Slide #13, on information services. On the information services, we reported revenues of MXN 147 million in the second quarter of 2020, which is in line with last year's results. Market data revenue was down 1% because of a stronger peso against the dollar. However, the demand for data worldwide terminals and benchmarks continue to grow steadily. Valmer revenue increased 3% due to new valuation products for target date funds in Afores. In LED, we continue doing trials with major global vendors and potential clients.

On next slide, #14, BMV is delivering good results despite challenging environmental and in well positioned across the financial markets value chain. Our diversified business model contributed to a resilient organic revenue in trading, central securities depository and information services. Expenses were well under control as we continue to invest in resiliency, efficiency, technology and new services. The technological transformation is at the center of BMV's strategy for 2025, further technological connection of BMV's IT platforms together with hybrid infrastructure, on-site and cloud will deliver increased value for our clients.

Regarding the growth projects that we have been pursuing such as direct custody and clearing services for bonds. We continue working together with regulators to receive approval to offer these new services. As you may know, direct custody will enable access to the local market infrastructure providing value services for foreign -- to foreign financial institutions from corporate actions to tax services.

Lastly, on March 1, BMV activated a share buyback program considering the company's cash position and outlook. BMV's buyback fund currently has MXN 816 million after we already bought back 1.9 billion -- 1.9 million shares worth MXN 83.6 million, roughly 24,000 shares every day.

In Slide 15, as a summary, the resilient financial results for the first 6 months of 2021 especially in equities and derivatives trading, higher average value of assets under custody in the central securities depository and new products in information services. We continued execution on a offer strategy, focused on technological transformation and capabilities to size multiple growth opportunities and drive top line growth in all core businesses through constant improvement, operational excellence and project execution.

We are confident that in the short term, we will return to a stronger result and we continue to deliver value to our clients and shareholders and in the medium term, continue working in BMV's technological transformation towards 2025.

With that, I thank you for your time, and together with my colleagues, we will gladly answer any questions you may have. On the last slide, you have our contact information. Thank you very much.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Ernesto Gabilondo with Bank of America.

[Ernesto María Gabilondo Márquez, analyst]

I have 3 questions from my side. The first one is on the revenue side. How do you see them evolving in the second half after better GDP expectations and a better outcome after midterm elections. And my second question is on your expenses line. How should we think about the OpEx evolving in the next quarters next year? When do you expect to finish the migration to the cloud? And when do you see the cost savings coming through? And my last question is on what's your sensitivity in your investment portfolio to an increase in interest rates of 100 basis points? And also, what's your sensitivity from an appreciation of 10% on the peso against the dollar in your operating income and in your investment portfolio? And if this sensitivity also applies for a 10% depreciation of the peso against the dollar?

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Thank you, Ernesto. Let me begin with your second question. On expenses, I think we can maintain the current level of expenses for the remainder of the year. With respect to migration to the cloud, this is an investment that we should be making next year and we should begin to see the benefits in 2023 or late 2022. We have to wait for current infrastructure to -- contracts to end. So I would think that's the -- that will be the time frame.

With respect to our sensitivity to the U.S. dollar, we try to always keep a long position, long exposure in dollars and how long we are varies. So the exposure we have also varies. We try not to be too long, I would say, around $10 million long would be the limit. What we have is an FX policy that relates to compares our cash and accounts receivables in our assets in dollars and their relationship to our dollar-denominated liabilities. We also have the business in Chile. So we're also affected by the exposure to the Chile peso exchange rate. So that was not as straightforward as that. Our sensitivity in interest -- to interest rates. For every 25 basis points, we move, it's about MXN 7 million on an annual basis. So that would be the sensitivity we have to the interest rates.

Regarding what to expect from revenues for the next half of the year, we typically have an increase in listing fees for the seasonality. So we should expect to see an improvement in listing fees for the second half of the year. The rest are related to trading volumes. So those are not easy to forecast. I would also say that the comparison base that we had in the first half of 2020 due to the volatility was very high.

[Ernesto María Gabilondo Márquez, analyst]

Okay. Perfect. And then -- so just on the sensitivity to interest rates, so we are talking about that 100 basis points should be around MXN 28 million annually, right?

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

That's correct.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Alonso Garcia with Crédit Suisse.

[Ricardo Garcia, analyst]

I actually have 2 questions on the revenue side. First, could you please provide some color on the clearing revenues, which were very weak during the quarter on both the equities side but also on derivatives. I mean you mentioned in the prerelease some extraordinary income last year as well as some changes in the criteria for cross trade. So if you could please provide some color on those? And how should we expect the impact to be going forward from this changing criteria for cross trades? And my second question also on clearing is on the OTC side as revenues from SIF ICAP are down 10% for the first half of the year. I understand there was an impact on the growth for you for 1Q '21, given the retroactive application of the tax benefit in Chile during 1Q '20, but revenues were also down 8% in the second quarter. So I don't know if you could please provide some color on the trends in this business? And what should we expect going forward?

