Unsecured Personal Loans
in Panama and the Caribbean
in Panama and the Caribbean
Leading market position and
well recognized brands across all geographies where we operate
Experienced management team with significant industry expertise and strong institutional sponsorship
#1 non-bank consumer installment lender
in Panama, the Dutch Caribbean and Trinidad & Tobago
Digital Transformation
Committed to technology-driven customer experience
Provides financial solution
to a sector that is underserved by traditional banks
About Us
CFG Partners is the Leading Consumer Finance Solution Company that provides needed financial solutions to a sector of the population that is underserved by traditional lenders.
A Gateway to Credit
A Gateway to Credit
Provide customers ongoing access to money.
Affordable Payments
Affordable Payments
Simple approach with no prepayment penalties, no late fees, simple interest loan, affordable payment and convenient payment options.
Needs Addressed
Needs Addressed
Home improvements and appliances, car repairs, education, medical, travel, debt consolidation etc.
Our business provides credit to more than 125,000 active customers through our network of over 60 locations. We operate under our well-established brands Corporación El Sol in Panama; Island Finance in Curaçao, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, St. Maarten, and Bonaire.
Over 40 Years providing loans that meet basic needs when savings and earnings are not enough.
*Over the past 14 years.
*Over the past 14 years.
Get to Know Us!
Get to Know Us!
About Us
A Brief of Our History
In November 2018, an investor group led by BayBoston Managers (BayBoston) acquired 100% ownership of CFG Partners from Irving Place Capital. BayBoston is the sponsor of an international investor consortium that includes Insigneo Financial Group, the Elias Group, Victory Park Capital, Amzak Capital, and M & A Capital. Victory Park Capital and Prival Bank provided debt facilities to support the acquisition.
“If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” - African Proverb
“Doing a common thing uncommonly well brings success”
- Henry J. Heinz
“The Real Secret to Success is… Enthusiasm” - Walter Chrysler
"Don’t count the days, make the days count” - Muhammad Ali
“The expert in anything, was once a beginner” - Helen Hayes
"Only let positivity influence your mind” - Jesse Doubek
“Working together is success” - Henry Ford
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." - William Arthur Ward
Don't Miss Our Latest News
Island Finance Trinidad Donated Sports Equipment to Schools
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Copyright 2020 CFG Partners. All Rights Reserved
Zamari López
Chief Administration Officer
Zamari has served as our Chief Administration Officer since November 2007 and has been with the company and its predecessors for 20 years in several roles related to Strategy, Corporate Development, Marketing, Branch Business Development, Incentives, Facilities, and Human Resources. Prior to that, Mrs. Lopez worked for First Bank Puerto Rico for a combined 30 years of experience in the financial business sector. Ms. Lopez holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico and a B.A. in Marketing from the College of Notre Dame in Maryland. Mrs. López reports to the President and CEO.
Luis A. Félix Milán
Senior Vice President Finance and Accounting
Luis Félix has served as a key member of our Finance team for 17 years. Since June 2020, he is the Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting, with responsibilities in finance including oversight of the budget, forecast, management reporting and analysis, and to lead the accounting close, with oversight in internal controls, payroll, insurance and financial reporting. Luis previously served as our VP of Financial Planning & Analysis and has held progressive roles in the finance department since June 2003. Mr. Félix has a M.B.A. in Global Management from University of Phoenix and a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico. He reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer.
Eduardo Arguello
SVP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations
Eduardo is the Head of Corporate Development, Capital Markets, Investor Relations and Financial Planning & Analysis at CFG Partners. Prior to joining CFG’s team in 2019, Eduardo was part of the investor group that acquired the Company in 2018 and was a Board Member. Eduardo previously worked for over ten years in private equity at Amzak Capital Management and began his career as an investment banking analyst at JPMorgan. Eduardo received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, cum laude, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Michael Rowles
Chief Accounting Officer
Mr. Rowles joined the Company in May 2019. Mr. Rowles has 19 years of financial services experience. He most recently worked for 5 years at Penn National Gaming, Inc., which is now the largest regional gaming company in the U.S., as the Vice President of SEC Reporting and Accounting Policy. Before his role at Penn National Gaming, Inc., Mr. Rowles spent over 8 years at Santander’s US Holding Company, part of one of the 20 largest Global Banking organizations in the world. During Mr. Rowles’s tenure at Santander, he served as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Financial Reporting and General Ledger Analysis. Mr. Rowles brings significant public company and financial services experience. Mr. Rowles is a graduate of Liberty University and a Certified Public Accountant.
