Q2 2026 Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos SA Earnings Call

August 7, 2026

Speaker #1: Good morning, everyone. we will wait for a couple of minutes until a couple more registered participants come in. Very well. We can begin then.

Alejandro Berney: Good morning, everyone. We will wait for a couple of minutes until a couple more registered participants come in. Very well. We can begin then. Thank you everyone for joining. My name is Alejandro Berney. I am the Investor Relations Officer for BYMA, and today we will be talking about our Q2 results. As is usually the case, please keep your questions until the end of the presentation, then we will open it up for Q&A. Very well. Here are our quarterly results. A strong quarter, we believe, in terms of growth of the business. As was the case in the last quarter, we are seeing the CSD, the Central Securities Depository, Caja de Valores, really driving the growth this time around, unlike what was the case for the last two, three years. Now we are seeing the CSD growing faster than the exchange.

Speaker #1: Thank you, everyone, for joining. my name is Alejandro Barney. I am the investor relations officer for BIMA, and today we will be talking about our second quarter results.

Speaker #1: As is usually the case, please, please keep your questions until the end of the presentation, and then we will open it up for Q&A.

Speaker #1: Very well. So, here are our quarterly results. Also, a strong quarter. We believe, in terms of growth of the business, as was the case in the last quarter, we are seeing the CSD, the Central Securities Depository, Caja Valores, really driving the growth this time around.

Speaker #1: And unlike what was the case for the last two, three years, now we are seeing the CSD growing faster than the exchange. And we'll cover a little bit of that during the presentation.

Alejandro Berney: We'll cover a little bit of that during the presentation. The income growth between both of the businesses then, you can see that it was 60% or 25% in real terms. Please remember that this is the only page where we show the adjusted by inflation numbers, which are the numbers on the right-hand of the page. We have the historical numbers in the middle of the page, which is what we usually talk about. Expenses did grow a little bit more than inflation at 68% or 31% in real terms. Between both of them, our growth margin also had a nice growth in real terms of 21%. Other operating income was practically flat in real terms. It grew by inflation. We consider this to be a very good result given the situation of interest rates locally in Argentina.

Speaker #1: The income growth between both of the businesses, then, you can see that it was 60% or 25% in real terms. Please remember that this is the only page where we show the numbers adjusted for inflation, which are the numbers on the right-hand side of the page. We have the historical numbers in the middle of the page, which is what we usually talk about.

Speaker #1: Expenses did grow a little bit, more than inflation, at 68% or 31% in real terms. But between both of them, our gross margin also had a nice growth in real terms of 21%.

Speaker #1: And other operating income was practically flat in real terms. Though it grew by inflation, we consider this to be a very good result, given the situation of interest rates locally in Argentina.

Speaker #1: But we will also get into a little bit more detail further on. So, the results: net income, in historical terms, is growing at 22%.

Alejandro Berney: We will also get into a little bit more detail further on. The result, net income in historical terms, growing at 22%, a little bit below inflation due to higher income tax. In real terms, dropping 9%. Starting then with the details about the business. You can see how the Central Securities Depository is growing very strongly. We have added the monthly figures of the Assets Under Custody in our Investor Relations page, and we are also changing the layout so it is easier to find the information. We hope that you appreciate the new layout. You have the AUCs broken down by asset class in the Investor Relations page, as I mentioned. When you look at that detail, this was an interesting quarter because we saw growth across all asset classes.

Speaker #1: a little bit below inflation due to higher income tax. and in real terms, dropping 9%. So, starting then with the details about the business, you can see, how the Central Securities Depository is growing very strongly.

Speaker #1: We have added the monthly figures of the assets under custody on our Investor Relations page, and we are also changing the layout so it's easier to find the information.

Speaker #1: We hope that, you, you appreciate the, the new layout. so you have the AUCs, broken down by asset class, in the, in the investor relations page, as I mentioned.

Speaker #1: and when you look at that detail, this is, this was an interesting quarter, because we saw growth across all asset classes. When we look at the evolution of the first quarter from the end of last year, most of the growth was driven by T-bills, the, the, from the national treasury.

Alejandro Berney: When we look at the evolution of the Q1 from the end of last year, most of the growth was driven by T-bills from the Tesorería General de la Nación. Whereas this quarter, we have seen, as I mentioned before, growth across all asset classes. In terms of percentage growth, the corporate bonds was the one with the highest percent. Obviously, the government securities are the largest part of the total, so that growth in terms of market value, that is what drove the growth. In terms of percentage, as I was saying, it was corporate bonds. Also very interesting to see is that the amount of CEDEARs under custody grew 18% quarter-over-quarter, and it was driven more by amount than by price.

Speaker #1: Whereas this quarter, we have seen, as I mentioned before, growth across all asset classes. In terms of percentage growth, the corporate bonds was the one with the highest percent.

Speaker #1: obviously, the government securities are the largest part of the total, so that drove in terms of, in terms of market value. that is what drove, the growth.

Speaker #1: But in terms of percentage, as I was saying, it was corporate bonds. Also, very interesting to see is that the amount of CEDEARs under custody grew 18% quarter over quarter, and it was driven more by amount than by price.

Speaker #1: So the prices of the CEDEAR portfolio did go up, but most of the growth, two-thirds of that 18% of the growth was driven by more CEDEARs.

Alejandro Berney: The prices of the CEDEAR portfolio did go up, but most of the growth, two-thirds of that 18% of the growth was driven by more CEDEARs. In other words, we are seeing that local retail as well as local institutional investors, both of them, are demanding more CEDEARs in their accounts. The market makers convert more CEDEARs, and therefore the AUCs have grown locally. As a result of the growth in AUCs, we have seen very strong results from the Central Securities Depository. Revenue doubled from the previous year, and it was based on the core CSD services as well as the additional services. As a reminder, the additional services are services that are related to international custody, both outflow as well as inflow. In other words, local institutions that are buying assets offshore, as well as foreign investors that are buying assets locally.

