Banorte Gets CNA Approval to Sell Bineo to Klar

Grupo Financiero Banorte announced that it has received authorization from the Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio (CNA, formerly COFECE) to sell its digital bank, Bineo, to Klar. The antitrust approval was issued on Dec. 8, following the announcement of the sale agreement in September.

However, the bank noted that the final closing of the transaction remains subject to several conditions, including, but not limited to, obtaining authorizations from the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), based on the opinion of Mexico’s Central Bank (Banxico).

Bineo, launched in January 2024, was promoted as Mexico’s first fully digital bank operating with its own Multiple Banking Institution license, authorized by the CNBV and Banxico and backed by IPAB. Positioned as a technology-centric institution with a “client-first” philosophy, Bineo differentiated itself by offering human-attended multi-channel support via WhatsApp, in-app chat, and phone service, as previously reported by MBN.

At launch, Bineo offered debit cards and personal loans, ranging from MX$5,000 to MX$200,000 with terms of 6 to 24 months. Bineo CEO Víctor Moya Aguilar told MBN that the digital bank attracted more than 5,000 clients within its first week and aimed to reach 2.5 million to 3 million clients within five years. Banorte CEO Francisco Martha González emphasized that the focus was not volume but “the quality of attention and the quality of our services.”

Financial Impact on Banorte

The decision to sell Bineo followed the digital bank’s inability to achieve profitability in the months after its launch. The sale and the required provisioning negatively affected Grupo Financiero Banorte’s third-quarter results.

In 3Q25, Banorte reported net income of MX$13 billion, a 9% decline compared with the same period in 2024 and an 11% decrease relative to 2Q25.

According to the Group, results were affected by “two special events: the deconsolidation of Bineo, registering an initial impairment loss of MX$1.307 billion, and the classification of a significant case in the commercial portfolio as Stage 3, which resulted in higher provisions.”

The Bineo-related impairment totaled MX$1.307 billion. Separately, the commercial loan default required Banorte to increase provisions by 57% to MX$8.176 billion. This also pushed Banorte’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio from 1.13% in the previous quarter to 1.37% in the July–September period. Despite the increase, Banorte stated it “does not identify signs of systemic, regional, or sector risks, nor deterioration in overall portfolio quality trends.”

Banorte expects profitability to recover in the first half of 2026.

Klar’s Strategy and Bineo’s Appeal
Klar, a financial technology company (Sofipo) that has previously announced plans to obtain a banking license, agreed to acquire Bineo in September. Stefan Möller, Klar’s CEO and co-founder, told Expansión that Bineo’s structure and short operational history made it particularly attractive.

Möller confirmed that Klar has initiated the formal request for the change of control of Bineo with the CNBV.