Mexico's Banco Azteca gets nod to open in Honduras

MEXICO CITY, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Banco Azteca, Mexican retailer Elektra's bank that caters to low-income clients, said on Thursday it has received permission to begin operating in Honduras.

Honduran banking regulators a year ago had rejected Banco Azteca's application because of its failure to disclose U.S. fraud charges against owner Ricardo Salinas.

Banco Azteca has grown rapidly since it was launched by Elektra (ELEKTRA.MX) in 2002 to offer loans and other services to working class Mexicans.

The bank doles out credit to customers who want to buy products in Elektra stores and also takes deposits and handles dollar remittances sent home by Latinos working in the United States.

The retailer-bank combination has been so successful that Wal-Mart de Mexico (WALMEXV.MX) and other supermarket chains in Mexico are planning to launch similar operations.

Elektra has said it plans to expand Banco Azteca to several other countries in Latin America. The retailer already operates stores in Honduras, where it did $70 million in business last year.

In September, Salinas agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle charges in the United States that he deceived investors in a 2003 deal related to his TV Azteca broadcaster.

((Reporting by Noel Randewich, editing by Michael Urquhart; Reuters Messaging: noel.randewich.reuters.com@reuters.net; +52 55 5282-7153)) Keywords: MEXICO ELEKTRA/

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