Banco Macro - 20-F annual report

 

(Mark One)

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Argentina
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Sarmiento 447, City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
(Address of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Jorge Scarinci
Financial and Investor Relations Manager
Banco Macro S.A.
401 Sarmiento, 4^th Floor
Buenos Aires—C1041AAI, Argentina
Telephone: (+54-11-5222-6730)
Facsimile: (+54-11-5222-7826)
(Name, telephone, e-mail and/or facsimile member and address of company contact person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes o No þ

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes o No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days:

Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Yes o No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer þ  Accelerated filer o  Non-accelerated filer o 

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:

Item 17 o Item 18 þ

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes o No þ

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 23 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by the court.

Yes o No o

 

 

In this annual report, we use the terms “the registrant,” “we,” “us,” “our” and the “bank” to refer to Banco Macro S.A. and its subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis. References to “Class B shares^" refer to shares of our Class B common stock and references to “ADSs” refer to American depositary shares representing our Class B shares, except where the context requires otherwise. References to our “2036 Notes” refer to our 9.75% Fixed/Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Junior Subordinated Bonds due 2036. References to our “2017 Notes” refer to our 8.50% Notes due 2017. References to our “2012 Notes” refer to our 10.750% Argentine Peso-Linked Notes due 2012.

The term “Argentina” refers to the Republic of Argentina. The terms “Argentine government^" or the “government” refers to the federal government of Argentina and the term “Central Bank” refers to the Banco Central de la República Argentina, or the Argentine Central Bank. The terms “U.S. dollar^" and “U.S. dollars^" and the symbol “US$” refer to the legal currency of the United States. The terms ^"peso^" and “pesos” and the symbol “Ps.” refer to the legal currency of Argentina. “U.S. GAAP^" refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, “Argentine GAAP^" refers to generally accepted accounting principles in Argentina and ^"Central Bank Rules^" refers to the accounting rules of the Central Bank. The term “GDP” refers to gross domestic product and all references in this annual report to GDP growth are to real GDP growth.

We maintain our financial books and records in Argentine pesos and prepare and publish our consolidated financial statements in Argentina in conformity with the Central Bank Rules, which differ in certain significant respects from U.S. GAAP and, to a certain extent, from Argentine GAAP. Our consolidated financial statements contain a description of the principal differences between Central Bank Rules and Argentine GAAP. Under Central Bank Rules, our financial statements were adjusted to account for the effects of wholesale-price inflation in Argentina for the periods through February 28, 2003. For the periods subsequent to February 28, 2003, the inflation adjustments were no longer applied to our financial statements under Central Bank Rules, as inflation returned to normalized levels during 2003. In addition, in December 2004, in May 2006 and in August 2006, we acquired Nuevo Banco Suquía S.A., Banco del Tucumán S.A. (“Banco del Tucumán”) and Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A. (“Nuevo Banco Bisel”), respectively, which significantly enhanced the size and scope of our business. As a result of our acquisition of Nuevo Banco Suquía S.A. (“Nuevo Banco Suquía”), our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2004 differ significantly from our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2005 and as a result of our acquisitions of Banco del Tucumán and Nuevo Banco Bisel, our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2005 are not entirely comparable to our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2006. Additionally, our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2007 and 2008 reflect the results of Banco del Tucumán and Nuevo Banco Bisel for the entire year. Given the instability and regulatory and economic changes that Argentina has experienced since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2001 as well as our acquisitions, the financial information set forth in this annual report may not be fully indicative of our anticipated results of operations or business prospects after the dates indicated. These factors also affect comparability among periods.

Our audited consolidated financial statements for the three years ended December 31, 2008 included in this annual report have been reconciled to U.S. GAAP. See note 35 to our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the three years ended December 31, 2008 for a reconciliation of our financial statements to U.S. GAAP.

Our financial statements in conformity with Central Bank Rules are sent on a monthly basis to the Central Bank, and are published by it on its websitewww.bcra.gov.ar.

Certain figures included in this annual report have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

We make statements in this annual report about our competitive position and market share in, and the market size of, the Argentine banking industry. We have made these statements on the basis of statistics and other information from third-party sources that we believe are reliable. Although we have no reason to believe any of this information or these reports are inaccurate in any material respect, none of us, the selling shareholders or the underwriters have independently verified the competitive position, market share and market size or market growth data provided by third parties or by industry or general publications.

We maintain an Internet site at www.macro.com.ar. Information contained in or otherwise accessible through this website is not a part of this annual report. All references in this annual report to these Internet sites are inactive textual references to these URLs, or “uniform resource locators” and are for your informational reference only.

This annual report contains certain statements that we consider to be “forward-looking statements”. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current beliefs, expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting our business. Many important factors, in addition to those discussed elsewhere in this annual report, could cause our actual results to differ substantially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements, including, among other things:

The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “aim,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “forecast” and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after we distribute this annual report because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this annual report might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance.

Sections of this annual report that by their nature contain forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Item 3. “Key Information,” Item 4. “Information on the Company,” Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and Item 11. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.”

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The following tables present summary historical consolidated financial data for each of the periods indicated. You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes, and the information under Item 5 — “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this annual report.

We have derived our selected consolidated financial data for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2008 from our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report. We have derived our selected financial data for the years ended on December 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this annual report.

Due to the acquisitions we have made, our results of operations are not entirely comparable between the periods presented; in particular, we acquired Nuevo Banco Suquía in December 2004, Banco del Tucumán in May 2006 and Nuevo Banco Bisel in August 2006. The results of operations of Nuevo Banco Suquía are consolidated with Banco Macro from December 22, 2004 and the results of operations of Banco del Tucumán and Nuevo Banco Bisel are consolidated with Banco Macro from May 5, 2006 and August 11, 2006, respectively.

Solely for the convenience of the reader, the reference exchange rate for U.S. dollars for December 31, 2008, as reported by the Central Bank was Ps. 3.4537 to US$1.00. See “Additional Information - Exchange Controls” for additional information regarding Peso/U.S. Dollar exchange ratios.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

During 2001 and 2002, Argentina went through a period of severe political, economic and social crisis. The economy has recovered significantly over the past six years, although the global economy faced a period of volatility during 2008. Uncertainty remains as to whether the current growth and relative stability is sustainable. The Argentine economy remains fragile in 2009, in part for the following reasons:

Substantially all our operations, properties and customers are located in Argentina. As a result, our business is to a very large extent dependent upon the economic conditions prevailing in Argentina.

The devaluation of the peso in January 2002, after several years of price stability, created pressures on the domestic price system that generated high inflation before substantially stabilizing in 2003. However, consumer prices almost doubled to 6.1% during 2004, increased to 12.3% in 2005, 9.8% in 2006, 8.5% in 2007 and were 7.2% in 2008. Uncertainty surrounding future inflation has slowed the rebound in the long-term credit market.

In the past, inflation has materially undermined the Argentine economy and the government’s ability to create conditions that would permit growth. A return to a high inflation environment would also undermine Argentina’s foreign competitiveness by diluting the effects of the peso devaluation, with the same negative effects on the level of economic activity and employment. In addition, a return to high inflation would undermine the very fragile confidence in Argentina’s banking system in general, which would negatively and materially affect our business volumes and potentially preclude us from fully resuming lending activities.

In the first half of 2005, Argentina restructured part of its sovereign debt that had been in default since the end of 2001. The Argentine government announced that as a result of the restructuring, it had approximately US$126.6 billion in total outstanding debt remaining. Of this amount, approximately US$19.5 billion are defaulted bonds owned by creditors who did not participate in the restructuring.

Some bondholders in the United States, Italy and Germany have filed legal actions against Argentina, and holdout creditors may initiate new suits in the future. Additionally, foreign shareholders of certain Argentine companies have filed claims in excess of US$17 billion before the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, alleging that certain government measures are inconsistent with the fair and equitable treatment standards set forth in various bilateral treaties to which Argentina is a party. In May 2005, the ICSID tribunal issued an opinion against Argentina in a case initiated by CMS Compañía Transportadora de Gas, which was appealed by Argentina. In October 2006, another ICSID tribunal issued a “decision on liability” against Argentina in a case initiated by LG&E Energy Corp., LG&E Capital Corp. and LG&E International Inc., which liability was recently fixed at US$57.40 million. The tribunal admitted that the Argentine government was not accountable for the consequences of measures taken during December 1, 2001 and April 26, 2003, given the general state of emergency in place at such time. In February 2007, the ICSID issued a judgment against Argentina in a case initiated by Siemens for US$208 million for indemnity in the failure to complete a contract in 2001 concerning identification documents. In subsequent actions, ICSID tribunals ordered Argentina to pay, in May 2007, US$106 million to Enron Corporation and Ponderosa Assets LP, shareholders of the local gas distributor Transportadora de Gas del Sur, in connection to tariff adjustments; in August 2007, US$105 million to Compañía de Aguas del Aconquija S.A. and Vivendi Universal in connection with the termination of the water concession agreement executed with such company for the Province of Tucumán; in September 2007, US$172 million to Sempra Energy International, due to the depreciation of its share holdings in Sodigas Pampeana y Sodigas Sur (shareholders in turn of the local concessionaries of the gas distribution service in Argentina, Camuzzi Gas Pampeana and Camuzzi Gas del Sur), as a consequence of the economic measures taken by the Argentine government in 2002; in December 2007, US$185 million to British Gas (shareholder of Argentine gas company Metrogas); in September 2008, the ICSID ordered Argentina to pay US$2.8 million to Continental Casualty Company, but recognized the state of emergency in place that justified taking extraordinary measures; and in November 2008, US$53.5 million to National Grid plc (shareholder of the Argentine electricity transportation company Transener).

