DBRS Opens Office in Mexico as Part of Global Expansion; Names Head of Business Development & Compliance Officer for Mexico

DBRS today announces the opening of a new office in Mexico City and the launch of a new website, www.dbrs.mx, as part of its ongoing global expansion program.

DBRS has named Salvador Cruz Senior Vice President, Country Manager and Head of Business Development for Mexico. DBRS has also named Luis Alvarez Vice President, Global Compliance Officer & Regulatory Counsel for Mexico.

DBRS Ratings Mexico, DBRS’s operating unit in Mexico, has received authorization from the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores to issue credit ratings within Mexico. DBRS already issues a sovereign debt rating for Mexico (Long-Term Foreign Currency – Issuer Rating confirmed at BBB (high) with a Stable trend on 15 June 2016) as part of its Global Sovereign Ratings Group.

Mr. Cruz will work to raise the profile of DBRS’s business and brand in the Mexican capital markets and the surrounding region. Mr. Alvarez will oversee the day-to-day compliance and regulatory affairs functions for the Mexico City office, ensuring DBRS continues to meet the highest regulatory standards in the regions where it operates.

The world’s fourth-largest credit ratings agency, DBRS has been growing extensively across the globe since expanding beyond its original Canadian borders in 2004. Growth further accelerated in 2015 when DBRS was acquired by a consortium led by The Carlyle Group and Warburg Pincus. The office in Mexico City is the fifth for DBRS, which also has offices in Toronto, New York, Chicago and London.

Mr. Cruz, 51, will be responsible for business strategy, governmental and public affairs, market outreach as well as day-to-day responsibilities associated with opening the new corporate office in Mexico. Mr. Cruz began working at DBRS in early January 2016 and reports to Sean O’Connor, Managing Director, Head of the Global Business Development Group.

With more than 20 years of banking and financial services experience, Mr. Cruz joined DBRS after working at Scotiabank and its predecessor Casa de Bolsa Inverlat. His most recent position prior to joining DBRS was Head of Global Transaction Banking for Latin America at Scotiabank, working in the company’s Mexico City and Toronto offices.

Mr. Cruz holds a bachelor’s degree in public accounting and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Instituto Tecnológico Autonómo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City.

Mr. Alvarez, 53, will be responsible for Compliance and Legal in the Mexico City office. He joined DBRS in March 2016 and reports to Brian Weiss, Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer.

With more than 25 years of experience in the financial services sector in Mexico focusing on Governmental and Internal Control, Mr. Alvarez joined DBRS after a career at HSBC and Santander Mexico. Most recently Mr. Alvarez was Head of Compliance for the Mexico office and coordinator for the regulatory affairs operations for Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

Mr. Alvarez holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

Founded in 1976, DBRS is an independent, privately held, globally recognized credit ratings agency. DBRS strives to differentiate itself from its competitors through a more pragmatic rather than mechanistic approach, in-depth research products and unequalled mandate execution.

For further details about DBRS’s Mexico City office, please visit www.dbrs.mx.

Media Contact
Stephen Bernard
Vice President
Research & Communications
+1 212 806 3240
sbernard@dbrs.com