GENTERA: Facing the Digital Age

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira

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Synopsis: After long dominating Mexican microfinance, Compartamos Banco faces the emergence of fintech, just as for the first time its loan portfolio and clients have declined. Enrique Maj s, CEO of GENTERA, the bank s parent company, is keenly aware of the profound changes since the Compartamos IPO in April 2007, when it was valued at $1.5 billion and became the first bank wholly dedicated to microfinance to be quoted in a major stock exchange. Since then, the market has become intensely competitive, with both large established institutions and new entrants vying for the same customers. Simultaneously, the digital era has spawned fintech, threatening to disrupt Compartamos' highly successful model but also providing opportunities for the bank to reshape it. While challenged to manage key innovation within a leading incumbent, Maj s must consider whether to commit his team to a major cost reduction in the next few years to his board of directors at their next meeting at the end of the month.