UBS Gets Mexican Banking License

UBS has received approval from Mexico’s finance ministry to offer banking services in Mexico, the Swiss bank announced Monday. The firm plans to begin operations in the first quarter of 2007. The bank will initially offer cash, foreign exchange and debt products to institutional investors in Mexico, it said on its website. “This license represents a significant step for UBS. Having operations in Mexico and serving clientele here is an integral component of UBS’s expansion into Latin America,” commented Andre Esteves, chairman and chief executive of UBS Latin America. The new license in one of several awarded recently by the Mexican authorities as they open up the sector to greater competition.