Karla Vega
VP Marketing & Branch Business Development
Karla Vega joined CFG Partners in March 2008 and has been in her current role of Vice President of Marketing and Branch Business Development since December 2015. Mrs. Vega is responsible for all marketing efforts, management of Incentive Programs, monitoring of productivity by employee, headcount and expense control, Corporate Social Responsibility, the customer experience, online sales management and various other strategic initiatives. She previously served as our AVP of Marketing & Branch Business Development from 2014 to 2015, AVP of Business Development from 2013 to 2014, Business Development Manager from 2011 to 2013 and as our Business Development Assistant from 2008 to 2011. Prior to CFG, Karla began her career as an Industrial Engineer Co-op at Walt Disney World and worked at Evertec. Mrs. Vega holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico and is certified by the Wharton School University of Pennsylvania in Digital, Social Media and E-Commerce.
Nathan Staples
Chief Credit Risk Officer
Nathan Staples joined CFG Partners in April 2019. Mr. Staples brings more than 18 years of experience in the consumer finance industry with executive focal points on financial & portfolio analysis, pricing and credit risk management, both nationally and internationally. Immediately before his current role as Chief Credit Risk Officer at CFG, he held the position of Chief Risk Officer for Skopos Financial in the U.S. sub-prime auto space and prior to that as Chief Credit Officer for Santander Consumer USA where he was an integral part of the successful IPO launch. Mr. Staples was also responsible for the roles of Director of Financial Analytics at SCUSA and Director of Risk Management for the Santander Consumer Division, a position he held while working at Banco Santander HQ in Madrid, Spain where he played a major role in inorganic acquisition opportunities along with profitability model development across Europe. Mr. Staples holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas, along with a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.
Jorge Bandin
Chief Information Officer
Jorge Bandin joined CFG Partners in December 2015. With over 28 years in the Financial Services and High Tech industries, Mr. Bandin has extensive experience working in large private and public enterprise environments. As Chief Information Officer his focus is taking business concepts/strategies and shaping them into deliverable technology outcomes. He was formerly the Global Chief Information Officer for BUPA World Wide in London, England. Mr. Bandin has also previously worked for companies such as John Alden, SunGard, American Bankers Insurance Group, Dow Chemical and Terremark Worldwide. He has a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Florida International University.
Laura Tirado
Executive Vice President, Operations Control
Laura has been with the company and its predecessors since January 2004 and in her current role of Executive Vice President of Operations Control since March 2019. Amongst her responsibilities are Credit Administration, Corporate Policies and Procedures, the Corporation-wide Strategic Digital Transformation initiative and Project Management. Prior to her present position, Laura served as Senior Vice President and Vice President of Operations Support from 2006 to 2019 combined, and Quality Leader and Project Manager from 2004 to 2006 collectively. Laura began her career with General Electric as a Management Trainee and certified Six Sigma Black Belt, consecutively. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bucknell University.
José M. Figueroa
Executive Vice President,
Strategic Profitability Management
José M. Figueroa has been working with CFG for the last twenty-five years in various managerial positions in our Finance, Accounting and Treasury Departments. He serves as our Executive Vice President Strategic Profitability Management since February 2019. He previously served as our Executive Vice President of the Financial Planning & Analysis, Treasury and Puerto Rico Operations during different periods from January 2013 to January 2018. Served as our Senior Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis from January 2007 to January 2013, as our Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis from November 2002 to December 2006, as our Second Vice President of Financial Planning from January 2002 to November 2002, as our Director of Corporate Financial Planning form March 1997 to January 2002 and our Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis from August 1993 to February 1997. Mr. Figueroa received a B.A., Cum Laude, in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Ken Goldman
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Goldman joined the Company in January 2019. Mr. Goldman has over 25 years of financial services experience. He most recently worked for over 8 years at Santander’s US Holding Company, part of one of the 20 largest Global Banking organizations in the world. During Mr. Goldman’s tenure at Santander, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer as well as Head of Internal Control. Mr. Goldman brings significant public company and consumer finance experience. Mr. Goldman is a graduate of Lehigh University and a Certified Public Accountant.
