November 2017

Mexico’s presidential front-runner vows stable economy; aide urges NAFTA delay

Mexico’s leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed on Monday to boost infrastructure spending but guard economic stability, while his team reiterated that ongoing NAFTA talks should be put off until after next year’s election. Lopez Obrador, the front-runner in most polls ahead of the July vote, unveiled a platform that envisioned an austere government to root out corruption and redirect spending to public works and social programs without new taxes or raising the debt-to-GDP ratio. He rebutted claims he...

What are the effects of expanding a social pension program on extreme poverty and labor supply ? evidence from Mexico's pension program for the elderly (English)

By Clemente Avila Parra & David Ricardo Escamilla Guerrero In 2013, Mexico's Social Pension Program for the Elderly was expanded by changing its eligibility threshold from age 70 to age 65. Using pooled cross-sectional data from Mexico's National Household Income and Expenditure Survey, the exogenous variation around eligibility age was exploited to uncover the causal effects of this expansion on extreme poverty and labor supply of the newly eligible population, and to explore potential transmission mechanisms. Applying quasi-experimental methods, results...

What are the effects of expanding a social pension program on extreme poverty and labor supply ? evidence from Mexico’s pension program for the elderly (English)

By Clemente Avila Parra & David Ricardo Escamilla Guerrero In 2013, Mexico's Social Pension Program for the Elderly was expanded by changing its eligibility threshold from age 70 to age 65. Using pooled cross-sectional data from Mexico's National Household Income and Expenditure Survey, the exogenous variation around eligibility age was exploited to uncover the causal effects of this expansion on extreme poverty and labor supply of the newly eligible population, and to explore potential transmission mechanisms. Applying quasi-experimental methods, results...

October 2017

Principal to Acquire MetLife Afore in Mexico

Today, Principal Financial Group® announced it has signed an agreement to acquire full ownership of MetLife Afore, S.A. de C.V. (“MetLife Afore”), MetLife, Inc.’s pension fund management business in Mexico, subject to regulatory approval. With nearly 25 years in Mexico, Principal is committed to growing across its mandatory pension, voluntary long-term savings, and mutual funds businesses. “As the middle class in emerging markets continues to grow, there is increasing demand for long-term retirement and investing products that enable individuals to...

Canada. CDPQ and CKD IM acquire Mexican wind and solar assets of Enel Green Power, for a total capacity of 1,712 MW

La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a long-term institutional investor, and CKD Infraestructura México (CKD IM), a consortium of Mexican institutional investors, announced today the acquisition of 80% of a portfolio of eight wind and solar assets owned by Enel Green Power(Enel), a global leader in renewable energy. Following this transaction, Enel will remain the operator and retain 20% of the portfolio. This is a major investment for CDPQ and CKD IM, a group consisting of Mexican pension fund managers...

September 2017

Using Behavioral Science to Increase Retirement Savings

By Andrew Fertig, Jaclyn Lefkowitz & Alissa Fishbane We all deserve a dignified retirement, yet for many of us saving enough remains an obscure, unrealized goal. In an ideal world, planning for our retirement would begin with our first job, continue throughout our working years, and end in sufficient savings for a comfortable future. This pathway may be possible for the few among us with employer-provided pensions, where someone else handles all the planning and saving. Yet trends in the retirement...

Borrowing on the Wrong Credit Card: Evidence from Mexico

By Alejandro Ponce (World Justice Project), Enrique Seira (Banco de México; ITAM) & Guillermo Zamarripa (FUNDEF, Mexico) We study how consumers allocate debt across credit cards they already hold using new data on credit card activity for a representative sample of consumers with two homogeneous cards in Mexico. We find that relative prices are a very weak predictor of the allocation of debt, purchases, and payments. On average, consumers pay 31 % above their minimum financing cost. Evidence on cross-card...

Mexico readies bill to regulate fast-growing fintech industry

Mexico would regulate its fast-growing financial technology sector, including firms that use crypto-currencies like bitcoin, to protect consumers and spur competition, under a proposed bill seen by Reuters. The proposed legislation, which Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said this month would be unveiled in the Senate before Sept. 20, seeks to ensure financial stability and defend against money laundering and financing of extremists. The new measures will allow Mexico to join a small list of countries, including the United States...

August 2017

Second Mexico exchange aims to open at start of 2018 -bourse chief

Mexico's new, second stock exchange BIVA aims to be operating by the start of next year, as it bids to capture part of the existing market in Latin America's No. 2 economy and entice more companies to issue stock, the new exchange's president said on Monday. The Institutional Stock Exchange, known by its Spanish acronym BIVA, is set to formally receive its operating license at an event in Mexico City on Tuesday. It will compete with the Mexican Stock Exchange,...

May 2017

Mexican Antitrust Regulators Fines Pension Fund Managers

Mexico’s antitrust commission said Thursday it fined four pension fund management firms and 11 individuals a combined 1.1 billion pesos ($58 million) for making agreements to limit transfers of retirement accounts from one manager to another, restricting competition in the market. The Federal Competition Commission said that between November 2012 and June 2014, six bilateral agreements were signed among pension fund... Full Content: Wall Street Journal Remember to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter for more news or subscribe to our service...