Alejandro Berney: The prices of the CEDEAR portfolio did go up, but most of the growth, 2/3 of that 18% of the growth was driven by more CEDEARs. In other words, we are seeing that local retail as well as local institutional investors, both of them, are demanding more CEDEARs in their accounts. The market makers convert more CEDEARs, and therefore the AUCs have grown locally. As a result of the growth in AUCs, we have seen very strong results from the Central Securities Depository. Revenue doubled from the previous year, and it was based on the core CSD services as well as the additional services. As a reminder, the additional services are services that are related to international custody, both outflow as well as inflow. In other words, local institutions that are buying assets offshore, as well as foreign investors that are buying assets locally.

Speaker #1: In other words, we are seeing that local institutional, local retail as well as local institutional investors—both of them—are demanding more CEDEARs in their accounts, and so we convert the, the market makers convert more CEDEARs, and therefore the AUCs have grown locally.

Speaker #1: As a result of the growth in AUCs, then, we have seen very strong, results in, from the Central Securities Depository, revenue doubled from the previous year.

Speaker #1: and it was based on the core ADC services, as well as the additional services. as a reminder, the additional services are services that, are related to international custody, both outflow as well as inflow.

Speaker #1: In other words, local institutions that are buying assets offshore, as well as foreign investors that are buying assets locally. And, in addition to the international custody segment, the small and medium enterprise instruments also drove the assets under custody growth, and therefore the revenue associated with that lot.

Alejandro Berney: In addition to the international custody segment of the small and medium enterprise instruments that also drove the assets under custody growth and therefore the revenue associated with that line. Quite a good quarter and even higher acceleration. The growth this second quarter was higher than the growth in the first quarter. We think that this trend will continue. It is driven by the National Treasury, as we saw. It is related to the fact that the central bank has been buying a lot of dollars. Those pesos that were issued to buy the dollars are being absorbed by the National Treasury through securities, and those securities therefore are in custody and we're seeing the benefit of that in the CSD segment. In terms of the exchange, more subdued growth, similar to the previous quarter. In historical numbers, the growth was 41% of the revenue.

Speaker #1: So quite, quite a good quarter, and even, higher acceleration, though the, the growth this second quarter was higher than the growth in the first quarter.

Speaker #1: So, we think that this trend will continue, it is driven by the national treasury, as we saw, and it is related to the fact that the central bank has been buying a lot of dollars, those pesos that were issued to buy the dollars are being absorbed, by, the national treasury, through securities, and those securities, therefore, are in custody and we're seeing, the benefit of that in the CSD segment.

Speaker #1: In terms of the exchange, more subdued growth, similar to the previous quarter. the, in, historical numbers, the growth was 41%, of the revenue. equities, as usual, as, as always the case, is the largest segment.

Alejandro Berney: Equities, as usual, as is always the case, is the largest segment. This time around, on exchange repo was the second largest and fixed income the third largest. If we look at the different asset classes, how they evolve, first of all, we go into equity. You can see that the ADTV had a very strong growth of 92%. The comparison to the same quarter last year has the difference in fees. We are currently charging five basis points on equity, whereas the second quarter of last year, in May, we had reduced from eight to seven basis points. Half of the quarter had a little bit lower fees, but the other half of the quarter, we were charging for eight basis points. That explains a big part of the reason why the exchange revenues are not growing as quickly.

Alejandro Berney: Equities, as usual, as is always the case, is the largest segment. This time around, on exchange repo was the second largest and fixed income the third largest. If we look at the different asset classes, how they evolve, first of all, we go into equity. You can see that the ADTV had a very strong growth of 92%. The comparison to the same quarter last year has the difference in fees. We are currently charging five basis points on equity, whereas the second quarter of last year, in May, we had reduced from 8 to 7 basis points. Half of the quarter had a little bit lower fees, but the other half of the quarter, we were charging for eight basis points. That explains a big part of the reason why the exchange revenues are not growing as quickly.

Speaker #1: this time around, on exchange repo, was the second largest, and, fixed income, the third largest. So if we start looking, if we look at the, the different asset classes, how they evolved, first of all, we go into equity, you can see that the ADTV had a very strong growth, 92%.

Speaker #1: This, the comparison to the same quarter last year, has the difference in fees. We are currently charging 5 basis points on equity, whereas in the second quarter of last year, in May, we had reduced from 8 to 7 basis points.

Speaker #1: So, half of the quarter had a little bit lower fees, but for half—the other half of the quarter—we were charging 8 basis points, and therefore, that explains a big part of the reason why the exchange revenues are not growing as quickly.

Speaker #1: The other interesting point here is that the light blue in the graph to the left of the page is the CEDEARs average daily traded volumes, and you can see that all of the growth has come from the CEDEAR segment.

Alejandro Berney: The other interesting point here is that the light blue in the graph to the left of the page is the CEDEARs average daily traded volumes. You can see that all of the growth has come from the CEDEARs segment. As a matter of fact, when we look at the dark blue, which is the local shares, with the exception of the Q4 of last year, that has been very stable, around 90,000 to 100,000. It would be billion in English, but it is 1,000 millions in Spanish. That has been pretty flat, as you can see from the graph, in every quarter, with the exception of the Q4 of last year, where we saw the result of the election at the end of October 2023.

Speaker #1: and as a matter of fact, when we look at the dark blue, which is the local shares, with the exception of the fourth quarter of last year, that has been very stable, around 90 to 100, thousand, it would be billion in English, but it is 1,000 million in Spanish, and that has been pretty flat, as you can see from the graph, in every quarter, with the exception, the fourth quarter of last year, where we saw the result of the, election, at the end of October, of last year.

