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{{Short description|Mexican financial group}}
{{Citation style|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name   = Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.B. de C.V.
| logo   = Banorte (banking and financial services holding company) logo.svg
| logo_size   = 250px
| image  = 
| type             = [[S.A. (corporation)|Sociedad Anónima Bursátil de Capital Variable]] 
| traded_as      = {{unbulleted list|{{BMV|GFNORTE|5433}}|{{BMAD|isin=MXP370711014|XNOR}}}}
| foundation     = {{start date and age|df=yes|1899||}}
| location       = [[Monterrey]], [[Mexico]]
| key_people     = [[Carlos Hank González (businessman, born 1971)|Carlos Hank González]] <br/><small>(Chairman)</small>
                   José Marcos Ramírez Miguel <br/><small>(CEO)</small>
| area_served    = Mexico
| locations      = 1,269 branches
| industry       = [[Finance and Insurance]]
| services       = commercial banking, pensions, insurance, brokerage
| revenue        = {{increase}} Mx$ 212.3 billion <small>(2021)</small> <br/> {{increase}} US$ 10.3 billion
| net_income     = {{increase}} Mx$ 35 billion <small>(2021)</small> <br/> {{increase}} US$ 1.7 billion
| assets         = {{increase}} Mx$ 1850.9 billion <small>(2021)</small> <br/> {{increase}} US$ 89.5 billion
| num_employees  = 27,000
| parent         =
| homepage       = [http://www.banorte.com www.banorte.com]
|}}

'''Grupo Financiero Banorte, S.A.B. de C.V.''', doing business as '''Banorte''' (''Banco Mercantil del Norte'') and as '''Ixe''', is a Mexican banking and financial services holding company with headquarters in [[Monterrey]] and [[Mexico City]]. It is one of the four largest commercial banks of [[Mexico]] by assets and loans, and the largest retirement fund administrator ([[Retirement Funds Administrators (Mexico)|AFORE]]).<ref name="ReferenceA">[http://www.banorte.com/doc/Informe_Anual_2014_esp.pdf Grupo Financiero Banorte 2014 Annual Report]</ref>

Grupo Financiero Banorte operates its commercial bank under the brands Banorte and Ixe, offering savings accounts, credit cards, payday loans, mortgages, commercial loans and auto loans. Its performing loan portfolio was of US$35 billion in 2014.<ref>[http://www.banorte.com/doc/Conference_Call_4Q14%20.pdf Banorte 4Q14 Conference Call]</ref> It also performs insurance, pension, leasing, and brokerage activities.

Banorte has 1,269 branches and 7,297 ATMs nationwide. It can also receive deposits through more than 5,200 commercial establishments, such as drug stores, convenience stores, and supermarkets.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Grupo Financiero Banorte is listed on the [[Mexican Stock Exchange]] and on the Latibex. It is a constituent of the [[Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones|IPC]], the main benchmark index of the [[Mexican Stock Exchange]], and of the [[S&P Latin America 40]], which includes leading, [[Blue chip (stock market)|blue chip]] companies from [[Latin America]].

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2022}}
Banorte was founded in 1992 in the city of [[Monterrey]], [[Nuevo León]], Mexico and is the primary subsidiary of Grupo Financiero Banorte, one of Mexico's largest and oldest financial institutions, which has been present in Mexico since 1899. The "Banorte" trademark is a well-known mark in Mexico. The web domain name "banorte.com" was created in 1998.

It is a Forbes Global 2000 company, with total consolidated assets of approximately $80 billion, more than 30 billion dollars in assets under management, 12,500 employees and 950 branches. It is the only major bank in Mexico not owned by any foreign group. 

It was established in 1889 as [[Banco Mercantil de Monterrey]]. In 1985 merged with [[Banco Regional del Norte]] to form Banco Mercantil del Norte (Banorte). In 1992, it was purchased from the Mexican Government by a group of investors headed by the Mexican businessman [[Roberto González Barrera]]. Over the next decade, Banorte transformed itself from a regional bank, based mainly in the northern Mexico, to one with nationwide coverage. In late 2001, Banorte acquired [[Bancrecer]] in US$125 million. Bancrecer had been taken over in 1999 by [[IPAB]]. Bancrecer had itself taken over another bank, Banco del Noroeste ([[Banoro]]), in 1997.

Banorte expanded their business lines to include leasing (Arrendadora Banorte) in 1990, and to warehousing and factoring services (Almacenadora Banorte and Factor Banorte) in 1991. In order to set up a financial group with full services Banorte wanted a securities company under its control, and Banorte acquired Casa de Bolsa Afin in July 1993. In 1997, Banorte established an alliance with the Italian insurance company [[Assicurazioni Generali|Generali]] to offer insurance, pension funds, and Afore's services through their subsidiaries Afore Banorte-Generalli, Seguros Banorte-Generalli and Pensiones Banorte-Generalli.

Banorte has operations in New York (Banorte Securities) and [[Grand Cayman]] (Banorte Grand Cayman Branch).

