La Caixa/Carlos Slim: Slim pickings

In Mexico, Carlos Slim makes a better friend than enemy. At least, that is what Spain’s La Caixa thinks. The investment subsidiary of Spain’s largest savings bank, Criteria CaixaCorp, has taken a 20% stake in Grupo Financiero Inbursa, a Mexican financial conglomerate controlled by the Mexican billionaire. The Barcelona-based bank wants to use Inbursa as a platform to build a retail banking network in Mexico and expand its footprint all over the Americas. On its own, Inbursa hardly looks like th...