The Argentine government cancelled all of its pending debt with the IMF on January 3, 2006. However, Argentina’s past default and its failure to restructure its remaining sovereign debt completely and fully negotiate with the holdout creditors may prevent Argentina from re-entering the international capital markets. Litigation initiated by holdout creditors as well as ICSID claims may result in material judgments against the Argentine government and could result in attachments of or injunctions relating to assets of Argentina that the government intended for other uses. As a result, the government may not have the financial resources necessary to implement reforms and foster growth, which could have a material adverse effect on the country’s economy and, consequently, our business. Furthermore, Argentina’s inability to access the international capital markets in the medium and long term could have an adverse impact on our own ability to access international credit markets.

On September 2, 2008, by means of Decree number 1,394/2008 Argentina announced its decision to pay its debt to its creditor nations members of the Paris Club. At the same time, by means of a press release issued on September 18, 2008, the Paris Club announced that it accepted Argentina’s decision. As of the date hereof, the amount of the debt to be paid and the terms of payment have not been defined. Argentina’s outstanding debt with the Paris Club is the result of the 2001-2002 financial crisis. Recent negotiations have been held with individual members of the group. The Paris Club includes creditors such as the United States of America and other members of the G8, all of them industrially-developed countries. Argentina’s outstanding debt with Germany, Japan and Spain represents almost 70% of the country’s total outstanding debt with the Paris Club.

In addition, the Federal Government has received a proposal from Citibank, Barclays and Deutsche Bank in relation to Argentina’s exchange process with the aforementioned holdouts. The proposal sets forth the rescheduling of certain liabilities due between 2009 and 2012 (“guaranteed loans”). In a press conference held on October 16, 2008, the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers (Jefe de Gabinete) announced the execution of a letter of understanding with the aforementioned banks in order to implement the restructuring of the “guaranteed loans”. On February 2, 2009, by means of Joint Resolutions 8/2009 and 5/2009 of the Secretariat of Economy and the Secretariat of Finance of the National Ministry of Economy and Public Finances, launched the local tranche of the exchange of “guaranteed loans” for new bonds. The Federal Government announced that 97% of the holders had accepted such exchange proposal, representing Ps. 15.084 billion of an aggregate domestic tranche of the debt due in 2009, 2010 and 2011 for a total of Ps. 15.6 billion. The new bonds delivered under the exchange are due as from 2014. As of the date hereof, the Federal Government has not defined the terms and conditions of the expected exchange with the holdouts.

Despite the positive effects of the real depreciation of the peso on the competitiveness of certain sectors of the Argentine economy, it has also had a far-reaching negative impact on the Argentine economy and on businesses and individuals’ financial condition. The devaluation of the peso has had a negative impact on the ability of Argentine businesses to honor their foreign currency-denominated debt, led to very high inflation initially, significantly reduced real wages, had a negative impact on businesses whose success is dependent on domestic market demand, such as utilities and the financial industry, and adversely affected the government’s ability to honor its foreign debt obligations.

If the peso devalues significantly, all of the negative effects on the Argentine economy related to such devaluation could recur, with adverse consequences to our business.

A substantial increase in the value of the peso against the U.S. dollar also presents risks for the Argentine economy. The appreciation of the peso against the U.S. dollar negatively impacts the financial condition of entities whose foreign currency-denominated assets exceed their foreign currency-denominated liabilities. In addition, in the short term, a significant real appreciation of the peso would adversely affect exports. This could have a negative effect on GDP growth and employment as well as reduce the Argentine public sector’s revenues by reducing tax collection in real terms, given its current heavy reliance on taxes on exports.

Despite Argentina’s ongoing economic recovery and relative stabilization, the social and political tensions and high levels of poverty and unemployment continue. Future government policies to preempt, or in response to, social unrest may include expropriation, nationalization, forced renegotiation or modification of existing contracts, suspension of the enforcement of creditors’ rights, new taxation policies, including royalty and tax increases and retroactive tax claims and changes in laws and policies affecting foreign trade and investment. Such policies could destabilize the country and adversely and materially affect the economy, and thereby our business.

During the last years the Argentine Government has been increasing and, in certain cases, imposing, exports tax on certain agricultural and manufactured products as an economic measure to prevent inflation and the increase in the prices of such products, and also to increase tax collections. In this line, during 2005 and 2006 a number of restrictions were imposed on the grain and oilseed markets that essentially limited trade access to exports, which resulted in a disparity in domestic and world prices. Consequently with these measures, in 2007, the Minister of Economy announced an increase in export taxes on, among others, crops, soybean, sunflower, corn and wheat products.

In addition, in March 2008, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, established a sliding scale of export rates imposed on certain agricultural products by means of Ministry of Economy of Resolutions No. 125/08 and No. 64/08, which raised the general export tax on exports of soybean and soybean by-products on a varying scale depending on the official price of the ton of soybean, and up to a maximum export duty of approximately 52.7% depending on the price of a ton. This new sliding-scale mechanism could result in a rise of the applicable rate for grain and oilseed exports depending on international prices, as opposed to the fixed rate of 35% previously in place.

Although Resolution No. 125/08 was ultimately annulled by Congress, it still had a socio-economic effect. The governmental measures ( which farmers claimed, in effect, set a maximum price for their crops) sparked protests by farmers whose exports have been the principal motor of Argentina’s economic recovery. As a reaction to these measures, farmers have started protests against the export tariff regime consisting in strikes, stops in their activities and suspension of sales both to the local and foreign markets, thereby causing social unrest, as well as food shortages and a surge in inflation.

Continued social unrest, as well as future government policies in response to such protests, including new taxation and foreign trade policies, could destabilize the country and adversely and materially affect the economy, and thereby our business.

In 2001 and 2002, Argentina imposed exchange controls and transfer restrictions substantially limiting the ability of companies to retain foreign currency or make payments abroad. These restrictions have been substantially eased, including those requiring the Central Bank’s prior authorization for the transfer of funds abroad in order to pay principal and interest on debt obligations. However, Argentina may re-impose exchange control or transfer restrictions in the future, among other things, in response to capital flight or a significant depreciation of the peso. In addition, the government issued a decree in June 2005 that established new controls on capital inflows that could result in less availability of international credit. Additional controls could have a negative effect on the economy and our business if imposed in an economic environment where access to local capital is substantially constrained. Moreover, in such event, restrictions on the transfers of funds abroad may impede our ability to make dividend payments to ADS holders and payments on the notes.

Financial and securities markets in Argentina are influenced, to varying degrees, by economic and market conditions in other global markets. Although economic conditions vary from country to country, investors’ perception of the events occurring in one country may substantially affect capital flows into and securities from issuers in other countries, including Argentina. The Argentine economy was adversely impacted by the political and economic events that occurred in several emerging economies in the 1990s, including Mexico in 1994, the collapse of several Asian economies between 1997 and 1998, the economic crisis in Russia in 1998 and the Brazilian devaluation in January 1999. In addition, Argentina continues to be affected by events in the economies of its major regional partners. Furthermore, the Argentine economy may be affected by events in developed economies, which are trading partners or that impact the global economy.

During 2008, Argentina was subject to strong internal and external economic uncertainty. The internal conflicts had their roots in the controversial export tax regime imposed by the government as well as the nationalization of private pension funds. Simultaneously, the global financial and economic conditions changed. The developed world shifted from a dynamic context to an economic system that was facing abrupt credit restriction in the US and European financial systems. The restrictions led to an economic contraction, which is probably the most serious since the worldwide depression in 1929. This sum of tensions affected the private, domestic and foreign expectations and could affect the bank’s business. The interruption of the capital flows entering the country, could affect the liquidity of the local financial system. Also, in response to this loss of confidence, depositors may turn their deposits into dollarized assets, running out from the financial system. An increase in dollarized assets outside the financial system could have an adverse effect on financial institutions, due to the decreased liquidity and diminished lending capacity it entails, as well as on the financial system as a whole, resulting in diminished liquidity with the ensuing decrease in spending, investments and deposits.

On November 20, 2008, the Argentine government enacted Law No. 26,425, which was published in the Official Gazette on December 9, 2008. By means of this law, the private pension funds system was eliminated and the then existing pension funds were united to form a unique Integrated Pensions Fund System (Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino or “SIPA”), to be financed by means of a common distribution system that shall guarantee the affiliates and beneficiaries of the private pension funds system the same coverage and treatment as the public retirement funds system. In this sense, the private pension funds system was eliminated to give way to the SIPA, pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned law.