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 for Grupo Financiero Banorte:

* Total Assets: 1.6 trillion pesos (US$90 billion)<br>Equity:  237 billion pesos (US$11 billion)<br>Return on assets (ROA): 1.6%
* Return on average Equity (ROE): 15.3%

== Money laundering involvement in US Operation Casablanca ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2022}}{{About|a US investigation into Mexican drug cartels||Phases of Operation Car Wash#Operation Casablanca|section=yes}}
[[Operation Casablanca]] was a three-year U.S. investigation of major Mexican banking institutions for laundering illicit drug profits. Mexican authorities were not informed about the investigation.

This operations led U.S. Customs agents to arrest 22 high-ranking and mid-level bankers from 12 of Mexico's largest banks when they traveled to the U.S. in mid-May, expecting to attend a banking conference. The investigation produced 160 indictments, including 3 Mexican banks and 26 Mexican bankers. Banorte was among the banks and bankers implicated in money laundry, according to the Operation Casablanca. From the June to July 1998 issue of ''Money Laundering Alert'', Banorte was suspected to have laundered $7,323,103.51,{{citation needed|reason=This figure seems unlikely, and looks like a foreign currency conversion with too many significant figures.|date=August 2020}} and Banorte faced a civil penalty lawsuit under Title 18, USC Sec. 1956(b) and civil forfeiture action under Title 18, USC Secs. 981 & 984. On July 1, 1999, a U.S. federal judge in Los Angeles dismissed with "extreme prejudice" the forfeiture case against Banorte. No criminal charges were filed and U.S. authorities gave them back $1.4 million seized in the operation. Banorte had implemented anti-money laundering policies and procedures and had detected and closed money laundering accounts prior to Operation Casablanca. These policies and practices assisted Banorte in defending itself against the money laundering charges.

==Banorte's entry to the US banking market==

In 2006, Banorte acquired 70% of INB Financial Corp stock for $259 million.<ref name="banorte.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.banorte.com/portal/personas/informacion.web?grupo=14&elemento=69|title=Banorte - El Banco Fuerte de México|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref>  INB Financial Corp is the holding company of Texas-based [[Inter National Bank]]. Banorte exercised its option to acquire the remaining 30% of INB Financial Corp stock for $146.6 million in 2009.<ref name="banorte.com"/>  As of March 2013, Inter National Bank has $2.1 billion in assets and is the 19th largest Texas bank.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banking.state.tx.us/pubs/topbnks/top100.htm |title=Top 100 Banks in Texas |access-date=2013-08-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614193650/http://www.banking.state.tx.us/pubs/topbnks/top100.htm |archive-date=2013-06-14 }}</ref>

==Sponsorship==
As of 2020, Banorte has been the sponsor of the [[Mérida Marathon]] in [[Mérida, Yucatán|Mérida]], [[Mexico]], a city in the state of [[Yucatan]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

On 14 March 2025, Banorte bought the [[naming rights]] to [[Estadio Azteca]] in [[Mexico City]] and renamed it Estadio Banorte which helped fund the renovations for the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/44253209/estadio-azteca-banorte-new-name-world-cup-2026-remodel|title=Estadio Azteca changes name ahead of 2026 WC|date=March 14, 2025|website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Banks}}
*[[List of companies traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange]]
*[[List of companies of Mexico|List of Mexican companies]]
*[[Economy of Mexico]]

==Sources==
*[http://federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/orders/.../200610132/attachment.pdf Grupo Financiero Banorte and Banorte USA]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.narconews.com/casablanca1.htmlNarco News, "Operation Casablanca"]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.unesco.org/most/astorga.htm Drug Trafficking in Mexico: A First General Assessment]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014140/http://www.moneylaundering.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ID=961 Mexican bank, Banorte, challenges U.S. and prevails in Casablanca]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070106215748/http://kroll.com/about/history/notable/ Kroll's Notable Cases]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213511/http://www.powmadeak47.com/mex/mex99dwbanks.html Mexico bank gets back funds seized in U.S. sting]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120206023951/http://cupcake.freeshell.org/profile2006/hh3newsprt.cgi?hh3news%2Fweb-060329-citibank-confia-acqusition.html Citibank—The Confia Acquisition in Mexico]
*[http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-1215.html WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center]
*Adrian E. Tschoegl. "Foreign ownership in Mexican Banking: A Self- Correcting Phenomenon". The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, October 23, 2006.
*Taeko Hoshino. Privatization of Mexico's public enterprises and the restructuring of the private sector. The Developing Economies, XXXIV-1 (March 1996) [http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/De/pdf/96_01_02.pdf]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090227172035/http://www.greatplacetowork.com.mx/best/list-mx.htm www.greatplacetowork.com.mx]
*[https://maanimo.mx/banks/banorte Banorte exchange rate]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{IPC companies}}
{{S&P Latin America 40}}
{{Mexican banks}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Banks of Mexico]]
[[Category:Companies based in Monterrey]]
[[Category:Banks established in 1899]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange]]
[[Category:Companies in the Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones]]
[[Category:Companies in the S&P Latin America 40]]
[[Category:Mexican brands]]
[[Category:Mexican companies established in 1899]]