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Sure. Roberto González will take your first question, and then we'll ask Gabriel Rodríguez to take the OTC side, Alonso.

[Roberto González Barrera, executive]

Regarding clearing revenues, certainly, you see we have higher volumes for both equity trading and derivatives trading. On the equity side, yes, there was a change in the criteria and that would have an impact of around 15% on an annual basis compared at the same levels. Right now, what you see is we -- since it was -- we had a higher volume, the impact was lower than that.

Regarding the derivatives on the other side, we do have more contracts, more coupons, more open interest, but the volatility that we have is much lower than what we saw last year. So what we expect is right now with the current volatility, the margins for -- particularly for the U.S. dollar would be increased for the next quarter. So we might expect that the items, that the collateral that we request might grow slightly around 10% for the next quarter or so. So we would expect a higher for the next -- at least the next 2 quarters, considering the volatility we are seeing today, particularly on the FX.

[Gabriel Rodríguez Bas, executive]

Alonso, thanks for your question. As Oriol explained in his presentation, the behavior was in a lower volatility and lower trading activity in forward IRS and Chilean government securities. What do we expect in June, as you know, in June 24, monetary policy meeting of Banxico surprised the market with a 25 basis points rate hike, which brought a policy rate of 4.25% and also brought a very good volume increase. We think that higher inflation that are estimates in Mexico and in Chile will drive, hopefully, more volume to the trade in the second half of the year. In Chile last year, as you also know, Central Bank increased the rate to 0.75%, and the inflation for the first semester was 3.8%. So hopefully, with these rates will increase and volume will come back. And that's what we expect for the second semester.

[Operator]

Our next question is from [indiscernible].

[Unknown Analyst]

I have 2 of them. The first one is regarding in cost reduction. Just could you give us a little bit of color about this cost reduction is going to be a trend for the following quarters or maybe for 2022? And is this cost reduction is related to this hybrid system that you have or you are implementing in this quarter? And if this translates in human resources that most of the people are going to be working from home. That is the first one.

The second one is, could you give us a little bit of color of this MXN 7 million that you purchased the rest of the shares SIF ICAP in Chile? And what is the share participation of the Mexican stock change at the moment?

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

[indiscernible], thank you very much for your questions. Regarding the first one on the cost reduction, what we saw is with the hybrid working we had last year, we identified several efficiencies in our personnel in our headcount. So what -- and in fact, having a 10% reduction in headcount throughout the organization. We expect this to have an impact around MXN 12 million per quarter in personnel expenses. Taking into account that SIF ICAP's personnel moves differently according to the revenue, please. So we would expect this going forward we do not plan to have a truly hybrid work environment yet. We are still hybrid around -- between 40% and 50% of our personnel is working at the office, we are working at the office, around 60%, 50% are still from home. As of now, we believe we will, at some point, all come back to the office. That's our current plan. But the cost reduction is, as I said, you could -- MXN 12 million per quarter.

Regarding your second question, that put option we have in Chile, Chile is owned by SIF ICAP. And we have a JV with a local partner. It's currently an 80/20, we have 80% of the shares, our local partner has 20%. And we have -- they're put and call contracts that signed. So we there have the right to buy or he has the right to sell. So we accrue for this liability. And that's what it relates to the exercise price is linked to its performance. When you do numbers for Chile, as I said, Chile is sold by SIF ICAP. Keep in mind that ICAP is 50-50 -- for us, it's a 50-50 JV with ICAP. So in effect, we keep only 40% of Chile, which is the 80% SIF ICAP, and we have 50% of that.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Jorge Henderson with Santander.

[Jorge Henderson Cubillas, analyst]

I have one question regarding listings. What are your expectations as well for this year, but also for 2022 in all your listing business in general. That's the only question.

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Jorge, I'm sorry, we could not understand the question. Could you repeat it, please?

[Jorge Henderson Cubillas, analyst]

Yes. Yes, I was wondering what are your expectations for this year but also for next year in all your listing business, that is just in general, just like if you could provide us with some color on this.

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Thank you. José Manuel will take this one.

[José Allende Zubiri, executive]

Okay. Thank you, Jorge. Regarding the pipeline and listing activity, I would say that the activity has improved in the second quarter. You remember, last quarter was probably the worst that we have had in the last 10 years. But the second quarter started to gain some traction. Oriol has already mentioned, we have had follow-ons in companies due to spinoffs, the [indiscernible] and the activity on the debt side has also increased in the short term, up 40%. The long-term activity, 15%. So we think that the activity is picking. We are starting to get new filings, still confidential, some of them for -- basically for the equity -- for the debt side, which I think may come into the next quarter for placement around MXN 25 billion similar to what we had in this quarter. But the point that I have is that the new filings are starting to come and to renew the ones that are coming into materials. So we're trying to get positive for the next quarters.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] Our next question is from Kaio Prato with UBS.

