Trafalgar Group Launches TRF Casa de Bolsa and Appoints Carlos Septién Michel as CEO

Trafalgar has formally launched TRF Casa de Bolsa, its new securities brokerage, while appointing veteran executive Carlos Septién Michel as Chief Executive Officer of the Trafalgar Group. The move signals a major push to leverage Mexico’s new simplified listing rules, offering mid-sized companies a streamlined path to capital markets through the BIVA stock exchange.

What was announced

The launch of TRF Casa de Bolsa marks the start of operations for Trafalgar’s securities brokerage, following the acquisition of an established firm. This transaction, led by Chairman Porfirio Sánchez Talavera, received formal regulatory authorization for the change of control and corporate denomination, which has now been published in the Official Gazette. The brokerage will focus on execution in Mexican and international equities, debt underwriting, investment funds, and trust structures.

Central to the group’s strategy is the 2023 reform to the Mexican Securities Law. Trafalgar intends to utilize the simplified securities registration regime, where the BIVA exchange reviews files and issues favorable listing opinions directly. This process is designed to reduce the time and cost for mid-market companies to access capital, provided the securities are placed with institutional and qualified investors. The brokerage will act as the placing intermediary, assuming enhanced review and disclosure responsibilities under this new framework.

To lead this integrated financial platform, Carlos Septién Michel has been named CEO of the Trafalgar Group. Septién Michel brings over 45 years of executive experience, including three decades in senior leadership roles within the financial services and healthcare sectors. He is an Industrial Engineer from Universidad Iberoamericana and holds a Master’s in Management from Purdue University. His remit covers the entire group, including the SOFIPO challenger bank and the new brokerage operations.

"Through a matter of conviction and institutional discipline, we've been able to stay at the table longer than anyone else. Our priority is to bring the Mexican mid-market to BIVA through simplified securities registration process. What we are announcing is not a license; it is a platform."

Porfirio Sánchez Talavera, Chairman of Trafalgar.

The companies involved

Trafalgar is a Mexican financial group that has positioned itself as a rare entity in the domestic market by combining retail banking services with a securities brokerage under single ownership. The group operates through several distinct pillars: TRF Casa de Bolsa for market execution and underwriting; Trafalgar SOFIPO, which functions as a challenger bank providing deposits, credit, and treasury solutions for SMEs and individuals; and Trafalgar Pay, which handles cross-border remittances between Mexico and the United States.

The group’s reach extends beyond Mexico through Trafalgar Asset Management LLC. This entity has acquired control of a U.S.-listed reporting issuer, which is intended to be renamed Trafalgar International. This U.S. arm is designed to serve as a financial services platform for expansion across Latin America and the United States, though it remains a separate legal and regulatory entity from the Mexican operations. The group has stated a long-term objective to become a publicly traded company in both Mexico and the United States, working alongside BIVA, Mexico’s second stock exchange, to facilitate these market ambitions.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has previously tracked Trafalgar’s evolution and its technological foundations. In late 2023, we covered how Thought Machine expands into Latin America, partners with Trafalgar to develop Mexico’s next fintech for SMEs, highlighting the group's reliance on modern core banking infrastructure. More recently, our reporting noted the group's international maneuvers as Trafalgar International Pivots to Fintech Platform, detailing the repositioning of its U.S.-listed entity to support a broader financial services strategy.

What this means

This announcement represents a significant test for the 2023 Mexican Securities Law reforms. By building a franchise specifically around simplified listings, Trafalgar is challenging the traditional dominance of larger, slower-moving brokerages that have historically overlooked the mid-market due to high entry costs. The success of this model will depend on whether institutional investors have the appetite for mid-cap debt and equity issued under a less rigorous registration regime.

Furthermore, the integration of a SOFIPO with a brokerage puts pressure on traditional Mexican banks. If Trafalgar can successfully bridge the gap between private SME lending and public market exits, it creates a powerful lifecycle for corporate clients that few fintechs in the region can currently match. The industry will be watching to see if this "platform" approach can actually generate the liquidity promised to Mexican mid-market firms.