The elimination of the private pension funds system could have a considerable adverse effect on the Argentine securities market and its liquidity because, since their creation, the private pension funds have played a predominant role in the securities markets. A decrease in activity in the securities market could, in turn, have an adverse effect on the Argentine economy as a whole.

National parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on June 28, 2009. There is a general uncertainty as to who will win the elections and what impact the outcome could produce on President Fernández de Kirchner’s administration.

The aforementioned uncertainty, the probable outcomes of the parliamentary elections and the measures taken in its aftermath could have an adverse effect on financial institutions and the Argentine economy as a whole.

As a result of the 2001 and 2002 crisis, the volume of financial intermediation activity in Argentina fell drastically: credit fell from 23.1% of GDP in March 2001 to just 7.7% in June 2004, while deposits as a percentage of GDP fell from 31.5% to 23.2% during the same period. During this period our financial intermediation activities also declined. The depth of the crisis and the effect of the crisis on depositors’ confidence in the financial system created significant uncertainties as to the likelihood that the financial system would fully recover its ability to act as an intermediary between savings and credit. Despite the ongoing recovery of Argentina’s short-term credit market (68% of loan growth in 2005, 58% of loan growth in 2006, 53% of loan growth in 2007, and 39% of loan growth in 2008 was in the form of overdrafts, consumer loans and advances), long-term lending has recovered more slowly.

If longer-term financial intermediation activity fails to resume at substantial levels, the ability of financial institutions, including us, to generate profits will be negatively affected. Even though deposits in the financial system and with us grew in mid-2002, most of these new deposits are either sight or very short-term time deposits, creating a liquidity risk for banks engaged in long-term lending and increasing their need to depend on the Central Bank as a potential liquidity backstop.

Total deposits of the financial system grew 23% in 2007 and 20% in 2008, reaching an year average of Ps. 191,653 and Ps. 229,089 million respectively. Total deposits in terms of GDP had recovered since the crisis, with levels around 23% during the last three years.

Although short-term deposits have substantially recovered since 2002, the deposit base of the Argentine financial system, including ours, may be affected in the future by adverse economic, social and political events. If depositors once again withdraw significant holdings from banks, there will be a substantial negative impact on the manner in which financial institutions, including us, conduct their business and on their ability to operate as financial intermediaries. International loss of confidence in the financial institutions may also affect sensibility of Argentine depositors.

Although it has been reduced during the last three years, financial institutions, including us, have a significant portfolio of bonds of, and loans to, the Argentine federal and provincial governments. Exposure to public sector of the financial system was 42% in 2005, 33% in 2006, 27% in 2007 and 24% in 2008. To a large extent, the value of the assets held by Argentine banks, as well as their income generation capacity, is dependent on the Argentine public sector’s creditworthiness, which is in turn dependent on the government’s ability to promote sustainable economic growth in the long run, generate tax revenues and control public spending.

As of December 31, 2008, our net exposure to the public sector, not including LEBACs (Letras del Banco Central) and NOBACs (Notas del Banco Central), totaled approximately Ps.1,012.7 million, representing 4.5% of our total assets.

The capacity of many Argentine private sector debtors to repay their loans deteriorated significantly as a result of the international economic crisis, materially affecting the asset quality of financial institutions, including us. We established large allowances for loan losses in 2008 to cover the risks inherent to our portfolio of loans to the private sector.

The quality of our loan portfolio has been improving from 2003 levels as a result of high GDP growth and a better overall economic environment. However, the current improvement may not continue, and we will likely not succeed in recovering substantial portions of loans that were written off. Our business strategy includes substituting a large portion of our current portfolio of government securities for loans to the private sector. As a result, we expect that our credit risk exposure to the private sector will increase in the near term. If the recovery of the financial health of Argentina’s private sector reverses, we may experience an increase in our incidence of non-performing loans.

Since August 2007, the global financial system has experienced difficult credit and liquidity conditions and disruptions leading to greater volatility. In September 2008, global financial markets deteriorated sharply following the bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. In the days that followed, it became apparent that a number of other major foreign financial institutions, including some of the largest global commercial banks, investment banks, mortgage lenders, mortgage guarantors and insurance companies, were experiencing significant difficulties. In recent months, there have been runs on deposits at several foreign financial institutions in the countries most affected by the financial crisis and numerous institutions have sought additional capital. Central banks around the world have coordinated efforts to increase liquidity in the financial markets by taking measures such as increasing the amounts they lend directly to financial institutions, lowering interest rates and significantly increasing temporary reciprocal currency arrangements. In an attempt to prevent the failure of the financial system, the United States and European governments have intervened on an unprecedented scale.

Despite the extent of the above-mentioned intervention, global investor confidence remains low and credit remains relatively lacking. In addition, the world’s largest developed economies are widely considered to be in the midst of, or about to enter, economic recessions. Continued or worsening disruption and volatility in the global financial markets could have a material adverse effect on the Argentine financial market. To date, the Argentine financial system has not required an intervention by the Argentine government or assistance from the Central Bank, but we cannot guarantee such an intervention might not occur nor its possible extent.

Inflation control, regulation of financial markets and any response by the Argentine government to the current global economic crisis may have an effect on the macroeconomic situation of the country, and a material effect on our future results of operations. In particular, our results of operations are sensitive to changes in the Ps./US$ exchange rate because our primary assets and revenues are denominated in pesos while 20% of our total assets and liabilities are denominated in foreign currencies.

To protect debtors affected by the economic crisis, beginning in 2002 the Argentine government adopted measures that temporarily suspended proceedings to enforce creditors’ rights, including mortgage foreclosures and bankruptcy petitions. Most of these measures have been rescinded; however, in May 2003 and until December 2006, the Argentine government suspended mortgage foreclosure proceedings and established a special proceeding to replace ordinary trials for the enforcement of some mortgage loans. Such special proceedings give creditors ten days to inform the debtor the amounts owed to them and thereafter agree with the debtor on the amount and terms of payment. In case of failure to reach an agreement by the parties, payment conditions will be set forth by a judge. We cannot assure you that in an adverse economic environment the government will not adopt additional measures in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on the financial system and our business.

Our business strategy is to increase fee income and loan origination in our target market, low- and middle-income individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. The current economic situation favors this target market and it is experiencing solid growth. However, this target market is particularly vulnerable to economic recessions and, in the event of such a recession, growth in our target market may slow and consequently adversely affect our business. The Argentine economy as a whole and our target market has not stabilized enough for us to be certain that demand will continue to grow. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our business strategy will in fact be successful.

Our controlling shareholders beneficially own 10,475,023 Class A shares and 234,454,130 Class B shares. Although there currently is no formal agreement among them, together our controlling shareholders control virtually all decisions with respect to our company made by shareholders. They may, without the concurrence of the remaining shareholders, elect a majority of our directors, effect or prevent a merger, sale of assets or other business acquisition or disposition, cause us to issue additional equity securities, effect a related party transaction and determine the timing and amounts of dividends, if any. Their interests may conflict with your interests as a holder of class B shares, ADSs or notes, and they may take actions that might be desirable to the controlling shareholders but not to other shareholders or holders of our notes.

We have expanded our business primarily through acquisitions. We will continue to consider attractive acquisition opportunities that we believe offer additional value and are consistent with our business strategy. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or that we will be able to acquire promising target financial institutions on favorable terms. Additionally, our ability to obtain the desired effects of such acquisitions will depend in part on our ability to successfully complete the integration of those businesses. The integration of acquired businesses entails significant risks, including:

Our current and future performance depends to a significant degree on the continued contributions of our senior management team and other key personnel, in particular Jorge Horacio Brito and Delfín Jorge Ezequiel Carballo. Our performance could be significantly harmed if we lose their services. Should their services no longer be available to us, we may not be able to locate or employ qualified replacements on acceptable terms.

We expect trends of increased competition in the banking sector, as banks continue to recover from the recent economic crisis. Additionally, if the trend towards decreasing spreads is not offset by increases in lending volumes, then resulting losses could lead to consolidation in the industry. We expect trends of increased consolidation to continue. Consolidation can result in the creation of larger and stronger banks, which may have greater resources than we do.

We expect that competition with respect to small and medium-sized businesses is likely to increase. As a result, even if the demand for financial products and services from these markets continues to grow, competition may adversely affect our results of operations by decreasing the net margins we are able to generate.

The spread for Argentina’s financial system between the interest rates on loans and deposits decreased from a high of 39.9% in March 2003 to 17.3% in December 2008 as a result of increased competition in the banking sector and the government’s tightening of monetary policy in response to inflation concerns. In comparison, our interest rate spread decreased from 42% to 6.8% during the same period. We and other financial institutions have largely responded by lowering operating costs. However, if the spreads continue to decrease without a corresponding increase in lending or additional cost-cutting, our profitability may be adversely affected.

Publicly available corporate information about us in Argentina is different from and may be more difficult to obtain than the information available for registered public companies in certain countries with highly developed capital markets, such as the United States. Except as otherwise described herein, we prepare our financial statements in accordance with Central Bank Rules, which differ in certain significant respects from U.S. GAAP and, to a certain extent, from Argentine GAAP. As a result, our financial statements and reported earnings are not directly comparable to those of banks in the United States.

