Banorte, Comercial Mexicana Launch Consumer Bank

By Noel Randewich

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Banorte bank and retailer Comercial Mexicana plan to launch a consumer credit firm, the latest in a wave of strategies to sell financial services to more Mexicans and keep up with Wal-Mart.

The new company will be 51 percent owned by Comercial Mexicana (COMEUBC.MX), one of Mexico's biggest retail chains, with the rest held by Banorte (GFNORTEO.MX), the partners said on Monday.

"Comercial Mexicana and Banorte have identified a compelling opportunity to satisfy pent-up demand for financial solutions for Comercial Mexicana's customer base, which is under-banked," they said in a release to the stock exchange.

About 60 percent of Mexican adults do not have credit cards or bank accounts.

Comercial Mexicana is the most recent major retailer in Mexico to launch bank services to help sell more appliances, clothes and other products to their mostly low-income customers.

Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX), controlled by U.S.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N) and by far Mexico's largest retailer, recently launched its own in-store bank. Banco Wal-Mart offers no-frills savings accounts and loans to buy products in the company's stores.

Last year, Citigroup (C.N) teamed up with Mexico's No. 2 retailer Soriana (SORIANAB.MX) to launch bank services.

Comercial Mexican and Banorte said they were waiting government approval for their banking operation, which they plan to start with a capital base of $120 million. The did not say what products they would offer.

Mexico's government has happily handed out new bank permits in recent years, hoping to increase competition in an industry perceived to charge unreasonably high interest rates and fees.

About half of Mexico's 104 million people live on less than $5 a day, leaving many of the accounts and loans offered by the country's big banks out of their reach.

In the United States last year, Wal-Mart withdrew an application with U.S. regulators to open a specialty bank after it faced immense opposition from critics worried the massive retailer would overwhelm small-town competitors.

Shares in Banorte closed 0.56 percent higher minutes before the venture was announced. Comercial Mexicana's stock closed 2.29 percent higher.

In 2002, billionaire Ricardo Salinas was the first to combine banks and stores in Mexico when he launched Banco Azteca, putting tellers windows at the back of his Elektra (ELEKTRA.MX) retail electronics and appliance outlets.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich. editing by Gunna Dickson)