“In Puerto Maderero and Recoleta these days, the executive suits are everywhere. Suddenly, we are seeing more limos and formally-dressed men entering and leaving meetings in cafés and luxury hotels,” says Argentine daily Clarín. And while these meetings—between wealthy Argentines with investments abroad and their financial advisors—used to take place in local offices, new Argentine Central Bank regulations are forcing 14 foreign banks to reconsider their BA presence. In addition to limiting consumer choice and stifling competition, the measures offer a glimpse of what could happen in the U.S. if the federal government succeeds in creating what the Wall Street Journal calls a new “Super Regulator.” The measure in question, A4981/09, began changing the rules of the game for foreign banks providing wealth management services to clients in BuenosAires. In essence, it makes it more difficult for these banks to take new deposits locally and invest them abroad. If they maintained a physical presence with local branches, these foreign banks would only be able to offer financial advisory services to clients who had previously shifted their funds abroad. The subsequent decision by several banks including Wells Fargo, HSBC, Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse to move employees and operations to Miami and Montevideo should not, however, be viewed as a defeat or even a retreat. On the contrary, videoconferencing and Internet-enabled money transfers will allow the banks equal or better interaction with their clientes bonaerenses, hence a happy ending: creativity and technology trump bloated bureaucracy once again. (Full Story)

Source: Arcos Dorados S.A.
Bloomberg is reporting that Buenos Aires-based Arcos Dorados, owner of the license to operate McDonald’s restaurants in Argentina and several other Latin American countries, will tap international debt markets and issue $450 million in 10 year bonds this week. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley will manage what Bloomberg calls “the first Argentine corporate bond sale in international markets in almost two years.” The transaction is a positive signal for the largest restaurant operator in Latin America as well as for other Argentine companies whose borrowing costs have fallen considerably this year thanks to diminished country risk. With more than 1,750 locations in 19 countries, Arcos Dorados reported net revenue of over $3.5 billion in 2008. While Arcos Dorados is targeting porteño coffee lovers with the recently launched McCafé concept (Story), the McDonald’s Argentina facebook page promotes new menu innovations like the McFlurry Cadbury and the Doble McNífica. Me encanta™.

Starbucks at the Alto Palermo Galleria
From Mercedes-Benz to American Express to McDonald’s, Argentines have long had an appetite for killer brands, so it was only logical that Starbucks finally made the foray into Buenos Aires. The Seattle-based coffee giant opened its first BA coffeehouse in the trendyAlto Palermo shopping center in May 2008, and the local chain now consists of four locations in Downtown, Palermo and Belgrano. In addition to free WiFi and relaxing environments, company officials even added dulce de leche and yerba mate items to the local menu in a show of respect for porteño palettes. In keeping with their track record of corporate responsibility, Starbucks announced an alliance with FNDF, a Palermo-based organization that provides support and resources for local children with cancer.











