Holding Monex

Holding Monex is a Mexico-based financial-services holding company whose principal activity is the provision of foreign-exchange and payment solutions. Founded in 1985 by Hector Lagos Donde, the group developed from a foreign-exchange business into a broader financial conglomerate serving commercial clients, individuals, and people visiting or conducting business in Mexico. Its activities have included international payments, currency conversion, banking, securities, employee-benefit payment products, and other financial services. The group has operated through several businesses, including Grupo Financiero Monex, Banco Monex, Monex Casa de Bolsa, Pagos Intermex, Prestaciones Universales, AdmiMonex, and international foreign-exchange operations. Its expansion has included the United States and Europe. In 2010, Holding Monex acquired Tempus Consulting, a United States-based foreign-exchange and payment-services company. In 2012, it acquired Schneider Foreign Exchange in the United Kingdom and subsequently integrated the business into Monex Europe. These transactions strengthened the group’s ability to support cross-border payments and currency transactions outside Mexico. Holding Monex became a publicly traded company in Mexico in 2010 through an initial public offering and entered the Mexican market under the Sociedad Anónima Promotora de Inversión Bursátil framework. The company’s listed securities have traded under the MONEXB designation. Its operating model combines regulated financial subsidiaries with specialized foreign-exchange and payment businesses, allowing it to serve corporate customers with international transaction needs as well as retail and individual users. The group has described itself as one of the larger dedicated providers of commercial foreign exchange, handling millions of annual transactions and serving clients across Mexico, the United States, and Europe. Historical descriptions of its business include open trade-credit facilities, investment products, banking services, and payment instruments. Because the scale and financial figures reported in available reference material are tied to particular historical periods and are not independently updated here, they should not be treated as current measures of the company’s size. Monex has also emphasized compliance, risk management, information security, and corporate responsibility. Certain Grupo Financiero Monex and Monex Securities operations received ISO-related certifications described in reference material as covering anti-money-laundering controls, integrated risk management, and information security. The group has been associated with Mexico’s Global Compact activities and has received socially responsible-company and workplace-related recognitions. The company became politically controversial during Mexico’s 2012 federal election after allegations that prepaid Monex cards were distributed by or for the Institutional Revolutionary Party and that Monex-related accounts were used to channel unlawful campaign contributions. Mexico’s highest election-law court rejected the allegations, finding no proven vote buying, coercion, or illicit inducement. The episode remains part of the public history surrounding the brand, although the cited ruling did not establish electoral fraud. Holding Monex remains an active financial-services group with a business identity centered on foreign exchange, cross-border payments, and related regulated financial products.

Holding Monex was established in Mexico in 1985 by Hector Lagos Donde. It began as a foreign-exchange-oriented financial business and expanded into a group offering international payments and other services to commercial customers and individuals. Lagos Donde is identified in the available historical account as the company’s founder and continuing president. The group subsequently assembled a conglomerate structure around several Mexican and international operations. Its Mexican activities included Grupo Financiero Monex and related banking, brokerage, payment, employee-benefit, and administrative businesses. It also developed international operations to support clients making cross-border payments and managing currency exposure. By 2010, the company was reported to have dozens of offices, including a presence in Houston, and to serve tens of thousands of clients. A significant corporate milestone occurred in 2010, when Holding Monex became publicly listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. It entered the market through the Sociedad Anónima Promotora de Inversión Bursátil program, a listing route described in the reference material as having been used by only one earlier company. The listed group initially included four direct subsidiaries: Monex Grupo Financiero, Pagos Intermex, Prestaciones Universales, and AdmiMonex. In the same year, Holding Monex acquired Tempus Consulting, Inc., a United States foreign-exchange and payment-services company. The group continued its geographic expansion in Europe. In July 2012, it acquired Schneider Foreign Exchange, a United Kingdom retail foreign-exchange provider. Schneider was subsequently renamed or integrated as Monex Europe, giving Holding Monex a European platform alongside its Mexican and United States operations. By 2013, the group was described as operating in approximately forty cities across Mexico, the United States, and Europe. Holding Monex’s business scope has included commercial currency exchange, international payments, banking services for foreign visitors and businesses in Mexico, securities and investment activities, trade-credit facilities, and payment products. The company has stated that its commercial foreign-exchange platform handles millions of transactions annually. Historical reference material also describes it as a regulated entity in the countries where it operates, although the exact regulatory status of individual subsidiaries and the group’s current scale require verification from current filings. Risk management and compliance have been recurring elements of the group’s corporate profile. Grupo Financiero Monex and Monex Securities were associated with ISO certifications covering anti-money-laundering prevention, integrated risk management, and information-security management. Monex also participated in the United Nations Global Compact from 2005 and received social-responsibility and workplace recognitions in Mexico. In 2011, it participated in a government-linked initiative concerning housing access for informal or untaxed workers. The most prominent controversy in the available historical record arose during Mexico’s 2012 federal election. Allegations claimed that prepaid Monex cards had been distributed to prospective voters by the Institutional Revolutionary Party and that Monex could have been used to route illegal campaign contributions through customer accounts. Mexico’s highest election-law court rejected the claims unanimously, concluding that vote buying, coercion, and illicit inducement had not been proven. The allegations and their adjudication nevertheless became a notable part of the company’s public history. Holding Monex is presented in the available reference material as an active, publicly traded Mexican financial group. Its identity is principally associated with foreign exchange and cross-border payment infrastructure, complemented by banking, securities, and specialized payment businesses.