In 2003, the Central Bank prohibited financial institutions from distributing dividends. In 2004, the Central Bank amended the restriction to require the Central Bank’s prior authorization for the distribution of dividends. On July 20, 2004, we were authorized by the Central Bank to distribute dividends corresponding to fiscal year 2003, on April 18, 2005 to distribute dividends corresponding to fiscal year 2004, on April 21, 2006 to distribute dividends corresponding to fiscal year 2005, on April 16, 2007 to distribute dividends corresponding to fiscal year 2006 and on April 11, 2008 to distribute dividends corresponding to fiscal year 2007. In each case the dividends were distributed. On May 12, 2009, the Regular and Special General Shareholders’ Meeting of Banco Macro S.A. approved the distribution of cash dividends for an amount of up to Ps. 149.9 million, which is still subject of Central Bank’s authorization. Nevertheless, no assurance can be given that the Central Bank will continue to grant us the authorization to distribute dividends approved by our shareholders at the annual ordinary shareholders’ meeting or that such authorization shall be for the full amount of approved dividends.

Under Argentine corporate law, if we issue new shares as part of a capital increase, our shareholders may have the right to subscribe to a proportional number of shares to maintain their existing ownership percentage. Rights to subscribe for shares in these circumstances are known as preemptive rights. In addition, shareholders are entitled to the right to subscribe for the unsubscribed shares remaining at the end of a preemptive rights offering on a pro rata basis, known as accretion rights. Upon the occurrence of any future increase in our capital stock, United States holders of Class B shares or ADSs will not be able to exercise the preemptive and related accretion rights for such Class B shares or ADSs unless a registration statement under the Securities Act is effective with respect to such Class B shares or ADSs or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available. We are not obligated to file a registration statement with respect to those Class B shares or ADSs. We cannot assure you that we will file such a registration statement or that an exemption from registration will be available. Unless those Class B shares or ADSs are registered or an exemption from registration applies, a U.S. holder of our Class B shares or ADSs may receive only the net proceeds from those preemptive rights and accretion rights if those rights can be sold by the depositary; if they cannot be sold, they will be allowed to lapse. Furthermore, the equity interest of holders of Class B shares or ADSs located in the United States may be diluted proportionately upon future capital increases.

Under Argentine law, foreign companies that own shares in an Argentine corporation are required to register with the Inspección General de Justicia, or Superintendency of Legal Entities, or IGJ, in order to exercise certain shareholder rights, including voting rights. If you own Class B shares directly (rather than in the form of ADSs) and you are a non-Argentine company and you fail to register with IGJ, your ability to exercise your rights as a holder of our Class B shares may be limited.

Prior to March 24, 2006, there has not been a public market for the ADSs or, in the case of our Class B shares, a market outside of Argentina. We cannot assure you as to the liquidity of any markets that may develop for our Class B shares or for the ADSs or the price at which the Class B shares or the ADSs may be sold.

Investing in securities that trade in emerging markets, such as Argentina, often involves greater risk than investing in securities of issuers in the United States, and such investments are generally considered to be more speculative in nature. The Argentine securities market is substantially smaller, less liquid, more concentrated and can be more volatile than major securities markets in the United States, and is not as highly regulated or supervised as some of these other markets. There is also significantly greater concentration in the Argentine securities market than in major securities markets in the United States. The ten largest companies in terms of market capitalization represented approximately 84% of the aggregate market capitalization of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange as of December 31, 2008. Accordingly, although you are entitled to withdraw the Class B shares underlying the ADSs from the depositary at any time, your ability to sell such shares at a price and time at which you wish to do so may be substantially limited. Furthermore, new capital controls imposed by the Central Bank could have the effect of further impairing the liquidity of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange by making it unattractive for non-Argentines to buy shares in the secondary market in Argentina.

Our shareholders are not liable for our obligations. Instead, shareholders are generally liable only for the payment of the shares they subscribe. However, shareholders who have a conflict of interest with us and who do not abstain from voting may be held liable for damages to us, but only if the transaction would not have been approved without such shareholders’ votes. Furthermore, shareholders who willfully or negligently vote in favor of a resolution that is subsequently declared void by a court as contrary to Argentine corporate law or our bylaws may be held jointly and severally liable for damages to us or to other third parties, including other shareholders.

The application of the “passive foreign investment company” rules to equity interests in banks such as us is unclear under current U.S. federal income tax law. It is therefore possible that our Class B shares or the ADSs could be characterized as stock in a “passive foreign investment company” for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which could have adverse tax consequences to U.S. holders in some circumstances. In particular, U.S. holders of our Class B shares or the ADSs generally would be subject to special rules and adverse tax consequences with respect to certain distributions made by us and on any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of our Class B shares or the ADSs. Such U.S. holders might be subject to a greater U.S. tax liability than might otherwise apply and incur tax on amounts in advance of when U.S. federal income tax would otherwise be imposed. A U.S. holder of our Class B shares or the ADSs might be able to avoid these rules and consequences by making an election to mark such shares to market (although it is not clear if this election is available for the Class B shares). U.S. holders should carefully read “Taxation—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Companies” and consult their tax advisors regarding the “passive foreign investment company” rules.

Unless otherwise specified, the notes rank at least pari passu in right of payment with all of our existing and future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness, other than obligations preferred by statute or by operation of law, including, without limitation, tax and labor-related claims and our obligations to depositors.

In particular, under the Financial Institutions Law, all of our existing and future depositors will have a general priority right over holders of notes issued under our medium-term note program. The Financial Institutions Law provides that in the event of judicial liquidation or insolvency, all depositors would have priority over all of our other creditors (including holders of notes), except certain labor creditors and secured creditors. Moreover, depositors would have priority over all other creditors, with the exception of certain labor creditors, to funds held by the Argentine Central Bank (Banco Central de la República Argentina or the “Central Bank”) as reserves, any other funds at the time of any revocation of our banking license and proceeds from any mandatory transfer of our assets by the Central Bank.

We may also issue subordinated notes. In that case, in addition to the priority of certain other creditors described in the preceding paragraphs, subordinated notes will also rank at all times junior in right of payment to certain of our unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness.

In 2001 and 2002, Argentina imposed exchange controls and transfer restrictions, substantially limiting the ability of companies to retain foreign currency or make payments abroad. These restrictions have been substantially eased, including those requiring the Central Bank’s prior authorization for the transfer of funds abroad in order to pay principal and interest on debt obligations. However, Argentina may re-impose exchange controls and transfer restrictions in the future, among other things, in response to capital flight or a significant depreciation of the peso.

In such event, your ability to receive payments on the notes may be impaired.

New issuances of notes will be offered in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. As a result, the notes may be transferred or resold only in transactions that are registered under the Securities Act or on the basis of an exemption from such registration and in compliance with any other applicable securities laws of other jurisdictions. These restrictions could impair your ability to resell notes you purchase.

The notes are redeemable at our option in the event of certain changes in Argentine taxes and, if so specified, the notes may also be redeemable at our option for any other reason. We may choose to redeem those notes at times when prevailing interest rates may be relatively low. Accordingly, an investor may not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as that of the notes.

If we are unable to pay our debts as they come due, the Central Bank would typically intervene by appointing a reviewer, request us to file a reorganization plan, transfer certain of our assets and liabilities and possibly revoke our banking license and file a liquidation petition before a local court. Upon any such intervention, noteholders’ remedies may be restricted and the claims and interests of our depositors and other creditors may be prioritized over those of noteholders. As a result, the noteholders may realize substantially less on their claims than they would in a bankruptcy proceeding in Argentina, the United States or any other country.

We are organized under the laws of Argentina and our principal place of business (domicilio social) is in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Most of our directors, officers and controlling persons reside outside the United States. In addition, all or a substantial portion of our assets and their assets are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for holders of notes to effect service of process within the United States on such persons or to enforce judgments against them, including any action based on civil liabilities under the U.S. federal securities laws. Based on the opinion of our Argentine counsel, there is doubt as to the enforceability against such persons in Argentina, whether in original actions or in actions to enforce judgments of U.S. courts, of liabilities based solely on the U.S. federal securities laws.

No interest on the 2036 Notes will be due and payable in the event that the payment of such interest, together with any other payments or distributions (other than payments in respect of redemptions or repurchases) on or in respect of our Parity Obligations (including the Notes) previously made or scheduled to be made during the Distribution Period in which such Interest Payment Date falls, would exceed our Distributable Amounts for such Distribution Period. Interest payments on the Notes are non-cumulative such that if an interest payment is not made in full as a result of the limitation described in the preceding sentence, such unpaid interest will not accrue or be due and payable at any time and, accordingly, holders of 2036 Notes will not have any claim thereon, whether or not interest is paid with respect to any other interest period.

