Alejandro Valenzuela: Turning Financial Access into Lasting Capability

Dr Alejandro Valenzuela

Banco Azteca Chairman of the Board Alejandro Valenzuela believes financial inclusion must extend far beyond access to accounts and credit. His leadership agenda combines education, responsible lending, digital innovation, and human support to help more Mexicans build resilience and participate fully in the economy.

For Alejandro Valenzuela, financial inclusion is only the starting point. Opening an account or extending credit has limited value if customers do not also gain the knowledge, habits, and confidence required to use those tools effectively.

As Chairman of Banco Azteca, Valenzuela is focused on turning access into long-term financial capability. That means supporting customers throughout their financial journey, from opening a first account and using credit responsibly to saving, investing, planning for retirement, and developing an entrepreneurial venture.

Financial education is therefore not treated as a separate social initiative, but as a core part of the bank’s operating model. Through its Aprende y Crece programme, Banco Azteca has reached more than 39 million people and generated over 138 million educational interactions through workshops, digital content, and outreach initiatives over almost 25 years.

The objective, Valenzuela explains, is to make financial services both accessible and practical. Banco Azteca serves customers through more than 2,000 branches, the largest private banking network in Mexico, while also supporting approximately 28 million active digital users. Its branches open from 9am to 9pm every day of the year, including Sundays and national holidays, reflecting the working patterns of the communities it serves.

The bank’s principal audience has long been Mexico’s dynamic middle class, including customers who may be entering the formal financial system for the first time. For Valenzuela, success is therefore measured not by the number of accounts opened, but by the number of people who become more resilient, capable, and confident about their financial future.

Inclusion Built Around Real Life

Meaningful inclusion, in Valenzuela’s view, occurs when people can participate more fully in the economy through services that improve their daily lives. A bank account should do more than hold money. It should help a family manage an emergency, receive remittances, establish a credit history, grow a business, or build long-term security.

Trust is especially important for first-time users of formal financial services. Products must be simple, understandable, and relevant to real needs. Banco Azteca has therefore developed offerings for underserved groups, including women, migrants, and customers with limited previous banking experience.

Products such as Guardadito Sin Fronteras and Cuenta SOMOS reflect this emphasis on practical inclusion. Their purpose is not simply to expand access statistics, but to address the circumstances of customers whose needs may not fit conventional banking models.

Valenzuela considers inclusion successful when customers move from financial uncertainty towards greater confidence. That progression may begin with regular saving, followed by more disciplined use of credit and greater access to opportunities that improve quality of life.

Scale and responsibility are not treated as competing objectives. Banco Azteca’s national reach allows it to serve more people efficiently, while disciplined risk management and customer education support sustainable growth.

Over more than two decades, the bank has established a presence across hundreds of municipalities, including many communities far from major urban centres. In some locations, it is the only financial institution with a physical presence. That reach is complemented by one of Mexico’s most active digital banking ecosystems.

For Valenzuela, the commercial opportunity of scale must always remain connected to customer outcomes. Long-term institutional success depends on creating long-term value for the people the bank serves.

Financial Education That Changes Behaviour

One of the most important lessons from Aprende y Crece is that information alone rarely changes behaviour. Financial capability develops when education is practical, relevant, and closely connected to everyday decisions.

Customers tend to build better habits through small, consistent actions rather than dramatic changes. Regular saving, disciplined credit management, and long-term planning emerge through repetition and positive experience.

Education is often most effective when delivered at the point of decision. A customer opening an account, requesting credit, receiving a remittance, or planning for a future goal is more likely to act on relevant guidance than someone encountering financial education in isolation.

For entrepreneurs, access to finance must also be accompanied by an understanding of cash flow, budgeting, business planning, and reinvestment. Credit can provide an important foundation, but education helps transform that capital into sustainable growth.

Valenzuela believes trust remains the most valuable asset in banking. It takes years to establish and can be lost quickly. Transparency therefore begins with simplicity: customers should understand how a product works, what it costs, what benefits it offers, and what responsibilities it creates.

Responsible product design must place customer outcomes at the centre of decision-making. Products should support progress towards financial goals rather than introduce unnecessary complexity.