Speaker #1: At that point, the market, was in, in a buying mode, and therefore the ADTV did go up significantly. So we have, two, initiatives to, change this, which is a local market maker program, and a local ETF.

Alejandro Berney: At that point, the market was in a buying mode, therefore the ADTV did go up significantly. We have two initiatives to change this, which is a local market maker program, and a local ETF. BYMA has already selected a broker-dealer to be its market maker locally. We expect that to be implemented in October of this year. This is a broker-dealer that will be acting from abroad, therefore, there are some connectivity that needs to be solved for them to act. We hope that this will start showing more an increase in local volumes, first of all on BYMA shares. We are actively talking about this program with other issuers locally, so that they also consider hiring a local market maker. That should help drive the growth in the local equity segment.

Speaker #1: Bima has already selected, a broker dealer to be its market maker locally. We, we expect that to be implemented in October of this year, this is a broker dealer that will be acting from abroad, and therefore, there are some connectivity, that needs to be, solved for them to act.

Speaker #1: but we hope that, this will start showing, more, an increase in local volumes, first of all on Bima shares, but we are actively talking about this program with other issuers, locally, so that they also, consider hiring a local market maker.

Speaker #1: so that should help the, drive the growth in the local equity segment. And in terms of the local ETF, also, there has been, it has been officialized that, there is a local bank that is issuing, that it will be launching, the first local ETF that follows the S&P Merval Index, that will happen also around October of this year.

Alejandro Berney: In terms of the local ETF, also it has been officialized that there is a local bank that is issuing, that it will be launching the first local ETF that follows the S&P Merval Index. That will happen also around October of this year. The local ETF adds opportunities for arbitraging the ETF with the underlying shares as well as the ETF with the future of the index. Those two arbitrages will also help drive the growth in local equity volumes. Very well. Going on to fixed income. Trading and fixed income did recover, as you can see. The Q1 was very low, a large drop from the Q4 of last year, mainly due to the fact that the central bank had been very active in the Q3 and Q4.

Speaker #1: And the local ETF adds opportunities for, arbitraging, the ETF with the underlying shares, as well as the ETF with the future of the index.

Speaker #1: So those two arbitrages, will also help drive the growth in local equity volumes. Very well. Going on to fixed income then, trading in fixed income did recover, as you can see, so the first quarter was very low, a large drop from the fourth quarter of last year, mainly due to the fact that the central bank had been very active, in the third quarter and fourth quarter, and since, since then, interest rates have been, coming down, with, again, with the injection of liquidity, from the central bank.

Alejandro Berney: Since then, interest rates have been coming down, again, with the injection of liquidity from the central bank in the US dollars they were buying as part of their foreign reserve improvement. You can see that the Q2, without the appearance of the central bank, we are seeing a recovery of the average daily traded volumes of both the guaranteed segment as well as the bilateral segment, and a subsequent, or the result also of the revenues also growing versus last year and versus the Q1 of this year from the fixed income. Here for this segment, we also have an initiative in place, the recent acquisition of Fundtech. It is an OTC platform that uses RFQ as a Request for Quote as a trading mechanism.

Speaker #1: in, in the dollars, they were buying, as part of their foreign reserve, improvement. so you can see that the, this second quarter, and without the appearance of the central bank, we are seeing a recovery, of the average daily traded volumes, of, both the guaranteed segment, as well as the bilateral segment.

Speaker #1: And a subsequent, or, or the result, also, of the revenues, also growing, versus last year, and versus the first quarter of this year, from the fixed income.

Speaker #1: Here, for this segment, we also have an initiative in place, the recent acquisition of Quantex, it is an, an OTC platform, that uses RFQ as, request for quote, as a trading mechanism.

Speaker #1: This trading venue, is being, set up with TradeWeb, so that there will be, connectivity, between foreign investors, interested in buying, local fixed income in Argentina, it will be easier for them, since Bima will be, the sole interface, and therefore, the foreign invest the foreign broker dealer, does not need to approve a credit line, to the local participant.

Alejandro Berney: This trading venue is being set up with Tradeweb so that there will be a connectivity between foreign investors interested in buying local fixed income in Argentina. It will be easier for them since BYMA will be the sole interface, therefore the foreign broker-dealer does not need to approve a credit line to the local participant. BYMA will be the sole intermediary for the entire market. We believe that in this way, we will increase the volumes traded from foreigners interested in local instruments. On-exchange repo saw a reduction for the first time. This reduction was due to the fact that the local regulator implemented a maximum amount that the local brokers can use their debt-to-equity ratio. The amount of leverage that the local brokers did come down.

Speaker #1: BIMA will be the sole intermediary for the entire market. So we believe that, in this way, we will increase the volumes traded from foreigners interested in local instruments.

Speaker #1: On exchange repo, saw a reduction for the first time, this, reduction was, due to the fact that the local regulator implemented, a, a maximum amount, that the local brokers can have, can, can use their, debt to equity ratio, so the amount of, leverage, that the local brokers did come down, it, it is not a fixed limit, so it is a relative value limit, based on their own net worth, on their own equity.

Alejandro Berney: It is not a fixed limit, so it is a relative value limit based on their own net worth, on their own equity. As the local brokers grow, this growth trend will continue as well on the on-exchange repo. We believe that this is a one-off drop. We are seeing, and you can follow the daily volumes, we are seeing that we are experiencing growth again from Q2, but we're not close to the previous limits, to previous amounts that we had in Q1. We expect to see growth a little bit more subdued in the future based on these changes that the local regulator introduced. Market data is a small fraction of our total revenues.

Speaker #1: So, as the local brokers grow, this growth trend will continue as well on the on-exchange repo. So, we believe that this is a drop, a one-off drop.