The Distributable Amounts available for payment of interest on the 2036 Notes on an interest payment date is based principally on our unappropriated retained earnings from the prior year. Subject to certain limited exceptions, Argentine law does not restrict our shareholders from approving the payment of dividends to themselves out of our unappropriated retained earnings, and the indenture relating to the Notes will not restrict our ability to pay dividends unless and until interest on the Notes has not been paid in full as scheduled. In addition, Distributable Amounts available for payment of interest on the 2036 Notes depends on the amount of payments or other distributions on or in respect of our Parity Obligations previously made or schedule to be made during the relevant Distribution Period. Although we do not currently have any Parity Obligations outstanding, the indenture relating to the Notes will not restrict our ability to issue Parity Obligations in the future. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient Distributable Amounts to make interest payments on the 2036 Notes.

No interest on the 2036 Notes will be due and payable on an Interest Payment Date in the event that we would be prevented from paying interest on the Notes on such Interest Payment Date as a result of (X) a general prohibition by the Central Bank on paying interest or making other payments or distributions on or in respect of our Parity Obligations (including the Notes) or (Y) as provided in Communications “A” 4589 and “A” 4591 of the Central Bank or any successor regulations thereto, (a) we are subject to a liquidation procedure or the mandatory transfer of our assets by the Central Bank in accordance with Sections 34 or 35 bis of the Financial Institutions Law or successors thereto; (b) we are receiving financial assistance from the Central Bank (except liquidity assistance under the pesification rules pursuant to Decree No. 739/2003); (c) we are not in compliance with or have failed to comply on a timely basis with our reporting obligations to the Central Bank; or (d) we are not in compliance with minimum capital requirements (both on an individual and consolidated basis) or with minimum cash reserves (on average).

As a result of the 2001 Argentine crisis, all banks were prohibited by the Central Bank from paying dividends in 2002 and 2003. As the economy recovered, the Central Bank eased the prohibition but still required prior authorization for the distribution of dividends by banks in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Although the prohibition is no longer in effect, we cannot assure you that, if confronted with a similar crisis, the Central Bank will not prevent banks from making interest payments on Parity Obligations, including the 2036 Notes.

The 2036 Notes constitute our unsecured and subordinated obligations. In the event of our bankruptcy, the 2036 Notes will rank junior to all claims of our unsubordinated creditors and certain of our subordinated creditors. By reason of the subordination of the Notes, in the case of our bankruptcy, although the Notes would become immediately due and payable at their principal amount together with accrued interest thereon, our assets would be available to pay such amounts only after all such creditors have been paid in full. We expect to incur from time to time additional obligations that rank senior to the Notes, and the indenture relating to the Notes does not prohibit or limit the incurrence of such obligations.

Under Argentine law, our obligations under the 2036 Notes will also be subordinated to certain statutory preferences such as tax and labor-related claims and our obligations to depositors. In particular, under the Financial Institutions Law, all of our existing and future depositors will have a general priority right over holders of Notes. The Financial Institutions Law provides that in the event of our bankruptcy or insolvency, all depositors would have priority over all of our other creditors (including holders of Notes), except certain labor creditors and secured creditors. Moreover, depositors would have priority over all other creditors, with the exception of certain labor creditors, to funds held by the Central Bank as reserves, any other funds at the time of any revocation of our banking license and proceeds from any mandatory transfer of our assets by the Central Bank.

Payment of principal on the 2036 Notes may be accelerated only in certain events involving our bankruptcy. There is no right of acceleration in the case of a default in the performance of any of our covenants, including a default in the payment of principal, premium or interest.

By the end of 2008, the Notes were rated “B2” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and “B” by Fitch Ratings Ltd. At the local level, Moody’s Latin America rated the Notes “Aa3.ar” and Fitch Argentina rated the Notes “AA (arg).” The ratings of the Notes reflect the relevant rating agency’s assessment of our ability to make timely payment of principal and interest on the Notes. Moreover, the methods of assigning ratings used by Argentine rating agencies may differ in important aspects from those used by the rating agencies in the United States or other countries. The ratings on the 2036 Notes are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the Notes, and the ratings do not comment on market prices or suitability for a particular investor. We cannot assure you that the ratings of the 2036 Notes will remain for any given period of time or that the ratings will not be lowered or withdrawn. A downgrade in ratings will not be an event of default with respect to the 2036 Notes. The assigned ratings may be raised or lowered depending, among other things, on the rating agency’s assessment of our financial strength as well as its assessment of Argentine sovereign risk generally, and any change to these may affect the market price or liquidity of the 2036 Notes.

Because of certain features of the 2036 Notes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment applicable to the 2036 Notes is uncertain. While we do not intend to treat the 2036 Notes as subject to the “contingent payment debt instrument” rules under U.S. federal income tax regulations, it is possible that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could assert such treatment. If this assertion were successful, U.S. Holders (as defined in “Taxation—Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations”) generally would be required to include interest income on a constant yield basis at a rate that could differ from, and could at certain times be in excess of, the stated interest on the 2036 Notes. In addition, any gain on the sale of 2036 Notes derived by a U.S. holder would be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain.

It is also possible that the IRS could assert that the 2036 Notes should be treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If this assertion were successful, U.S. holders could also be subject to adverse tax rules (including an interest charge on and ordinary income treatment of any gain derived with respect to the notes) if it were also determined that we are a “passive foreign investment company” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. While we do not believe that we are currently a passive foreign investment company, the test for determining “passive foreign investment company” status is a factual one based upon a periodic evaluation of our assets and income and is unclear when applied to banking businesses such as our own. Thus we cannot provide any assurance that we will not be determined to be a “passive foreign investment company” as of the issuance of the 2036 Notes or in any future period.

Payments of principal, interest, additional amounts and any other amounts in respect of the notes are determined based on the Argentine peso equivalent (based on an initial exchange rate of Ps. 3.0794 = US$1.00) of the aggregate principal amount of the notes then outstanding and converted into U.S. dollars based on an exchange rate on the second business day prior the applicable payment date. As a result, a devaluation of the Argentine peso will result in a loss of principal and a reduction in the effective interest rate in U.S. dollar terms.

If we are unable either to purchase U.S. dollars or to transfer funds outside Argentina in order to make a payment in respect of the notes, because of any legal or regulatory restriction or due to any other reason beyond our control, then we will be able to satisfy such payment obligation in Argentine pesos and with transfers to accounts located in Argentina. In such event, you may not be able to obtain U.S. dollars at the applicable exchange rate under the notes or at all, and you may not be able to freely transfer funds outside Argentina.

“Parity Obligations” means (i) all claims in respect of our obligations, or our guarantees of liabilities, that are eligible to be computed as part of our Tier 1 capital under Argentine banking regulations (without taking into account any limitation placed on the amount of such capital); and (ii) all claims in respect of any of our other obligations (including guarantees) that rank, or are expressed to rank, pari passu with the 2036 Notes.

“Distribution Period” means, with respect to an Interest Payment Date, the period from and including the date of our annual ordinary shareholders’ meeting immediately preceding such Interest Payment Date to but excluding the date of our annual ordinary shareholders’ meeting immediately following such Interest Payment Date.

In the event that we will not pay interest on the 2036 Notes in full as a result of the limitation described above, we will, promptly after our knowledge thereof and in any case no later than five Business Days prior to the relevant Interest Payment Date, notify the holders of the Notes and deliver an officers’ certificate to the Trustee to that effect.

Interest payments are non-cumulative such that if an interest payment is not made in full as a result of the limitation described above, the unpaid interest will not accrue or be due and payable at any time and, accordingly, holders of the 2036 Notes will not have any claim thereon, whether or not interest is paid in respect of any other interest period.

“Distributable Amounts” for a Distribution Period means the aggregate amount, as set out in our audited financial statements for our fiscal year immediately preceding the beginning of such Distribution Period, prepared in accordance with Central Bank Rules and approved by our shareholders, of our unappropriated retained earnings minus: (i) required legal and statutory reserves; (ii) asset valuation adjustments as determined and notified by the Superintendency of Financial Institutions, whether or not agreed to by us, and the asset valuation adjustments indicated by our external auditor, in each case to the extent not recorded in such financial statements; and (iii) any amounts resulting from loan loss or other asset valuation allowances permitted by the Superintendency of Financial Institutions including adjustments arising from the failure to put into effect an agreed upon compliance plan. For the avoidance of doubt, the calculation of Distributable Amounts in respect of a particular Distribution Period shall be made prior to the appropriation or allocation of any amounts to any voluntary or contingent reserves and any dividends or distributions on any Junior Obligations or Parity Obligations during such Distribution Period.

Our legal and commercial name is Banco Macro S.A. We are a financial institution incorporated on November 21, 1966 as a sociedad anónima, a stock corporation, duly incorporated under the laws of Argentina for a 99-year period and registered on March 8, 1967 with the Public Registry of Commerce of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina under Nr. 1154 of Book 2, Volume 75 of sociedades anónimas.

Our principal executive offices are located at Sarmiento 447, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and our telephone number is (+ 54-11-5222-6500). We have appointed CT Corporation System as our agent for service of process in the United States, located at 111 Eight Avenue, New York, New York, 10011.

Macro Compañía Financiera S.A. was created in 1977 as a non-banking financial institution. In May 1988, it received the authorization to operate as a commercial bank and it was incorporated as Banco Macro S.A. Subsequently, as a result of the merger process with other entities, it adopted other names (among them, Banco Macro Bansud S.A.) and since August 2006, the name of “Banco Macro S.A.”, which it holds to date.