Technology can also strengthen confidence. Banco Azteca was the first Mexican bank to introduce biometrics and has continued to integrate technology across its operations. Yet innovation must remain grounded in reliability, clarity, and consistent delivery.

A Phygital Model for a Changing Market

Banco Azteca’s operating strategy combines physical reach with digital convenience through a phygital model.

Many customers continue to value personal guidance, particularly when making important financial decisions. At the same time, digital users increasingly expect immediate access and round-the-clock service.

The bank is positioned to provide both. Alongside its national branch network, Banco Azteca serves around 28 million active digital users. Its mobile application has earned ratings of 4.7 stars on Google Play, based on more than 1.11 million reviews, and 4.8 stars on the App Store, based on more than 765,000 ratings.

The aim is not to replace one channel with another, but to allow customers to move between them seamlessly. Technology should improve speed, access, and service quality, while physical locations preserve the human connection that remains central to trust.

This combination is particularly important in a market where digital adoption is accelerating, but confidence and familiarity vary widely across customer groups.

Responsible Credit and Economic Mobility

Valenzuela regards credit as one of the most powerful instruments for economic mobility, but only when extended responsibly.

The bank’s approach begins with understanding customers’ circumstances, repayment capacity, and objectives. Credit should support productive opportunities, help households meet important needs, and enable entrepreneurs to develop their businesses.

Responsible inclusion does not mean extending the maximum possible amount. It means providing the right level of credit under appropriate conditions.

That requires disciplined underwriting, continuous portfolio monitoring, and clear customer education. Sustainable growth is achieved when opportunity and prudence advance together.

The same balance applies to the bank’s organisational culture. Serving millions of customers across diverse economic circumstances requires empathy, professionalism, accountability, and operational discipline.

Valenzuela places particular emphasis on listening. Understanding customers’ realities allows the bank to design better products, improve service, and strengthen relationships. For many clients, Banco Azteca represents their first experience of formal banking, making every interaction important.

Empathy must nevertheless be supported by execution. Managing more than 2,000 branches, millions of digital users, and consistently high service standards requires strong governance, technological capability, and disciplined operations.

The strongest culture, in Valenzuela’s view, combines purpose with performance. When employees understand that their work can improve people’s lives, commercial results and social impact can reinforce one another.

A Shared Agenda for Mexico

Mexico has made progress in financial access, but important gaps remain in banking penetration, credit depth, and financial education.

Valenzuela believes the next stage of inclusion must focus not only on access, but on participation and capability. Achieving that objective will require a more integrated ecosystem involving banks, regulators, employers, educational institutions, and technology providers.

Digital onboarding, efficient payment systems, and secure identity verification can continue to reduce barriers to entry. Financial education should also be treated as a national priority, supported by the experience of programmes such as Aprende y Crece.

There is further scope to expand productive credit for entrepreneurs and households that have historically operated outside the formal system. Responsible lending, digital innovation, and education can together support mobility without compromising stability.

The ultimate opportunity is to build a more resilient and financially capable society.

A Legacy of Inclusive Prosperity

Looking ahead, Valenzuela hopes Banco Azteca will be remembered for helping democratise opportunity.

Access, education, innovation, and resilience are not separate ambitions. They are different expressions of a broader purpose: enabling more people to participate in the economy and improve their quality of life.

Banco Azteca’s contribution has been built through its branch network, digital platform, and educational programmes. Its resilience has also been tested during periods of disruption.

Throughout the pandemic, the bank maintained operations across its branch network. Following Hurricane Otis, it became the first financial institution to restore services in affected communities, reopening six branches within nine days despite difficult conditions.

Valenzuela also points to the bank’s financial performance and liquidity as evidence of institutional resilience during periods of public scrutiny. Banco Azteca describes 2024 and 2025 as the strongest years in its history, supported by record results and international recognition.

Yet Valenzuela does not want the bank’s legacy to be measured by financial indicators alone. Its core mission is the creation of inclusive prosperity.

If Banco Azteca is remembered for helping millions of Mexicans build resilience, pursue their ambitions, and gain access to greater opportunity, he believes it will have fulfilled its purpose.