Speaker #1: We are seeing, and, and you can follow the daily volumes, we are seeing that there, we are experiencing growth again, from the second quarter, but we're not close to the previous limits, to previous amounts that we had in the first quarter.

Speaker #1: So, we expect to see growth a little bit more, subdued, in the future, based on these changes that the local regulator introduced. Market data is, small fraction of, of, our total revenues, we, we should see this line, growing, with the launch of the local ETFs, and as more local ETFs start using our indices, we should see growth in this segment line.

Alejandro Berney: We should see this line growing with the launch of the local ETFs, and as more local ETFs start using our indices, we should see growth in this segment line. I mentioned in page 1 that the expenses had been higher than the inflation, and half of that impact is due to the BYMA Clearing launch that we had in Q2. The launch implied a significant amount of consultancy that we hired for the launch from technology vendors, as well as bonuses based on the successful launch of the project, and overtime that was also paid. Both of these lines, compensation and consultancy, have seen a significant growth based on this project. Half of that growth, as I was saying, was based on the project, and so we should see that come down in the next quarter.

Speaker #1: I mentioned in the first page that the, expenses had been, higher than the inflation, and, half of that impact is due to, the Bima clearing launch that we had, in the second quarter.

Speaker #1: The launch, implied, a significant amount of consultancy that we hired for the launch, from technology vendors, as well as a bonuses, based on the, successful launch of the project, and, over time, that was also paid.

Speaker #1: So, both of these lines—compensation and consultancy—have seen significant growth. Based on this project, half of that growth, as I was saying, was due to the project itself, and so we should see that come down in the next quarter.

Alejandro Berney: The other half of the increase in compensation is related to more headcount that we have hired. We are changing the profile of the employees that we have in some areas. We have been hiring. Again, we should see that this is a maximum amount, and we should come down from that maximum in the next few quarters. Finally, what I wanted to raise was that you will notice that the taxes, the Ingresos Brutos line, grew below inflation. We are starting to see the impact of the initiatives we had for tax efficiency. This should see an even smaller growth in the next couple of quarters as those initiatives take full force. Some of them were implemented towards the end of Q1, and others were implemented during this Q2.

Speaker #1: the, the other half of, the increase in compensations, is related to, more headcount that we have hired, we are changing the profile of the employees that we have, in some areas, so we have been, hiring, but, again, we should see that this amount, and we should come down from that maximum in the, in the next few quarters.

Speaker #1: And finally, what I wanted to raise was that you will notice that the taxes—the Ingresos Brutos line—grew below inflation. We are starting to see the impact of the initiatives we had for tax efficiency.

Speaker #1: And this should see an ever smaller growth in the next couple of quarters, as those initiatives take full force. Some of them were implemented towards the end of the first quarter, and others were implemented during this second quarter, so we're not seeing the full impact of these tax efficiency initiatives that we have had.

Alejandro Berney: We're not seeing the full impact of these tax efficiency initiatives that we have had. Going into our financial income then, first of all, you can see that the earnings from the devaluation, which is the dark blue portion of the graph, those earnings came back to being positive. We saw appreciation of the peso in Q1, and therefore we had a loss on the mark-to-market due to that appreciation. Now, Q2 saw devaluation again, and therefore, in pesos, we saw that the earnings growth. In terms of interest and mark-to-market, we saw a very similar quarter to Q1. It was a harder environment to achieve that due to the negative interest rates that we had for most of Q2. The results, again, are quite positive as we interpret them based on the market conditions.

Speaker #1: Going into our financial income, then, first of all, you can see that the, the earnings from the, devaluation, which is the dark blue portion of the graph, those earnings came back to being positive, we saw appreciation of the peso in the first quarter, and therefore, we had a loss on the mark to market, due to that appreciation, now the second quarter saw devaluation again, and therefore, we, we saw in pesos, we saw that the earnings growth.

Speaker #1: And in terms of interest and mark to market, we saw a very similar quarter, to the first one, it was a harder environment to achieve that, due to the negative interest rates that we had for most of the second quarter, and, so the, the results, again, are quite positive, as we interpret them, based on the market conditions.

Speaker #1: So, as a result of this, we continue to have, high efficiencies, we came down slightly, from our all-time high in EBITDA, and operating margin, but very close to the maximum that we have had over the previous years, and, as I mentioned before, and based on the fact that several, that half of the increase in expenses was related to, the Bima clearing project, we expect that efficiency, to inch back up again in the rest of the year.

Alejandro Berney: As a result of this, we continue to have high efficiencies. We came down slightly from our all-time high in EBITDA and operating margin, but very close to the maximum that we have had over the previous years. As I mentioned before, and based on the fact that half of the increase in expenses was related to the BYMA Clearing project, we expect that efficiency to inch back up again in the rest of the year. Here we will leave you the historical numbers. In summary then, I must say that the document we sent out by email had some of the percentages in the first line were erroneous. We have corrected that in this presentation. These are the correct numbers. It was only in this page that the percentage variation was wrong. In the previous page, it was correct.

Speaker #1: Here, we will leave you the, the historical numbers, and, and in summary, then, and the, I, I must say that the documents we sent out by email, had some of the percentages in the first line were erroneous, so we have corrected that.

Speaker #1: In this presentation, these are the correct numbers. It was only on this page that the variation, the percentage variation, was wrong. In the previous page, it was correct. But we will be uploading this presentation to our investor relations website, so this will be the corrected version.

Alejandro Berney: We will be uploading this presentation to our investor relations website. This will be the corrected version. You can delete the one that was sent by email. We spoke about the BYMA Clearing launch. We spoke about the key projects. The only thing to add also is, we mentioned it briefly initially, but we have upgraded our investor relations page website. You should be able to find the information much easier and we welcome any comments that you may have about that or any other questions. With that, I'll open it up then for questions. Pedro, please go ahead.