1. 2013Expansion across Mexico, the United States, and Europe

   The group was described as operating across approximately forty cities in its principal geographic markets.

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2. 2012Acquisition of Schneider Foreign Exchange

   Holding Monex acquired the United Kingdom foreign-exchange provider Schneider Foreign Exchange, later associated with Monex Europe.

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3. 2012Election-related allegations rejected

   Mexico’s highest election-law court rejected allegations involving Monex cards, vote buying, coercion, and unlawful campaign financing.

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4. 2011Participation in a housing initiative

   Monex participated in a program associated with the Mexican federal government that sought to support housing access for approximately 20,000 informal workers.

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5. 2010Initial public offering and Mexican listing

   Holding Monex became listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange and entered the SAPI bursátil program.

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6. 2010Acquisition of Tempus Consulting

   The group acquired Tempus Consulting in the United States to broaden its foreign-exchange and international-payment operations.

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7. 2005Participation in the United Nations Global Compact

   Grupo Financiero Monex joined the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative addressing human rights, labor, environmental responsibility, transparency, and anti-corruption.

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8. 1985Holding Monex is founded

   Hector Lagos Donde founded the Mexican foreign-exchange and financial-services group.

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A regulated, cross-border financial-services group specializing in commercial foreign exchange and international payments, with additional banking, securities, and payment-product capabilities.

• Commercial foreign exchangeForeign exchange

  Foreign-exchange services for commercial customers, including currency conversion and support for companies with international payment or currency-management requirements. This is the core business category associated with Holding Monex across its Mexican, United States, and European operations.

• International paymentsPayments

  Cross-border payment services intended to help businesses and individuals transfer funds internationally. The group’s acquisitions and international subsidiaries have been used to extend this capability beyond Mexico.

• Banking and securities servicesFinancial services

  Banking and brokerage-related services delivered through Monex financial subsidiaries in Mexico. The broader offering has included banking for customers visiting or doing business in Mexico, securities activities, and investment-related services.

• Payment and employee-benefit productsPayment products

  Payment products associated with businesses such as Pagos Intermex and Prestaciones Universales. These activities broaden the group beyond currency exchange into employer-linked payment and benefits administration.

• 2011Housing-support initiative for informal workers

  Mexico

  Holding Monex participated in a program launched by Mexican President Felipe Calderón that sought to facilitate housing access for approximately 20,000 untaxed or informal workers.

  Outcome. The available reference identifies the participation but does not provide a detailed evaluation of the program’s results.

  Source
• 2005United Nations Global Compact participation

  Mexico

  Monex joined the United Nations Global Compact and associated itself with principles covering human rights, labor, environmental responsibility, transparency, and anti-corruption.

  Outcome. The participation formed part of the group’s stated corporate-responsibility profile.

  Source

• 2012Acquire Schneider Foreign ExchangeM&A

  The group sought to strengthen its European foreign-exchange presence.

  What changed. Holding Monex acquired the United Kingdom retail foreign-exchange provider Schneider Foreign Exchange.

  Aftermath. The acquired business was subsequently associated with the Monex Europe operation.

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• 2010Acquire Tempus ConsultingM&A

  Holding Monex was expanding its international foreign-exchange and payment capabilities beyond Mexico.

  What changed. The group acquired Tempus Consulting, a United States foreign-exchange and payment-services company.

  Aftermath. Tempus became part of Holding Monex’s international operating network.

  Source
• 2010List on the Mexican Stock ExchangeOther

  Holding Monex had developed a multi-subsidiary financial-services structure and sought access to public capital markets.

  What changed. The company completed an initial public offering and listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the SAPI bursátil program.

  Aftermath. Holding Monex became a publicly traded financial group with the MONEXB ticker designation.

  Initial public offering. (2010)

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• 2012Monex cards and Mexico’s 2012 federal electionControversy

  During Mexico’s 2012 federal election, allegations linked prepaid Monex cards to prospective voters and alleged that Monex-related accounts could have been used to channel illegal campaign contributions to the Institutional Revolutionary Party. The Federal Electoral Tribunal rejected the allegations unanimously, stating that vote buying, coercion, and illicit inducement had not been proven.

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• 2013Standard & Poor’s affirms Holding Monex ratings

  Standard & Poor’s affirmed Mexican national-scale ratings reported for Holding Monex, including short- and long-term ratings.

  Other
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• 2012Holding Monex acquires Schneider Foreign Exchange

  Holding Monex purchased the United Kingdom retail foreign-exchange provider Schneider Foreign Exchange and later operated it as part of Monex Europe.

  M&A
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• 2012Fitch assigns Mexican national-scale rating to Holding Monex

  Fitch issued an A (mex) rating for Holding Monex and related securities and assigned comparable ratings to certain financial subsidiaries, according to the cited company history.

  Other
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• 2010Holding Monex becomes publicly listed in Mexico

  Holding Monex completed an initial public offering and entered the Mexican Stock Exchange under the SAPI framework, with several operating subsidiaries included in its corporate structure.

  Other
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• 2010Holding Monex acquires Tempus Consulting

  The group acquired the United States-based foreign-exchange company Tempus Consulting, expanding its international payment and currency-services platform.

  M&A
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1. Holding Monex