FLORIDA, A SAFE INVESTMENT

These days in which the world economy, and specially the US economy, have been adversely impacted by the real estate crisis, many experts believe it is the right time to analyze and spend in mid and long term investments, which will yield very good returns.

Agustín García is one of the many optimistic professionals who agree with this outlook. He is General Manager of Caixa Galicia, Miami Agency, which supports and defends the Spanish banks and savings institutions’ efforts in Florida (USA) and who affirms that the Sunshine State is the ideal place for those who have Euros and want to invest them.

“Florida continues to be a bridge between the US and Latin America, and has experienced great economic and entrepreneurial growth –I believe it is fourth in terms of growth,” states the graduate from Universidad Complutense of Madrid which also has a Masters in International Finance and Economics from Florida International University.

“Florida’s economy will get passed this bump in the road and grow as it has in past decades given all it has to offer geographically as a result of its proximity to Latin America, a region that has been doing so well from an economic perspective, which has direct repercussions for the state.”

According to García, the current US economic situation and the advantages Florida has to offer can be exploited very well by those who wish to invest mid to long term.

“For someone who earns in Euros, it makes complete sense to investment in dollars, because given the exchange rate of Euros/Dollars, which currently is at 1.56 - 1.57 dollars, there is a  large opportunity for investments which become very inexpensive real estate acquisitions,” states García. “What may be bad times for some local investors may mean great business opportunities for others.”

García does warn those who wish to take advantage of this crucial moment to “do your homework” and make the necessary market analysis and feasibility studies before investing, and to consider these studies as a profitability projection and business with a minimum of three to five year commitment.

“Investors should study wisely the current market, understand where it is and where it’s heading, devote many hours to research and analysis of its value and profitability prior to investing”, he argues. “Companies in general should also understand the legal framework in which they’ll operate within the industry and the status of their market –be it real estate or another industry.”

All this information says García, is “open to the public and should not be taken lightly.”

As an example, García cites that of the 10 Spanish financial institutions that have set camp in Florida during recent years, without being heavily impacted by the real estate crisis.

“I believe that, in general, Spanish banking institutions in Miami have done things very well,” says this banker who was in charge of opening Caixa Galicia’s Miami office two years ago. “They haven’t gotten themselves into crazy projects and they haven’t competed with local banks in local projects.”

According to the executive, Spanish banks have been able to get past this economic slump above all because they know their clients very well, many of which are Spaniards investing in Florida, but mostly because the projects they finance have good guarantees on proper coverage.

The caution shown by Spanish institutions is the same García advices to his compatriots who wish to invest in the US market.

“If you do things right, in other words, you do not stray from the basic fundamentals and risk factors, the result will be positive for the financing institution as well as the company,” explains García, who made Caixa Galicia’s Miami office profitable in less than a year and, today, has a business volume of about 350 million dollars.