El Salvador: Regulator approves Atlantida’s takeover of BancoCredit

Competition authorities in El Salvador have determined that the proposed merger between Banco ProCredit, S.A. and Inversiones Atlántida, S.A., would not create significant limitations to competition. The merger would signal Atlántida’s breakthrough into El Salvador’s financial services sector.

The Board of Directors at the Superintendence for Competition has concluded that, since the acquiring group and Banco ProCredit have different objectives and are engaged in different activities, the operation would consist in non-horizontal concentration. In this sense, given that Atlántida did not participate in any banking services, the possibility of anticompetitive effects stemming from the merger is ruled out.

On the other hand, the analysis also determined that Banco ProCredit collected a minimum percentage of the total uptake of AFP Crecer, Atlántida’s only rival retirement fund management services, which allowed them to shelve away their concerns about a possible reduction services or service providers as a consequence of the operation.

Full Content: Superintendencia de Competencia

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.