Speaker #1: So you can delete the one that was sent by email. so, we spoke about the clearing, the Bima clearing launch, we spoke about the key projects, the only thing to add also is, we, we mentioned it briefly initially, but we have upgraded our investor relations page, website, so you will, you should be able to find the information much easier, and, we welcome any, comments that you may have about that, or any other questions.

Speaker #1: and with that, I'll open it up, then, for, questions. Pedro, please go ahead.

Speaker #2: Hi, Alejandro, thank you for taking this call. I have only one question on expenses, you mentioned this one-off expenses related to the launch of Bima clearing this quarter, are there any additional or extraordinary expenses for the second half, or it was it all, fulfilled this quarter?

[Analyst 1]: Hi, Alejandro. Thank you for taking this call. I have only one question on expenses. You mentioned this one-off expense is related to the launch of BYMA Clearing this quarter. Are there any additional or extraordinary expenses for the H2, or was it all fulfilled this quarter?

Speaker #1: It was all fulfilled this quarter.

Alejandro Berney: It was all fulfilled this quarter.

Speaker #2: Okay, okay, so we should see, like, normalized expenses, you were saying, like, at the year-end of last year. Perfect.

[Analyst 1]: Okay. We should see normalized expenses you were seeing on the year-end of last year. Perfect.

Alejandro Berney: Exactly.

Speaker #1: Ex-exactly. closer to the first quarter of this year.

[Analyst 1]: Thank you.

Alejandro Berney: Closer to Q1 of this year.

Speaker #2: Mm-hmm. Okay, thank you.

[Analyst 1]: Okay. Thank you.

Speaker #1: You're welcome. William?

Alejandro Berney: You're welcome. William?

[Analyst 2]: Alejandro, thank you for the presentation. Good morning. Good afternoon, everybody. Congrats about the IR website. Improved a lot. It was easy to use it yesterday. I have two questions here. The first one, being picky a little bit on the CSD revenue, right? I noticed it fell a little bit quarter-on-quarter, but the AUC increased. About 11%. I just wanted to understand a little bit the disconnect here. If it's-

Speaker #3: Alejandro, thank you for the presentation. Good morning, good afternoon, everybody. Oh, and congrats about the IR website—improved a lot. It was easy to use it yesterday.

Speaker #3: But yeah, I have two questions here. The first one, I'm being a little bit picky on the CSG revenue, right? I noticed it fell a little bit quarter-on-quarter, but the AOC increased.

Speaker #3: About 11%. just wanted to understand a little bit the disconnect here. If it's a mixed shift, shift, or anything that maybe I could change yields expected ahead.

Alejandro Berney: Yeah

[Analyst 2]: A mixed shift or anything that maybe I could change yields expected ahead. This is the first one. I'll ask the second one later.

Speaker #3: So, this is the first one. I'll ask the second one later.

Speaker #1: Okay. Yes, so we always compare to the same quarter of the previous year because there is a certain seasonality in part of the revenue mix.

Alejandro Berney: Okay. Yes. We always compare to the same quarter of the previous year because there is seasonality in part of the revenue mix. The Q1 and the Q3, we have the coupons being paid by the national government on their external debt, and we charge a fee on the coupon payment. Those are quite large numbers, and we typically see in January and in July an increase in the corporate action fees, and that is the main part of the difference.

Speaker #1: So the first quarter and the third quarter, we have, the coupons being paid, by the, the national government, on their, external debt, and we charge a fee on the coupon payment.

Speaker #1: so those are quite large numbers, and we typically see in January, and in July, an increase in the corporate action fees, and that is the, the main part of the difference.

Speaker #3: All right, thank you. And the second one here is, you know, trying to understand about the dynamics of CDRs competing with local equities, right?

[Analyst 2]: All right. Thank you. The second one here is trying to understand about the dynamics of CEDEARs competing with local equities, right? You mentioned during the call that local equity has been flat. You will launch maybe a market maker, local market maker to improve it. I want to understand if there's a correlation, maybe because CEDEAR is growing too much, it's taking share or maybe money out of the pockets for people to invest in local equities, if there's a correlation there. If this growth here is anything related to memory investments, semiconductors, and if there is a risk here, if this call decelerate a little bit in the following months, if we should see CEDEARs also decelerating for you.

Speaker #3: And, and, and you mentioned during the call that local equ, equity has been flat. you launched maybe a market maker, local market maker, to improve it.

Speaker #3: But I want to understand if there's a correlation, maybe, because CDR is growing too much, it's, it's taking share, or maybe money out of the pockets for people to invest in, in local equities, if there's a correlation there.

Speaker #3: And if this growth here is, you know, anything related to memory investments, semiconductors, and if there is a risk here, if this could, you know, decelerate a little bit in the following months, if—if we should see CDRs also decelerating for you.

Speaker #1: Th-that's a good point, William, thank you. And, and yes, we, we launched the CDR of SpaceX on the same day that the IPO was done in the US.

Alejandro Berney: That's a good point, William. Thank you. Yes, we launched the CEDEAR of SpaceX on the same day that the IPO was done in the US. Two or three hours later, after the IPO, the CEDEAR was already available to be traded locally. SpaceX was the most traded CEDEAR for a week, even more than SPY, which is typically the most traded in CEDEAR. Obviously, NVIDIA and the other hyperscalers, there's a lot of interest in that. Based on that, what we try to explain this or the conclusion we have come to is that local retail investors are investing. They're not only dollarizing their portfolio. We have a lot of conversations about if CEDEAR is hedging dollar or are they investing?

Speaker #1: two or three hours later, after the IPO, the CDR was already available to be traded locally. And SpaceX was the most traded CDR for a week, even more than FBY, which is typically the most traded in CDR.

