New Bank of Santa Fe

The New Bank of Santa Fe (Spanish: Nuevo Banco de Santa Fe, NBSF) is a bank in Santa Fe Province, Argentina.

Originally named Provincial Bank of Santa Fe, it was established as a mixed state/private bank on 5 June 1874, based on an initiative of governor Servando Bayo, justified in the need to provide credit for the blossoming productive sector of the province. At the time, Argentina was starting to grow demographically (through immigration) and economically (through the exportation of agricultural products).

The bank's first Provisional Direction was composed of Carlos Casado del Alisal (presiding), Benjamín Ledesma, Manuel Carlés and Evaristo Machain, elected by vote, and Melitón Ibarlucea and Mariano Alvarado as representatives of the provincial government. Its capital was divided in 20,000 stocks: 10,000 for the government, 4,000 for the founders, and 6,000 to be freely acquired by the private business of Rosario, a major port city on the Paraná River. The bank opened simultaneously in Rosario and the provincial capital Santa Fe City on 1 September 1874.

On 12 July 1991 the Provincial Bank of Santa Fe became a (sociedad anónima) with its majority share owned by the provincial state, and changed its name to Banco de Santa Fe SAPEM. The process was highly controversial and more than 5 years were needed for the privatization law to be voted successfully; the bank was finally privatized as Nuevo Banco de Santa Fe S.A. in 1997, and left under the control of the Banca General de Negocios (BGN), a financial group with participation of important international banks (the Chase Manhattan Bank, the Dresdner Bank and the Credit Suisse), managed by the brothers Carlos and José Rohm (the latter was the president of the NBSF). The Rohms were accused of money laundering in 2002, for which Carlos was arrested as he tried to flee the country, while his brother escaped. [1] [2]

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