Banco Macro S.A.’s shares have been publicly listed on the BCBA (Buenos Aires Stock Exchange) since November 1994, and since March 24, 2006, on the New York Stock Exchange.

Since 1994, Banco Macro S.A.’s market was mainly focused on the regional areas outside the City of Buenos Aires. Following this strategy, in 1996, Banco Macro S.A. started the process to acquire entities and assets and liabilities as a result of the privatization of provincial and other kinds of banks.

On December 2001 and 2004, the Bank acquired the control of Banco Bansud S.A. and Nuevo Banco Suquía S.A., respectively. Such entities merged with and into Banco Macro S.A. on December 2003 and October 2007, respectively.

Additionally, during the fiscal year ended 2006, Banco Macro S.A. acquired 79.84% of the capital stock of Banco del Tucumán S.A., totaling 89.93% of this capital stock during fiscal year 2007 and 100% of common shares of stock in Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A.. Furthermore, on May 28, 2007, the Bank and Nuevo Banco Suquía S.A. acquired 100% of the preferred shares of Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A.

The Bank currently offers traditional bank products and services to companies, including those operating in regional economies, as well as to medium- and low-income individuals.

In addition, the Bank performs certain transactions through its subsidiaries, including mainly Banco del Tucumán S.A., Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A., Macro Bank Limited (an entity organized under the laws of Bahamas), Macro Securities S.A. Sociedad de Bolsa, Sud Inversiones & Análisis S.A. and Macro Fondos S.G.F.C.I.S.A.

On April 7, 2006, we obtained the authorizations from the relevant authorities and, on May 5, 2006, we completed the acquisition of 164,850 Class A Shares of Banco del Tucumán, representing 75% of its capital stock. The total purchase price amounted to Ps.45,961,000, paid in cash. Banco del Tucumán has 25 branches and its headquarters in the province of Tucumán and it is currently the financial agent of the province. From September 2006 through December 2006, Banco Macro acquired Class “C” shares in Banco del Tucumán representing 4.84% of its capital stock. Banco Macro’s total equity interest as of December 31, 2006 amounted to 79.84%. On November 28, 2006, the general ordinary and extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of Banco del Tucumán approved a capital stock increase of Ps. 21,980,000, establishing an additional paid-in capital of Ps. 26,171,000. In January 2007, Banco Macro subscribed the total increase. As a result, Banco Macro’s total equity interest increased to 89.932%.

The run on bank deposits as a result of the economic crisis caused a liquidity crisis for the former Banco Bisel S.A. (“Banco Bisel”). Its controlling shareholder at the time decided not to make additional contributions. As a result, the Central Bank suspended and then restructured Banco Bisel’s operations, creating the Nuevo Banco Bisel with certain of Banco Bisel’s assets and liabilities. The Central Bank then passed a resolution providing for the sale of Nuevo Banco Bisel and requiring that the purchaser commit to capitalize the bank.

In August 2006, we acquired 100% of the voting rights and 92.73% of the capital stock of Nuevo Banco Bisel for Ps.19.5 million pursuant to an auction conducted by Banco de la Nación Argentina. In addition, the Bank, as purchaser of Nuevo Banco Bisel, and SEDESA (“Seguro de Depósitos S.A.”) entered into a put and call options, agreement regarding the preferred shares of Nuevo Banco Bisel.

The transaction was approved by the Central Bank in August 2006 and by the antitrust authorities in September 2006.

On May 28, 2007, the Bank acquired the preferred shares mentioned above by exercising a call option in relation to them. The price payable was fixed at Ps. 66,240,000 plus an annual nominal 4% interest to be capitalized annually until payment thereof. Such price will be paid 15 years after taking possession of Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A. (August 11, 2021).

Nuevo Banco Bisel has a strong presence in the central region of Argentina, especially in the province of Santa Fe, and the acquisition has added 158 branches to our branch network.

On March 19, 2009, the Boards of Directors of Banco Macro S.A. and Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A entered into a “preliminary merger agreement”, whereby Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A. will merge with and into Banco Macro S.A. retroactively effective as of January 1, 2009, on the basis of the financial statements of such banks as of December 31, 2008. On April 24, 2009, the preliminary merger agreement was amended to include the resolution to reduce the capital stock approved by the Regular and Special Shareholders’ Meeting of April 21, 2009. On May 27, 2009, such preliminary merger agreement, as well as the consolidated balance sheet for merger purposes as of December 31, 2008 and the shares exchange relationship was approved by the Shareholders’ Meetings of both banks.

On June 5, 2009, the BCBA authorized the merger process. Additionally, as of the date hereof, the authorization of the merger process is still pending by the rest of the Bank’s regulatory agencies.

The exchange relationship has been agreed in 0.337614 common shares of Banco Macro S.A. per common share of Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A. So, the minority shareholders of Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A. will be entitled to receive 0.337614 shares of the Bank for each share they hold in Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A.’s capital stock. Consequently, Banco Macro S.A. issued 1,147,887 common shares.

We are one of the leading banks in Argentina. With the most extensive private-sector branch network in the country, we provide standard banking products and services to a nationwide customer base. We distinguish ourselves from our competitors by our strong financial position and by our focus on low- and middle-income individuals and small and medium-sized businesses, generally located outside of the City of Buenos Aires. We believe this strategy offers significant opportunity for continued growth in our banking business. According to the Central Bank, as of December 31, 2008, we were ranked second in terms of equity, third in terms of loans to private sector and fifth in terms of deposits among banks. As of December 31, 2008, on a consolidated basis, we had:

Our consolidated net income for the year ended December 31, 2008 was Ps.660.0 million (US$191.1million), representing a return on average equity of 23.8 % and a return on average assets of 3.0%.

In general, given the relatively low level of banking intermediation in Argentina currently, there are limited products and services being offered. We are focusing on the overall growth of our loan portfolio by expanding our customer base and encouraging them to make use of our lending products. We have a holistic approach to our banking business; we do not manage the bank by segments or divisions or by customer categories, by products and services, by regions, or by any other segmentation for the purpose of allocating resources and assessing profitability. We have savings and checking accounts, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans and other credit-related products and transactional services available to our individual customers and small and medium-sized businesses through our branch network. We also offer Plan Sueldo payroll services, lending, corporate credit cards, mortgage finance, transaction processing and foreign exchange. In addition, our Plan Sueldo payroll processing services for private companies and the public sector give us a large and stable customer deposit base.

We emerged from the economic crisis of 2001 and 2002 as a stronger and larger bank. In January 2002, in the midst of the crisis, Banco Macro, our predecessor, acquired a controlling interest in Banco Bansud. The acquisition tripled the size of our bank, as measured by assets, and expanded our geographic presence from the northern provinces of Argentina to the southern provinces. In December 2004, during the recovery period of the Argentine economy, we completed the acquisition of Nuevo Banco Suquía, the leading bank in the central provinces of Argentina, thereby becoming the private sector bank with the country’s most extensive branch network. The Nuevo Banco Suquía transaction increased our assets by 41% and our number of branches by 67%. Beginning at the end of 2002 and during the recovery years, we also experienced organic growth as our business in the provinces of Argentina suffered lower levels of volatility than our principal competitors in the City of Buenos Aires. In November 2005, a portion of the assets, including seven branches, the headquarters and liabilities of Banco Empresario de Tucumán were transferred to us. In May 2006, we completed the acquisition of Banco del Tucumán. As a result of these transactions in Tucumán, we increased our branch network by 34 branches, or 14%. In August 2006, we completed the acquisition of Nuevo Banco Bisel, which added 158 branches, or 56%, to our branch network.

We believe that the recovery of the Argentine economy from the severe crisis of 2001 and 2002, together with the stabilizing business environment, present a growth opportunity for the banking industry. We believe that Argentine banks in a comparatively stronger financial condition should have a competitive advantage in benefiting from this recovery. Argentina’s gross domestic product, or GDP, grew 8.8% in 2003, 9.0% in 2004, 9.2% in 2005, 8.5% in 2006, 8.7% in 2007 and 7.0% in 2008 after declines of 4.4% in 2001 and 10.9% in 2002. Although there are numerous risks that may result in lower than expected economic performance, the Central Bank’s survey of independent forecasting firms indicates a consensus GDP growth estimate of 1.8% for 2009.

In June 2005, the government partially restructured its public debt, further improving the Argentine business environment, and in January 2006, Argentina paid off all outstanding amounts owed to the International Monetary Fund, or IMF. Following the completion of its debt restructuring, Argentina’s risk profile has improved substantially as measured by the spread over comparable U.S. Treasuries.

In this context, the financial system is regaining depositors’ and borrowers’ confidence, while benefiting from improved conditions, favorable growth opportunities and increasing demand for financial services and products.

We believe we are well positioned to benefit from the opportunities created by the improving economic and business environment in Argentina. Our competitive strengths include the following:

Our strengths position us to better participate in the coming years development of the financial system, which we believe will be stronger in our target market of low- and middle-income individuals, small and medium-sized businesses and in the provinces outside the City of Buenos Aires, where we have a leading presence.