Speaker #1: So, obviously, Nvidia, and the other hyperscalers, there's a lot of interest in that. And so, and based on that, what we tried to explain this, or, or the conclusion we have come to, is that local retail investors are investing.

Speaker #1: They're not only dollarizing their portfolio. So, we have a lot of conversations about, you know, if CDRs are hedging dollars or are they investing?

Speaker #1: We believe that they are really investing, and in a way, yes, they compete, but in a way, it is the client's decision as to the investor's decision as to what they're interested in investing in, right?

Alejandro Berney: We believe that they are really investing. In a way, yes, they compete. In a way, it is the investor's decision as to what they're interested in investing in, right? At the end of the day, this differentiation that we do between local stocks and CEDEARs, the investor doesn't see it that way. He decides what he wants to invest in, regardless of where it is issued. We always also use the example of Mercado Libre. 99.9% of investors believe that Mercado Libre is listed on our exchange. It's actually a CEDEAR. The investor is not looking at it that way. They're looking at the company and not the type of instrument, in other words.

Speaker #1: So it, it, it, at the end of the day, this differentiation that we do between local stocks and CDRs, the investor doesn't see it that way.

Speaker #1: he decides what he wants to invest in, regardless of where it is issued. And we always also use the example of Mercado Libre, 99.9% of investors believe that Mercado Libre is listed on our exchange.

Speaker #1: It's actually a CDR, but the investor is not looking at it that way. They're looking at the company, and not the type of instrument, in other words.

Speaker #3: All right, thank you. And if I could, Ricardo, go ahead. I'll, I'll ask later.

[Analyst 2]: All right. Thank you. If I could, Ricardo, go ahead. I'll ask later.

[Analyst 3]: Oh, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity here to make a question. I think just a quick follow-up on William's question. It would be interesting to get a sense on what is the difference in terms of yield or margin from CEDEARs and local equities. Another second question I would like to ask as well is if you could provide more details on all the tax measures you mentioned that has been helping the tax rate and what is reasonable to expect in terms of the tax rate for the full year. Thank you.

Speaker #4: Oh, thank you, thank you for the opportunity here to make a question. I think just a quick follow-up on William's question will be interesting to get a sense on, what is the difference in terms of, yield or margins from CDRs and, and local equities.

Speaker #4: And, and another second question I would like to ask as well is, if you could provide, more details on all the, the, the tax measures you mentioned that has been helping the tax rate, and, and what is reasonable to expect in terms of the tax rate for the full year.

Speaker #4: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Sure. Very well. So, the, the first of all, the margin, our gross margin for CDRs and for local equity is practically the same. CDRs have a little bit less, because there is a market we call it a market making program.

Alejandro Berney: Sure. Very well. First of all, our gross margin for CDRs and for local equity is practically the same. CDRs have a little bit less because there is a market, we call it a market-making program. It's actually a liquidity program where we provide discounts, fee discounts, to brokers that are willing to be on the screen putting up liquidity for the CDR. When you look at the five basis points, we also have day trading reductions in fees, and that is regardless if it's a CDR or if it's a local equity, right? When you look at the implied revenue, it's not exactly five basis points. It is closer to four and a half for equity and four for CDRs. CDRs is a little bit lower, as I was saying. That was the first question. In terms of the tax, it is not income tax.

Speaker #1: It's, it's, actually a liquidity program, where we provide discounts fee discounts to brokers that are, willing to be on the screen, putting up liquidity for the CDRs.

Speaker #1: So, when you look at the five basis points, we also have day trading reduction in fees, and that is regardless of whether it’s a CDR or if it’s a local equity, right?

Speaker #1: So, it's not—when you look at the implied revenue, it's not exactly five basis points. It is closer to four and a half for equity and four for CDRs.

Speaker #1: So CDRs is a little bit lower, as I was saying. that was the first question. In terms of the tax, it is not income tax, this is specifically ingreso brutos, which is like a sales tax.

Alejandro Berney: This is specifically Ingresos Brutos, which is like a sales tax. Ingresos Brutos is charged by the local government, by the provinces and the city of Buenos Aires. What we have done is two things. First of all, two of our companies, TECVAL and Caja Valores, moved their head office to an area of the city where the city gives you reductions because they want to promote that area and uplift it, and therefore, they are willing to charge less on Ingresos Brutos for more employees to work from those areas. That area is called specifically Parque Patricios, and by the end of Q1, we had TECVAL. We had the local government recognizing that TECVAL had moved and reduced the tax rate.

Speaker #1: ingreso brutos is charged by the local government, by the, provinces, and the city of Buenos Aires. so what we have done is, two things.

Speaker #1: First of all, two of our companies, Tecbal and Caja Valores, moved their head office to an area of the city where the city gives you reductions because they want to promote that area and uplift it, and therefore they are willing to charge less on ingreso brutos for, more employees to work from those areas.

Speaker #1: that area is called specifically Parque Patricios, and we obtained by the end of the first quarter, we had Tecbal, we had the local government recognizing that Tecbal had moved, and reduced the tax rate, and then in the second quarter, Caja Valores also the tax authority reduced the tax rate because, it, it was just a bureaucratic process that they needed to validate.

Alejandro Berney: In Q2, Caja Valores, also the tax authority reduced the tax rate because it was just a bureaucratic process that they needed to validate. For BYMA, we also moved part of our footprint to Córdoba. We opened up a large office in Córdoba, and around 50 people are hired there in Córdoba. Based on that, we obtained from the local government a reduced Ingresos Brutos tax as well. There is a compensation between the different provinces. The provinces look at your cost footprint, and you have a blended average between that cost footprint. That is how we also are reducing Ingresos Brutos for BYMA, for the holding company.

