Nubank top digital bank, top billionaires, best airlines and more.

BY LATINVEX STAFF

M&A disputes in Latin America are expected to rise as investors grapple with concerns over the political and economic stability of the region’s two largest economies, Brazil and Mexico, according to Berkeley Research Group’s sixth annual M&A Disputes Report.

The most common dispute drivers in Latin America in 2024 included contract provisions for managing economic uncertainty, such as PPAs and true-ups (54%) or put and call options and redemption rights (58%). Continuing this trend, one-half of Latin American respondents also expect put and call option and redemption rights to be prevalent in disputes over the next 12 months.

“With highly valuable assets and continuous political and regulatory changes, not to mention macroeconomic uncertainty, Latin America has ideal conditions for a dispute”, Buenos Aires-based BRG associate director Alejandro Martinolich said in a statement. “Dealmakers are aware of this, so it’s common practice to introduce put and call options into the deal to account for material changes. While this can help close a deal, it opens a door for future price adjustment discussions and, eventually, disputes.”

Foreign exchange (FX) volatility is the second most cited dispute driver in Latin America, which saw steep drops in the value of the Mexican peso and Brazilian real earlier in 2024.

NUBANK WORLD’S TOP DIGITAL BANK

Nubank –led by CEO David Velez – ranks as the world’s leading digital bank, according to TABInsights’ World’s Top 100 Digital Banks Ranking 2025.

Nubank rose from fifth place in 2024 to first in 2025, achieving a pre-tax return on equity (ROE) of 27% in 2023. Its strategy shift to multi-product offerings helped grow its customer base from 33.3 million in FY2020 to 93.9 million in FY2023, and its revenue surged by 85%, driven by a 119% increase in net interest income.

“Despite higher non-performing loans, Nubank excelled in credit risk management, reaching a record 10.2% risk-adjusted net interest margin in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023,” TABInsights says. “Notably, Nubank allocates only a small percentage of its total operating expenses to marketing but has become one of Brazil’s most valuable brands.”

TOP BILLIONAIRES

Forbes and Bloomberg have recently released their rankings of the world’s top billionaires, including in Latin America.

Mexican magnate Carlos Slim, owner of América Móvil, remains the richest man in the region, with a fortunate estimated between $81 billion (Forbes) and $84.3 billion (Bloomberg).

Behind him is Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, with a fortunate estimated at between $37.3 billion (Forbes) and $37.7 billion (Bloomberg).

They are followed by Mexican businessman German Larrea, with an estimated fortune of between $30.2 billion (Forbes) and $35.5 billion (Bloomberg) and Chilean Iris Fontbona and family, with a fortunate estimated at between $27.6 billion (Forbes) and $31.9 billion (Bloomberg).

A surprise on the list was Jaime Gilinski, who surpassed Colombian David Vélez as the Colombian with the greatest fortune. With a net worth of $10.7 billion (according to Forbes), the banker and businessman consolidated his fortune after the ambitious purchase of Grupo Nutresa in 2021, one of the largest takeover bids in the country’s business history.

WORLD’S BEST AIRLINES: MEXICO SHINES

Aeromexico was ranked among the top 25 airlines worldwide, according to AirlineRatings.com annual round-up.
Meanwhile, Volaris – also from Mexico — made the ranking of the top 20 low cost airlines for 2025.

NEW CHAIRS AT BRAZIL-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Brazil-U.S. Business Council (BUSBC) announced that Augusto Urmeneta, President of Bank of America for Latin America, has been elected Chairman of the BUSBC and that Alexandre Gibim, Country President for Pfizer Brazil, has been elected Vice Chairman.

 

© Copyright Latinvex

More Trade Talk