Our goal is to promote the overall growth of the bank by increasing our customer base, expanding our loan portfolio and generating more fee income from transactional services. We achieve this goal by managing the bank on a holistic basis, focusing our growth strategy on the marketing and promotion of our standard banking products and services. We have pursued our growth strategy by acquiring banks throughout Argentina, which has enabled us to significantly expand our branch network and customer base. We make acquisition decisions in the context of our long-term strategy of focusing on low- and middle-income individuals, small and medium-sized businesses and to complete our national coverage of Argentina, especially in provinces outside of the City of Buenos Aires. We have taken advantage of the opportunities presented by the Argentine financial system after the crisis, in particular its consolidation, to move into new locations by acquiring banks or absorbing branches from banks liquidated by the Central Bank. Since the crisis, our growth has been fueled by these acquisitions as well as organic growth, without the need to open or move branches.

We intend to continue enhancing our position as a leading Argentine bank. The key elements of our strategy include:

We provide our customers with a combination of standard products and services that is designed to suit individual needs. We have two broad categories of customers: retail customers, which include individuals and very small companies, and corporate customers, which include small, medium and large companies and major corporations. In addition, we provide services to four provincial governments. We offer a relatively narrow range of standard products, which are generally available to both our retail and corporate customers. We have a holistic approach to our banking business with a single commercial division responsible for all of our customers and our branch network; we do not manage the bank by segments or divisions or by customer categories, by products and services, by regions, or by any other segmentation for the purpose of allocating resources or assessing profitability. Our strategy is to grow our business, as demand for credit in Argentina increases, by focusing on cross-selling opportunities among our broad customer base. The following discussion of our business follows the broad customer categories of retail and corporate as a way to understand who our customers are and the products and services that we provide.

Retail customers are individuals, entrepreneurs and very small companies (companies with less than Ps.1 million in sales per year). We provide services to them throughout Argentina, in particular outside of the City of Buenos Aires, which has higher concentrations of low- and middle-income individuals who are traditionally underserved by large private banks. We serve our retail customers through our extensive, nationwide branch network. Approximately 94% of our branches are located outside of the City of Buenos Aires.

Our retail customers provide us with a key source of funding as well as a significant interest and fee income. We believe that our large retail customer client base provides us with an excellent opportunity to expand the volume of our lending business. For example, of approximately 2,252,500 retail customers, only 24% currently have a personal loan from us and only 30% currently have a credit card, and we believe there is strong potential to increase these percentages. As of December 31, 2008, we had retail customers with an aggregate loan portfolio of Ps. 5,136 million.

We offer our retail customers traditional banking products and services such as savings and checking accounts, time deposits, credit and debit cards, consumer finance loans (including personal loans), mortgage loans, car loans, overdrafts, credit-related services, home and car insurance coverage, tax collection, utility payments, ATMs and money transfers.

Our efforts were aimed at strengthening relationships with our customers by offering them the products that are best suited to their needs and circumstances, based on our individualized, professional advice, which we believe is an important feature that distinguishes us in serving our target markets.

We generate fees from providing savings and checking account maintenance, account statements, check processing and other direct banking transactions, direct debits, fund transfers, payment orders and bank debit cards. In addition, our time deposits provide us with a strong and stable funding base. For information on average interest rates, see “Selected statistical information.”

We offer personal loans, document discounts, (housing) mortgages, overdrafts, pledged loans and credit card loans to our retail customers. At December 31, 2008, we had a 14.2% market share for personal loans, which ranked us first in the Argentine banking system in the provision of consumer loans. We intend to continue to increase our retail lending by focusing our marketing efforts on underserved target markets such as the low- and middle-income individuals and to cross-sell our retail lending products to our existing customers, particularly those who have savings and checking accounts with us because we provide payroll and pension services to their employers. We are also one of the major credit card issuers, with approximately 840 thousands cards in circulation as of December 31, 2008. One of our initiatives to expand lending is to encourage low- and middle-income customers to use credit cards for larger purchases. The table below sets forth information about loans to retail customers (which we define here as loans to individuals and loans to very small companies in an amount up to Ps.20,000) as of December 31, 2008:

Personal loans which represent the most representative share of the portfolio carry an average interest rate of 31.07% and an average maturity of 34.8 months. Interest rates and maturities vary across products.

We provide our corporate customers with traditional banking products and services such as deposits, lending (including overdraft facilities), check cashing advances and factoring, guaranteed loans and credit lines for financing foreign trade and cash management services. We also provide them trust, payroll and financial agency services, corporate credit cards and other specialty products. We have four categories for our corporate customers: small companies, which have up to Ps.43 million in sales per year; medium companies, which have more than Ps.43 million and less than Ps.120 million in sales per year and major companies, which have more than Ps.120 million in sales per year and agro companies, which have their activity in the agriculture sector or the commerce of it’s products. Approximately 96% of our corporate customers are small businesses. Important sectors within our corporate customer base include the agro-industrial, transportation and food and beverage. Our corporate customer base also acts as a source of demand for our excess liquidity through overnight and short-term loans to major corporate customers. See “Item 5 — Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — liquidity and capital resources.”

Since 2001, Argentine labor law has provided for the mandatory payment of wages through accounts opened by employers in the name of each employee at financial institutions within two kilometers of the workplace, in the case of urban areas, and ten kilometers of the workplace, in the case of rural areas. There are similar requirements in place for pension payments. We handle payroll processing for private sector companies and the public sector, or Macrosueldos, which requires employers to maintain an account with us for the direct deposit of employee wages. Currently, we administer the payroll services for the governments of the Argentine provinces of Misiones, Salta, Jujuy and Tucumán and for a total of 1,203,994 retail clients (including retirees). Our payroll services provide us with a large and diversified depositor base with significant cross-selling potential. See “—Our Products and Services—Retail Customers.”

Our lending activities to the corporate sector (defined here as firms with loans outstanding in excess of Ps.20,000) totaled Ps.4.947 million. Most of our current lending activity consists of working capital loans to small and medium-sized businesses. Our historic focus on small and medium-sized businesses has enabled us to diversify our credit risk exposure, by granting smaller-sized loans to clients in diverse business sectors. As of December 31, 2008, the average principal amount of our corporate loans were Ps.443,000 and our 20 largest private sector loans accounted for 23% of our total corporate loans.

We offer short-term and medium- to long-term corporate lending products.

Short-term: Products include credit lines for up to 180 days and consist mainly of overdraft facilities, corporate credit and debit cards and factoring, as well as foreign trade related financing, such as pre-export, post-shipment and import financing. These products also include contingency lines, such as short-term guarantees (performance guarantees and bid bonds) and import letters of credit. The credit risk assigned to these kinds of transactions is the debtor rating described below, unless increased as a result of a pledge or a guarantee.

Medium- to long-term: Products include credit lines and specific lending facilities of more than 180 days. Credits are usually asset-based, such as leasing, whereby a credit enhancement is achieved by means of the underlying asset.

Medium- to long-term facilities risks are mitigated through different mechanisms that range from pledges and mortgages to structured deals through financial trusts whereby the debtor pledges the underlying asset, mostly future income flows. Regardless of the term and based on the fact that these credit lines are devoted to small to medium-size companies, our policy is to require personal guarantees from the owners, although the underlying debtor rating remains unchanged.

As of December 31, 2008, our loans to corporate customers were as follows:

We offer transaction services to our corporate customers, such as cash management, customer collections, payments to suppliers, payroll administration, foreign exchange transactions, foreign trade services, corporate credit cards, and information services, such as our Datanet and Interpymes services. There are usually no credit risks involved in these transactions, except for intra-day gapping (payments done against incoming collections) as well as settlement and pre-settlement related to foreign exchange transactions which, in general, are approved following the debtor rating process explained above.

Payments to suppliers. Our payments to suppliers services enable our customers to meet their payment obligations to their suppliers on a timely basis through a simple and efficient system. This service also provides payment liquidations, tax payment receipts, invoices and any other documents required by the payer.

Collection services. Our collection services include cash or check deposits at our 416 branches, automatic and direct debits from checking or savings accounts and the transportation of funds collected from corporate customers to our branches for deposit. Our extensive branch network enables us to offer fast and efficient collection services throughout Argentina, which is of critical importance to both regional and nationwide companies.

Datanet and Interpymes. We provide our corporate clients with access to the Datanet service, which is an electronic banking network linking member banks in Argentina. These services permit our clients to obtain reliable on-line information on a real-time basis from their bank accounts in Datanet as well as perform certain transactions.

Interpymes is an electronic banking system designed to meet the needs of small businesses. It does not require special installation procedures and is easily accessible through the Internet, helping to simplify day-to-day operations for our customers.

Tax collection and financial agency services. We also have exclusive, long-term arrangements to provide tax collection and financial agency services to four provinces.

