Victor Vargas
| Victor Vargas | |
|---|---|
Victor Vargas Irausquin, president of Banco Occidental de Descuento (BOD)
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| Born |
Víctor José Vargas Irausquín 28 March 1952 |
| Nationality | Venezuelan |
| Education | Andrés Bello Catholic University |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Children | Maria Victoria Vargas Victor Jose Vargas (deceased) Marie Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou Victor Simon Vargas Maria Guadalupe Vargas |
| Relatives | Francisco D'Agostino (son-in-law) Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou (son-in-law) |
Victor Vargas (born March 28, 1952) is a Venezuelan entrepreneur and philanthropist, best known for being the owner and president of the fourth largest private bank in Venezuela, Banco Occidental de Descuento.
Vargas runs a number of philanthropies and charities targeted to help children, the environment, and budding entrepreneurs in Latin America. He is also known as the owner and star player of the Lechuza Caracas polo team.
According to World Finance magazine in August 2015, "Victor Vargas is one of Venezuela’s top entrepreneurs: president of BOD and numerous other Latin American banks, he is leading the charge in supporting micro-businesses in the country."
Victor Vargas was born in Venezuela. His mother was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Venezuela. His father was a doctor. He earned his law degree at Andrés Bello Catholic University.
Vargas started his career as a lawyer.
In the 1980s, he acquired 21% of CapitalBanc Corp., a bank based in New York City. The bank was closed down in the early 1990s after authorities discovered fraud not involving Vargas. He was never charged or accused of fraud. He is quoted describing the venture as "the worst business" of his life, the product of being "naive". He shared his experience in October 2007 when he moderated a panel on corporate governance at a Miami conference of the Florida International Bankers Association and the Latin American Banks Federation.
In 1992 he sold a small bank he founded and owned. He used those funds a year later, in 1993, to buy Banco Occidental de Descuento, based in the oil-rich state of Zulia. Many of his clients are oil investors. Another form of revenue comes from purchasing sovereign debt bonds and re-selling them for profit to investors. As of 2015, it was the fourth largest private bank in Venezuela. He serves as its President and Chairman.
In 2014, Vargas and BOD partnered with American Express to provide a new credit product for microentrepreneurs. Microentrepreneurs provide for 15 percent of the Venezuelan economy.
Vargas and BOD’s goal was to expand the American Express card to 300,000 cardholders with access to 46,000 businesses by 2013. The card would offer a 4-year rotating term financing option.
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Wikipedia