Grupo Aval will consolidate its more than 5,500 trust businesses and collective investment funds into Aval Fiduciaria.

The legal representatives of Grupo Aval's trust companies—Fiduciaria Bogotá, Fiduciaria de Occidente, Fiduciaria Popular, and Aval Fiduciaria—have published a notice of intent to move forward with the consolidation of the more than 5,500 trust businesses and collective investment funds they currently manage, with assets totaling nearly 190 trillion pesos.

This will allow Aval Fiduciaria to expand its service capacity to the approximately 150,000 clients currently served by the four entities through a single vehicle.

Given its strategic value, this reorganization will allow for the integration of a more comprehensive and robust offering of investment and management products for clients and to meet the demands of the investing public.

It has been a demanding process that will require, at this stage, the necessary authorization from the Colombian Financial Superintendency and the shareholders.

For Grupo Aval, this will be a milestone in its strategic consolidation, allowing for an even more robust asset management entity, reflecting the greatest strengths of each of its current fiduciaries, with current and future clients in mind, and boosting the fiduciary market and the growth of the financial sector in Colombia.

"This consolidation of our trust businesses into Aval Fiduciaria, once approved by the regulatory body and shareholders, is a demonstration of Grupo Aval's commitment to the country, its economy, and regional development," said María Lorena Gutiérrez, president of Grupo Aval.

He also emphasized that "the best capabilities we have in each of our trust companies will be combined to provide our clients with an exceptional experience and the strength of our Group."

The fiduciary sector in Colombia has been, in its more than 30 years of history, a fundamental player in the country's development.

Currently comprised of 28 companies, it manages nearly 1.1 trillion pesos in third-party resources (equivalent to almost 60 percent of the country's GDP) primarily through collective investment funds or trust businesses, through which companies and individuals develop projects, grow, generate employment, and boost the economy.