Pension market staying in foreign hands

El Salvador's pension fund regulator Spensiones has witnessed no added interest from potential new market players despite the recent departure of fund manager Profuturo, chief regulator Francisco Sorto told BNamericas. Sorto conceded that the current state of play in the local insurance market is not ideal given the fact that there are currently only two players, both of whom are subsidiaries of foreign groups. The regulator has seen no new interest from either local or foreign insurers keen to operate in the El Salvadorian pension market, Sorto said. El Salvador's two private pension fund managers, known locally as AFPs, are Crecer and Confia, which belong to Spanish financial group BBVA (NYSE: BBV) and US-based Citigroup (NYSE: C), respectively. Pension fund manager Profuturo was liquidated earlier this month with its affiliates switched to Crecer and Confia, although a specialized firm will be hired in the short term to conclude the transfer operation given that some additional affiliates have been detected.