[Kaio Penso Da Prato, analyst]

I have only one on my side. Could you please give us a little bit more details on competition this quarter? How is the market share evolving in terms of volumes? And how much of your lower listing revenues could you attribute to competition of these? And lastly, if you are expecting any new regulatory change in this front?

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Thank you, Kaio. Oriol will take this one.

[José-Oriol Par, executive]

Thank you, Kaio, for your question. Yes, on the competition environment and our market share, we have not seen actually -- by the way, I think that BIVA [indiscernible] virtually should be this month, I think. So 3 years since the year started. So let me give you first for the first semester of this year, the market share we had is, as already mentioned, we had on the local market 96%, BIVA 4%; on the global market, 87% Bolsa, 13% BIVA. And the total market is 91% Bolsa, 9% BIVA. If we go back and we look at the same numbers for the past 3 years since BIVA started it's quite similar. Let me tell you exactly since July 25, 2018, [ BIVA ] (sic) [ Bolsa ] has 97% in the local market and BIVA 3%. On the global market, 84% versus 16%. And in the total market, the consolidated number is 90% Bolsa, 9% -- 90% Bolsa, 10% BIVA. So as you can see in the first semester of this year has not been different from the past 2.5 years. So we think that it tended to stabilize with this 90%, 10%.

Now if we look at the numbers, as you know, in ballpark numbers, our revenues on a yearly basis are MXN 4 billion for the Grupo Bolsa. 8% of that is cash equity trading. So we are talking about MXN 320 million per year. If we have 90% and BIVA has 10%. That means that the wallet size on the cash equity trading in Mexico should be around MXN 350 million. That means that each 1% market share that we are losing or making is equal to MXN 3.5 million a year. So if the market share moves to -- from, let's say, 10% to 11%, that would mean that Bolsa is making MXN 3.5 million less on a yearly basis, and BIVA making MXN 3.5 million more. We're talking about $175,000 a year equivalent. So I think that should not be very dramatic if it moves from 1% or 2% up or down.

And regarding the regulation, there has been a couple of projects from the regulator from the financial authorities to increase -- basically the purpose was to increase the BIVA participation by mandate and the projects -- the 2 projects that we knew did not work and did not have a lot of support from the different participants, not from the Bolsa. We have seen in the sidelines still waiting. And we will see. We are, as mentioned many times, we are in favor of the competition, but we're in favor of the competition in a level we play in field. And I think that we have all we need to be highly competitive in this environment. Hope I did answer your question.

[Operator]

Our next question is from Carlos Gomez with HSBC.

[Carlos Gomez-Lopez, analyst]

I have 2 questions. They are quite simple. The first one is if you can give us an update about the progress of your partnership with Deutsche Börse that you talked about last quarter? The second is we are having a change in the Ministry of Finance and presumably in the entire economic team. Do you have any particular expectations in terms of regulation environment, something which is going to change for the second 3 years of this administration.

[Ramón Sarre, executive]

Thank you, Carlos. José Manuel will comment on your first question, and then Oriol will comment on the change in the Ministry of Finance.

[José Allende Zubiri, executive]

Carlos, regarding the Deutsche Bank agreement, -- As planned, Deutsche Bank has finished all the technical issues to get the data from our site in New York and transform it to proprietary layout. They are ready to start doing all promotional efforts and any customer that may want to start trials can do that as we are speaking. We finished all the technical aspects. And now we are moving into the promotional activity with them. We have done presentations, webinars, podcast. And I think the third quarter should be for trials with potential customers. And maybe by the fourth quarter, we may start signing some clients with them.

Yes, regarding the change in the Ministry of Finance, I can say that I personally know him -- know the new Minister of Finance Rogelio very well for the past year. And I think that was a pretty good appointment, I'm pretty optimistic with that. And we will continue working with them. And I hope and I'm sure that he is going to be more willing to work in growing the exchange market in Mexico more than looking to how to divide a small pie. So we are going to be working with him in that in growing the market in Mexico via change in the financial markets and supporting through the Bolsa, helping them to support the financing for the companies that needed in order to support the economic growth in the country.

[Carlos Gomez-Lopez, analyst]

Anything more concrete on tax changes or new means of negotiation and discussions you have had with him or it's just due to...

[José-Oriol Par, executive]

Not yet in this new position and as he has started officially this week. But we will in the next phase.

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I would like to turn the call back to Oriol Bosch for closing remarks.

[José-Oriol Par, executive]

Well, thank you very much once again. As every quarter, thank you very much for your questions, for your participation and the following on the Bolsa. So please take care and talk to you. If you need any question, any additional information, you already have all our contacts in the last page of the presentation we sent. So please feel free to look for anyone of us. Thank you very much.

[Operator]

This ends today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you very much for your participation, and have a great day.