Posts Tagged ‘Jaime Gilinski Bacal’

Harvard University’s Chabad House Recipient of Generous Gift

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

 

Jaime Gilinski-Bacal, a Colombian banker, investor and philanthropist, is a benefactor to many causes supporting individuals of Jewish faith and heritage. Recently, Harvard University’s Chabad House was the recent recipient of a generous gift by Jaime Gilinski and his wife Raquel. Chabad House seeks to engage fellow Jews through educational programs in all areas of Jewish life. Chabad also reaches out to the greater Harvard University community to bring together undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and Jews of all backgrounds on an ongoing basis. All programs and services are provided free of charge. Jaime Gilinski also serves as the chairman of Chabad House’s Capital Projects. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1980.

           

The Gilinskis have also developed Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Hillel Ambassador Program, which will award up to 15 merit-based scholarships per year at the Hillel Community Day School in North Miami Beach, Florida. This first-of-its-kind program was developed to recognize students in grades 6 through 12 who show a commitment to excellence. Gilinski “ambassadors” distinguish themselves in leadership and academic achievement, community service, or extracurricular activities. They represent the school’s mission to create lifelong learners and the next generation of leaders in their community.

 

Jaime Gilinski is a prominent Colombian entrepreneur. In the United States, he is the owner of South Florida-based JGB Bank. Jaime Gilinski also owns banks in Latin America, and is spearheading the massive Panama Pacifico real estate development near the Panama Canal.

 

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In Brief: Jaime Gilinski and Banking

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

The Gilinski Group, headed by Colombians Isaac and Jaime Gilinski, has a track record of winning investments in the financial sector, beginning with its acquisition of Compañía Financiera Internacional in the 1970s. But it was its 1991 acquisition of Banco Andino that helped solidify the Group’s lead.

At the time of the purchase, Banco Andino was hemorrhaging $8 million a month. It took several years to get the bank back on its feet, but within four years it became one of the most efficient banks in the Colombian banking system. The Gilinski Group sold the reconstituted bank for a reported $70 million.

The family then moved to purchase Banco de Colombia, partly with a $50 million investment for privatization from international financier George Soros. They later sold the control of the bank to Banco Industrial Colombiano, and its controlling stakeholder Sindicato Antioqueño, for $418 million — a transaction that ranks among Colombia’s largest. After the sale, Sindicato Antioqueño merged the institutions and called the entity Bancolombia. The Gilinski Group maintained a 19 percent share in the new bank as part of the deal. As of 2009, the market capitalization of Bancolombia in the NYSE is in the order of $6 billion.

After selling its controlling stake in Bancolombia, Jaime Gilinski acquired Eagle National Bank, now known as JGB Bank. Jaime Gilinski is the only Colombian approved by the US Federal Reserve to own a bank in the United States.

Continuing to see promise in Colombia’s banking sector, Isaac and Jaime Gilinski also acquired Banco Sudameris and Banco Tequendema in 2003. Subsequently, they were merged into then $4-billion-asset GNB Sudameris. As of 2009, Banco Sudameris is the most efficient bank in the Colombian banking system. It achieved a profit of $40 million in 2008. The move was followed by the purchase of Servibanca, an ATM network with more than 1,200 machines, and Suma Valores, a stock exchange commission agent company. 

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