Speaker #1: For BIMA, we also moved part of our footprint to Córdoba. So, we opened up a large office in Córdoba, and around 50 people are hired there.

Speaker #1: In, in Córdoba, and based on that, we obtained from the local government a reduced ingreso brutos tax as well. And there is a compensation between the different provinces, so the provinces look at your cost footprint, and you have a blended average between that cost footprint and, and that is how we also are reducing ingreso brutos for BIMA, for the holding company.

[Analyst 3]: That's very clear. Just to understand a little bit better, we did see a reduction in the income tax line, right? If you could also elaborate a little bit more on that and what we can expect will also be very helpful. Thank you very much.

Speaker #4: That's, that's very clear. but, but just, just, just understand a little bit better. We, we did see a, a reduction in the income tax line, right?

Speaker #4: So if you could also elaborate a little bit more on that, and what we can expect will also be very helpful. Thank you very much.

Speaker #1: The income tax line is volatile because it will depend on the earnings, the on the financial income mostly. That the volatility comes mostly from the financial income, not from the business itself.

Alejandro Berney: The income tax line is volatile because it will depend on the earnings, on the financial income mostly. The volatility comes mostly from the financial income, not from the business itself. The financial income as it moves, and it depends on the component, if we make more money from the assets that we have abroad or more money on the local assets. You will see volatility quarter to quarter based on those results. In terms of what a forecast for the year should be, the income tax is 35%. We have some mechanism to reduce it based on some tax efficiencies that we can obtain. A projection is probably closer to 30%.

Speaker #1: The financial income, as it moves, depends on the components. If we make more money from the assets that we have abroad, or more money on the local assets, you will see volatility quarter to quarter based on those results.

Speaker #1: In terms of what a forecast for the year should be, the income tax is 35%. We have some mechanisms to reduce it based on some tax efficiencies.

Speaker #1: That we can obtain. So, a projection is probably closer to 30%.

Speaker #4: It's very clear, thank you.

[Analyst 3]: Super clear. Thank you.

Speaker #1: You're welcome. Carlos, please go ahead.

Alejandro Berney: You're welcome. Carlos, please go ahead.

Speaker #5: Hola, hello, and thank you for taking my call. in congratulations.

[Analyst 4]: Hola. Hello, and thank you for taking my call, Investor Relations. The first question is my usual one, which is whether there has been any progress in the reduction or elimination of exchange controls, or if you have any visibility whether this is something that we could expect later this year. I mean, this is one of two or three things we are waiting for the government to do. That we would like to know. Also, we have had a period of really, really low interest rates. If we go to higher interest rates, how would you expect that to affect your business, either positively or negatively in the different segments? Thank you.

Speaker #1: Sure.

Speaker #5: so the first question is, my usual one, which is whether there has been any progress in the reduction or elimination of exchange controls, or if you have any visibility whether that is something that we could expect later this year.

Speaker #5: I mean, this is one of the two or three things we are waiting for the government to do. So that would be like. And also, we have had a period of really, really low interest rates, if we go to higher interest rates, how would you expect that to affect your business, either positively or negatively in the different segments?

Speaker #5: Thank you.

Speaker #1: You're welcome. So, first of all, in terms of FX controls, our view has been for some time—probably since the beginning of the year—and as each month goes by, we are more sure of our view that there won't be any changes on FX controls until after the election.

Alejandro Berney: You're welcome. First of all, in terms of FX controls, our view has been for some time, probably since the beginning of the year, as each month goes by, we are more sure of our view that there won't be any changes on FX controls until after the election. The different authorities from the central bank, from the Ministry of Finance, lately have started to be more clear about this, that they don't expect to change anything. Here they say opposite messages, but I think that on purpose. On the one side, they're saying that they're not afraid of the FX volatility next year because they are building very strong foreign reserves. They also say that the volatility they had last year, they don't want that to happen again next year, and therefore, they are careful about how they change anything related to FX controls.

Speaker #1: the, the different authorities from the central bank, from the Ministry of Finance, lately have started to be more clear about this, that they don't expect to change anything, because and, and here they they they say opposite messages, but I think that on purpose, on the one side, they're saying that they're not afraid of the FX volatility next year because they are, building very strong foreign reserves, but then they also say that, the volatility they had last year, they don't want that to happen again next year, and therefore they are careful about how they change anything related to FX controls.

Speaker #1: This year, they have added an FX control. It's small; it's specifically oriented at the retail. In Argentina, we did not have any restrictions on sending money abroad and using the instruments that trade in dollars locally. Around two months ago, they implemented a 90-day minimum difference from sending out money abroad and then coming back in through the exchange.

Alejandro Berney: This year, they have added an FX control. It is small. It is specifically oriented at the retail in Argentina. We did not have any restrictions in sending money abroad and using the instruments that trade in dollars locally. Around two months ago, they implemented a 90-day minimum difference from sending out money abroad and then coming back in through the exchange. The trend, again, was that they added a new control that was not there before. Just to validate what I was talking about. That is in terms of FX. In terms of interest rates, well, let's leave aside the relation between interest rates and asset prices, because that is obviously much harder. In terms of higher interest rates will give us higher other operating income on our side.

Speaker #1: So the trend, again, was that they added a, a new control that was not there before. just to validate what I was, talking about.

Speaker #1: That is in terms of FX. In terms of interest rates, well, let's leave aside the relation between interest rates and asset prices, because that is obviously much harder. But in terms of higher interest rates, they will give us higher other operating income on our side.

Speaker #1: so that's why I was saying in this low interest rate environment, having a, a similar results as in the first quarter was a, a very good result for us in, in terms of the portfolio management.

