JPMorgan announced today that it has been selected as successor depositary bank for the American Depositary Receipt program for Banco Santander Chile (NYSE: SAN).
JPMorgan will manage all aspects of the ADR program in the US for Banco Santander Chile, which is the largest ADR program in Chile as measured by investment value and the third largest as measured by trading value.
Banco Santander Chile is the largest bank in Chile in terms of total assets, total deposits, loans and shareholders’ equity. It employs more than 9,000 people and has the largest private branch network in Chile.
“We selected JPMorgan because of its extensive experience in Latin American depositary receipt programs and its dedicated team for investor relations support,” said Robert Moreno, Investor Relations Manager at Banco Santander Chile.
JPMorgan assumed management of the Banco Santander Chile ADR program effective August 4, 2008. The appointment makes JPMorgan the top depositary bank in Chile as measured by investment value.
William Kirst, head of JPMorgan’s Latin American Depositary Receipt business, said: “JPMorgan is proud to welcome Banco Santander Chile as a client and will put extensive resources towards making its ADR program a success.”
JPMorgan launched the first DR in Latin America in 1960 (Teléfonos de México) and serves as depositary for a number of DR programs in Latin America, including Petrobras and Vale. In 2007, the firm launched a global depositary shares (GDS) program for Grupo Clarín, the first Argentine company to have a DR listing on the London Stock Exchange and global depositary receipt (GDR) program for Almacenes Exito S.A., the first primary offering of equity securities by a Colombian company outside of the home market in over 10 years.
JPMorgan created the first-ever DR in 1927 (Selfridges). Today the overall DR market comprises more than 1,800 companies from over 75 countries which sponsor over 2,200 DR programs in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) that list on U.S. exchanges or Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) which typically list in London or Luxembourg.
JPMorgan provides a full complement of ADR and GDR services to issuers seeking to have their equity traded on exchanges beyond their home markets. JPMorgan’s primary services include DR Issuances and Cancellations, Stock Transfer, Tender and Exchange Offer and Subscription Rights Agency services and Tax Reclamation services for investors.
JPMorgan also offers a range of value-added Investor Relations and Advisory services to issuers, with the singular goal of facilitating the DR’s highest potential liquidity, ownership and visibility.
For market information on DRs and international equities go to JPMorgan’s award-winning web site www.adr.com. For more information on JPMorgan’s DR services go to http://www.jpmorgan.com/visit/adr
About Banco Santander Chile
Banco Santander Chile is a universal bank that offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to customers, including Chilean peso and foreign currency denominated loans to finance a variety of commercial transactions, trade financing, foreign currency forward contracts, credit lines and a variety of retail banking services, including mortgage financing. In addition to traditional banking operations, Banco Santander Chile provides a variety of financial services including financial leasing, financial advisory services, mutual fund management, securities brokerage, insurance brokerage and investment management. For more information go to http://www.santander.cl
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.8 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its JPMorgan and Chase brands. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com
Contacts:
Pam Snook, 212-270-7013
pamela.v.snook@jpmorgan.com
