In September 2010, SMBC established a representative office in Colombia, which acts as a regional hub for the Andean Region. The office supports the activities of its clients in these countries, including Japanese affiliates, foreign companies with investments in the region, as well as leading public and private sector corporations and government entities. SMBC’s activities in the region range from project finance, financial advisory, and export and agency finance to trade finance and corporate lending. The bank has a particular focus on the power, oil & gas, petrochemical, infrastructure and mining sectors.
As one of critical steps taken by SMBC to expand its business in the region, it entered into an alliance with Banco de Bogota, the largest bank within the most important financial group in Colombia and the owner of BAC-Credimatic, the largest bank of Central America. The aim of this alliance is to capitalize on the existing synergies between the 2 institutions, particularly SMBC´s project finance and agency finance capabilities and its international footprint with Banco de Bogota´s local client penetration and knowledge and its local funding capabilities. This alliance is allowing SMBC to provide a comprehensive package of financial solutions for its clients in the region.