Alejandro Berney: That's why I was saying in this low interest rate environment, having similar results as in the Q1 was a very good result for us in terms of the portfolio management. What we do see is that there tends to be more arbitrage in a higher rate environment. When there's more inflation, we see a lot more activity in terms of arbitrage. We see that a little bit lower now with the lower interest rate. We think that there is more trading activity when there are more opportunities to take money from an exchange repo invested in a short-term bill, or vice versa.

Speaker #1: And what we do see is that there tends to be more arbitrage in a higher fixed, higher rate environment. So, when there's more inflation, we see a lot more activity in terms of arbitrage. We see that a little bit lower now with the lower interest rates.

Speaker #1: So, we think that there is more trading activity when there are more opportunities to take money from an exchange repo invested in a short-term bill, or vice versa.

Speaker #5: Thank you. Thank you.

[Analyst 4]: Okay. Thank you.

Speaker #1: You're welcome. Nacho, how are you?

Alejandro Berney: You're welcome. Nacho, how are you?

Speaker #6: Hi Ale, how are you? Good evening.

[Analyst 5]: Hi, Ale, how are you? Good evening.

Speaker #1: Very well, thanks.

Alejandro Berney: Very well, thanks.

Speaker #6: Well, thank you for taking my question. the first one is, if you can give me a head up on, on the cash status of Bima, the second one is, if we can zoom a little on that 68% health in pesos, I don't know if you can disclose some if the instruments are national treasury bills or bonds, if you are SER or dollar linked, and the, the last one, is if you see that percentage held in pesos, moving going forward more toward dollar or this is a, a, a percentage if you do you feel comfortable with.

[Analyst 5]: Well, thank you for taking my question. The first one is, if you can give me a heads-up on the cash status of BYMA. The second one is if we can zoom a little on that 68% held in ARS. I don't know if you can disclose if the instruments are national treasury bills and bonds, if they are CER or dollar-linked. The last one is if you see that percentage held in ARS moving going forward more toward USD, or this is a percentage do you feel comfortable with? Thank you.

Speaker #6: Thank you.

Speaker #1: Very well. So, yes, at the beginning of the year, our portfolio was, much closer to 30% in dollars, but the reason for that was more of our forecast of the dividend being paid.

Alejandro Berney: Very well. Yes, at the beginning of the year, our portfolio was much closer to 30% in USD. The reason for that was more of our forecast of the dividends being paid. We paid a large dividend in USD, around $125 million, therefore we had a large position in USD preparing for that dividend payment. After the dividend payment, we were much closer to 60% in ARS, again, our investment area, and our investment committee decided to allow the ARS portfolio to grow. From a cash evolution perspective, obviously, we charge in ARS, we are paid in ARS, we generate ARS, therefore dollarizing is really selling those ARS to buy USD. What I'm trying to say is we just let the ARS position grow as the cash flow was being generated.

Speaker #1: We paid a large dividend in dollars, around $125 million. And therefore, we had a large position in dollars preparing for that dividend payment.

Speaker #1: After the dividend payment, we were much closer to 60% in pesos, and again, our investment area and our investment committee decided to allow the peso portfolio to grow.

Speaker #1: From a cash evolution perspective, obviously we charge in pesos, we are paid in pesos, so we generate pesos, and therefore, dollarizing is really selling those pesos to buy dollars.

Speaker #1: so in what I'm trying to say is, we just let the peso position grow as the cash flow was being generated. based on the outlook, based on, as everybody sees, a very, very strong export, probably an excess of dollars, or at least without the central bank buying dollars, clearly, the price of the peso would go even lower than where it went.

Alejandro Berney: Based on the outlook, based on, as everybody sees, a very strong export, probably an excess of USD, or at least without the central bank buying USD, clearly, the price of the ARS would go even lower than where it went. This H2, we all know about the seasonality of exports, there should be a little bit less USD generation. We will probably see the devaluation go closer in line with the inflation, with the forecast of inflation also dropping. Right? Those are the decisions that our investment committee takes. They are really made month by month, it's not that we have a view for the full year. This could change in a matter of weeks, as we all know about Argentina's volatility.

Speaker #1: this second, semester, we all know about the seasonality of exports, so there should be a little bit less, dollar generation, so we will probably see the, devaluation go closer in line with the inflation, with a forecast of inflation also dropping, right?

Speaker #1: So those are the decisions that our investment committee takes. And they are really made month by month, so it's not that we have a view for the full year. This could change in a matter of weeks, as we all know about Argentina's volatility.

Speaker #6: Thank you. Thank you very much, Ale.

[Analyst 5]: Thank you. Thank you very much, Ale.

Speaker #1: You're welcome. Very well. Any other questions? Okay. I don't see any. well, thank you everyone then for joining. We have as, as a reminder, you can send any question to us through our group email.

Alejandro Berney: You're welcome. Very well. Any other questions? Okay, I don't see any. Well, thank you everyone then for joining. As a reminder, you can send any question to us through our group email, ri@byma.com.ar. You probably saw Mora. Mora is a new addition to the team. For those of you that don't know her, she's also part of the group and helps us with any questions you may have, and she was actually the one that drove the changes to the investor relations website. We will be uploading the recording for this presentation as well. With that, thank you everyone for joining, and have a good weekend.

Speaker #1: R-I at Bima dot com dot A-R. You probably saw Mora. Mora is a new addition to the team. For those of you that don't know her, she's also part of the group and helps us with any questions you may have. She was actually the one that drove the changes to the investor relations website.

Speaker #1: We will be uploading the recording for this presentation as well. And with that, thank you everyone for joining, and have a good weekend.

Speaker #5: Thank you. Bye-bye.

[Analyst 2]: Thank you. Bye-bye.

Speaker #1: Bye-bye.

Alejandro Berney: Bye-bye.

[Analyst 5]: Bye-bye. Thank you.

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