Businessweek

Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. operates as a financial services holding company. The company’s main subsidiary, Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires S.A. (Banco Galicia) operates as a full-service bank in Argentina. Through the operating subsidiaries of Tarjetas Regionales S.A., a holding company controlled by Banco Galicia, and Compañía Financiera Argentina (CFA) (97% Banco Galicia, 3% Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.), the company provides proprietary brand credit cards throughout the interior of the country and consumer finance services throughout Argentina. Through Sudamericana Holding S.A. (Sudamericana) and its subsidiaries, the company provides insurance products in Argentina. The company directly or indirectly owns other companies providing financial related products. As of December 31, 2011, the company’s distribution network consisted of: Banco Galicia with 244 branches located in Argentina; Tarjeta Naranja S.A. with 151 sales points located in 21 Argentine provinces; Tarjetas Cuyanas S.A. with 44 sales points in the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, San Luis, Santiago del Estero, La Pampa, La Rioja, Catamarca, Neuquén, Rio Negro, Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán; and CFA with 40 branches, 39 mini-branches and 16 payment centers in all of Argentina’s provinces. Banking Banco Galicia provides, directly or through its subsidiaries, a variety of financial products and services to large corporations, small and medium sized companies, and individuals. Banco Galicia provides a range of financial services through a diversified distribution platform in Argentina. This distribution platform, as of December 31, 2011, was comprised of 244 full service banking branches, located throughout the country, 1,534 ATMs and self-service terminals owned by Banco Galicia, phone banking and e-banking facilities. Banco Galicia’s customer base, on an unconsolidated basis, was comprised of approximately 2.3 million customers. Banco Galicia’s primary clients are classified into two categories, the Wholesale Banking Division and the Retail Banking Division. Wholesale Banking The Wholesale Banking division manages and develops Banco Galicia’s relationship with the companies of the different economic sectors. The financial products and services offered includes collection and payment services, commercial credit cards that are modified for the needs of particular market segments, direct payroll deposit, capital market alternatives, foreign trade solutions and corporate e-banking services through Galicia Office. As of December 31, 2011, Banco Galicia provided financial assistance to approximately 56,000 companies in Argentina by providing such companies with access to credit lines that they could then use to finance their working capital needs for medium and long-term investment projects. Galicia Office is a corporate e-banking service, which companies use, to make inquiries and requests about their banking products (accounts, loans, investments, Visa and Galicia Rural liquidations), as well as gain access to a range of information about their check portfolio and returned checks, request and ratify checkbooks, make transfers between their accounts and third party accounts, make investments, consult Banco Galicia regarding their foreign trade transaction balance, make payments to their employees with maximum security, renew their digital signature online and make payments to their suppliers. Capital Markets and Investment Banking: Banco Galicia’s capital market activity is focused on corporate debt transactions and, to a lesser extent, on securitization transactions. In addition, Banco Galicia contributes to the optimization of its affiliated companies’ financing strategies. Foreign Trade: During 2011, Galicia Office recorded approximately 48,000 foreign trade transactions conducted by 2,000 customers. Retail Banking The Retail Banking division manages Banco Galicia’s business with individuals from all income brackets, micro and smaller businesses and small retailers and professionals. Retail Banking provides a range of financial products and services, encompassing transactions, loans, and investments. On the transactions si