We have the largest private sector branch network in the country with 416 branches spread throughout Argentina. In particular, in line with our strategy of expanding nationally, we have extensive coverage of the provinces of Argentina with 94% of our branches located outside of the City of Buenos Aires. Furthermore, we have 24 service points used for social security benefit payments and servicing of checking and savings accounts; 803 ATMs; and an internet banking service. The following table breaks down the current distribution of our branches per province and sets forth our market share for all banks in those provinces:

Our board of directors approves our credit policy and credit analysis based on the following guidelines:

We establish contact with loan applicants through an officer, who is in charge of gathering the applicant’s information and documentation, visiting the applicant, obtaining the reasons for the loan request and making an initial assessment of the application. The loan proposal is then reviewed by a banking manager and, if it complies with our credit policy, it is referred to our credit risk assessment management division, which prepares a risk report. The risk report is then provided to a committee in charge of reviewing and granting the loan. Depending upon the amount and type of loan involved, the responsible committee will be one of three committees acting under the supervision of our board of directors and responsible for reviewing and determining whether to approve the loan: a senior committee, a junior committee or a regional committee. The senior committee consists of members of senior management, including our chairman and vice chairman, and considers loan proposals in excess of Ps.5,000,000.

Our credit policies for individuals are based upon the applicable product lines, including credit cards, current account overdrafts, Macroadelantos, personal loans, chattel and real estate mortgage loans, and stipulate the permitted terms, maximum amounts available and interest rates. The amount of the customer’s indebtedness, loan repayment capability based on current income, and credit history are key tools used in assessing each application.

In order to determine the credit risk, our risk management division qualifies each company by means of a risk rating model, assigning to a debtor a rating that ranges from 1 to 10, 1 being the highest risk and 10 the lowest. The risk rating model takes into consideration quantitative as well as qualitative concepts. Our lending policy establishes that companies with debtor ratings of 1, 2, 3 and 4 are outside of our business scope, while middle market companies, our main target group, usually have ratings of 5 to 7.

Credit monitoring involves carefully monitoring the use of the loan proceeds by the customer, as well as the customer’s loan repayment performance with the objective of pre-empting problems relating to the timely repayment of the loan. The credit monitoring and review process also aims to take all steps necessary to keep delinquent loans within the parameters established by our credit policy for the purpose of curing the delinquency. If this objective is not accomplished, our credit management division will direct the collection of the loan to our pre-legal or legal collection unit. We standardize the early stages of the collection process by different measures (including contact by telephone and letter), beginning five days after maturity.

During 2008, the actions carried out to have Banco Bisel’s systems replaced with Macro’s solutions, applications, processes and standards were completed. In this stage, such new member of the group was homogenized into the same technological and information environment, making the consolidation of balance sheets, management control and operations activities easier.

As regards technological infrastructure, a new central processing unit was acquired to process the growing transaction volume arising from an increased number of customers in the group and the offer of new products, thus ensuring operations for the year 2009.

Contingency proceedings and environments management under international standards continued to be improved, taking into account the new business plan of the Bank.

90 automatic teller machines were acquired, 11% more automatic teller machines applied to the growth of business, and more than 400 self-service terminals were installed. The group’s fleet in these customer service channels reached as of the end of the year 809 automatic teller machines and 665 terminals.

New equipment was incorporated to improve the operational continuity of the company, by reducing recovery times and re-establishing data processing services in an increased number of critical systems.

We continued working on strengthening Virtual Banking services, in order to absorb the growing demand for Automatic Channels defined within this segment.

The total expenses incurred in respect of such improvements and projected investments for 2009 amount to US$30.2 million.

A plan of action in connection with the merger of data processing systems with Nuevo Banco Bisel was commenced, and is expected to be completed during June, 2009, as a previous stage to the merger of such company into Banco Macro brand. The budget for machines, equipment and organization and development expenses related to such merger amounts to US$6.6 million.

We believe that we have an important advantage over our competitors in providing banking products and services to small communities in the provinces of Argentina as a result of the close community relationships and strong loyalty we have developed over time with our customers in these areas. We consider Santander Río, Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires S.A., BBVA Banco Francés S.A., HSBC Argentina S.A. and Banco Patagonia S.A. to be our main competitors. We also compete with regional banks. In the future, we expect competition to increase in corporate transactions products and long-term lending, mortgage lending and other secured financings, credit cards, specialized credit packages, salary payment services and investment management services.

The Argentine banking industry was severely impacted by the 2001-2002 economic crisis. However, the current recovery has led to positive trends in the sector in terms of scale, profitability/solvency and asset quality.

Assets and deposits have experienced an important recovery since 2001. We believe the public in general has regained confidence in the financial system, as evidenced by the growth in deposits. Total deposits increased to Ps.236,487 million as of December 31, 2008 after declining from Ps.86,570 million as of December 2000 to Ps.66,447 million as of December 2001. However, the rebound of credit activity has been slower, with levels of private credit-to-GDP of 12% as of December 2008, well below the 23.3% activity for 2000. At the same time, the average net worth of the financial system was increased from Ps.17,082 (dollar equivalent 17,082) million in 2001 to Ps.39,198 million in December 2008, and earnings, which began to fall in 1998 as a consequence of the economic recession returned of profits in 2005 achieving a total of Ps 5,357.2 million as of December 31, 2008.

In 2002, the Argentine banking system lost Ps.19,287 million in total. Out of the 100 banks in existence at that time, only 25 recorded profits, totaling Ps.1,144 million, while the remaining 75 lost approximately Ps.20,431 million in total. Although the number of profitable banks increased to 45 and 58 in 2003 and 2004, respectively, the financial system continued having losses of Ps.5,487 million and Ps.657 million. During 2005, 2006 and 2007 the number of profitable banks increased to 69, 74 and 72, the financial system showed as of those dates net income of Ps.1,932, Ps. 4,473 and Ps.3,961 million respectively.

The Argentine banking system has shown accumulated profits of Ps.5,357 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008, representing a return on equity 13.7% and a return on assets of 1.6%.

The non-performing credit portfolio of the financial system increased during the crisis. In 2002, the ratio of the non-performing portfolio to total credit portfolio for the Argentine banking system reached 18.1%, while the ratio in the private sector was worse, reaching 38.6%. In the following year, the financial system began to recover, although the ratio was similar to the level seen in 2003. Since 2004, the ratios have continued to recover. As of December 31, 2008, non-performing credit portfolio levels continued to improve by dropping to 2.6% of the total credit portfolio, while the ratio for the private sector decreased to 3.0%.

There are seven institutions that consistently rank in the top ten based on private sector loans, equity and total deposits: Banco de la Nación Argentina and Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, which are both public banks, Banco Macro and Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires, which are both domestic banks, and Banco Santander Río, HSBC Bank Argentina and BBVA Banco Francés, which are foreign-owned banks. Only six of these (Banco de la Nación Argentina, Banco de Galicia y de Buenos Aires, BBVA Banco Francés, Banco Santander Río, HSBC Bank Argentina and Banco Macro) also ranked among the ten banks with the largest net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008. Below are the rankings of these banks across these metrics:

We were the most profitable bank, measured by net income. As of December 31, 2008, our return annualized on average equity was 23.8% compared to the 16.0% for private-sector banks and 13.7% for the banking system as a whole.

There is a large concentration of branches in the Buenos Aires area, as the following table shows. We have the most extensive private-sector branch network in Argentina, and a leading regional presence in eleven Provinces including Santa Fe, Córdoba, Río Negro, Mendoza, Entre Ríos, Neuquén and Tierra del Fuego, in addition to Misiones, Salta, Tucumán and Jujuy where we are the largest bank in terms of branches.

Approximately 81% of the branches in the Argentine financial system are outside the City of Buenos Aires while approximately 94% of our branches are outside the City of Buenos Aires. The ten largest banks, in terms of branches, account for 61% of the total amount of the system. We are second to Banco de la Nación Argentina in terms of market share outside the City of Buenos Aires, with a market share of 12%. The ranking is based on financial institutions which have 50 branches or more and with presence in 15 provinces or more.

Founded in 1935, the Central Bank is the principal monetary and financial authority in Argentina. It is responsible for maintaining stability in the value of the domestic currency, establishing and implementing monetary policy and regulating the financial sector. It operates pursuant to its charter and the provisions of the Argentine Financial Institutions Law. Under the terms of its charter, the Central Bank must operate independently from the Argentine government.

Since 1977, banking activities in Argentina have been regulated primarily by the Argentine Financial Institutions Law, which empowers the Central Bank to regulate the financial sector. The Central Bank regulates and supervises the Argentine banking system through the Superintendencia de Entidades Financieras y Cambiarias, or the Superintendency of Financial and Exchange Entities, or the Superintendency. The Superintendency is responsible for enforcing Argentina’s banking laws, establishing accounting and financial reporting requirements for the banking sector, monitoring and regulating the lending practices of financial institutions and establishing rules for participation of financial institutions in the foreign exchange market and the issuance of bonds and other securities, among other functions. These powers of the Central Bank include the authority to fix minimum capital, liquidity and solvency requirements, approve bank mergers, approve certain capital increases and transfers of stock, grant and revoke banking licenses, and to authorize the establishment of branches of foreign financial institutions in Argentina and the extension of financial assistance to financial institutions in cases of temporary liquidity or solvency problems.