Brett Sims
SVP Corporate Development
Brett is the Head of Corporate Development, Capital Markets and Investor Relations at CFG. Prior to joining CFG in August 2015, he served as a Director in the Corporate Development team at BMO Financial Group. Brett holds a BBA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
José González
Executive Vice President, Branch Operations & Collections
José Gonzalez has been in charge of all our branch and collections operations since December 2006. Mr. Gonzalez served as Executive Vice President of International Operations of Wells Fargo Financial Latin American Consumer Group from 1998 to 2006. Mr. Gonzalez also has 14 years of consumer finance experience at Island Finance, Puerto Rico, where he was a store manager, district manager and division manager. Mr. Gonzalez was educated at West Chester State College.
Joel M. Eliza
Vice President, General Counsel
Attorney Joel M. Eliza joined Caribbean Financial Group in February 2012. As General Counsel, he is responsible for all legal and regulatory matters related to CFG international operations. Mr. Eliza has experience in the public sector as Assistant Secretary of Legal Affairs in the Department of Treasury of Puerto Rico and as General Counsel of the Public Buildings Authority. He previously practiced insurance litigation at Otero & Lopez law firm. Mr. Eliza holds a Juris Doctor from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law and an LL.M. in International Law from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is licensed to practice law in Puerto Rico federal and local courts and in the state of Maryland.
Gian Carozzi
Senior Vice President and Regional Director
Gian has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has been Senior Vice President & Regional Director of Operations since 2015. Previously he served as Vice President from 2007 to 2015 and Country Manager from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, he worked at Wells Fargo Financial, a unit of Wells Fargo & Company, where he held several management positions including Vice President of International Operations from 2005 to 2006 and Exception Lending Manager from 2000 to 2005. Gian holds a MBA from Drake University and a BA in Business Administration from Briar Cliff University.
Gustavo Uceda
Senior Vice President Collections
Gustavo A. Uceda has over 20 years of experience in financial services. Serving as Senior Vice President of Collections since December 2015, Vice President of Collections since March 2011, and Collections Director since October 2008, Mr. Uceda is responsible for the management and monitoring of all CFG collection operations, including direct oversight of our CCU international call centers. He previously served in our Credit Risk group since 2006 and prior to that worked as Assistant Vice President since 2002 for Wells Fargo Financial in the Latin America Consumer division. He also held various managerial positions for Wells Fargo’s US Consumer division since 1998. Mr. Uceda has a B.A. from Cornell University.
Oriol Segarra
President and Chief Executive Officer
Oriol has over 30 years of experience in the financial industry. He has been President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of our company since 2006. From 1999 to 2006, under Wells Fargo Financial, a unit of Wells Fargo & Company, he served as President of Island Finance Inc., as President of the Latin American Consumer Group, as Senior Vice President of the U.S. Emerging Markets Group, and as member of the Executive Committee. From 1996 to 1999, he was Country Manager for AVCO Financial Services of Puerto Rico, the second largest consumer finance company on the island. From 1990 to 1996 he served at First Bank of Puerto Rico holding a series of VP executive positions in its consumer loan, automobile financing and credit card businesses. Oriol started his banking career with Banco de Ponce, where he served as AVP in the Strategic Planning unit. Oriol currently sits on the Corporate Board of Baldwin School of Puerto Rico, an International Baccalaureate World School and a premier independent college preparatory English language day school in Puerto Rico. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.
Our Process
Our loan approval process is fast, easy and convenient for our customers. They can complete a loan application online and receive approval in 24 hours. In Panama, our customers can complete the online application and have a response in 1 minute. Once the customer provides documentation and application is approved, they can receive their hassle-free money at the selected location.
Carlos M. Garcia
Director, Chairman of the Board
Carlos M. Garcia is the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Caribbean Financial Group since December 2014 and a board member since July 2014. Also, he is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of BayBoston Managers LLC and Managing Partner of BayBoston Capital L.P. Prior to that, Mr. Garcia served at Banco Santander in a series of executive roles, from 2011 to 2013 as Senior Executive Vice President and board member of Santander Holdings USA and Santander Bank N.A., and from 1997 to 2008 as President and COO of Banco Santander Puerto Rico, Vice Chairman and CEO of Santander Securities, Chairman of Santander Asset Management and board member of Santander Financial Services (dba Island Finance Puerto Rico). From 2009 to 2011, he was appointed Chairman, President and CEO of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico and also Chairman of the Fiscal Restructuring and Stabilization Board of Puerto Rico. Mr. Garcia has over 23 years of experience in the financial industry. Mr. Garcia received a dual bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School and in Comparative Literature from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former board member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a member of the Young Presidents Organization, and a board member of the Hyde Square Task Force in Boston.
Devraj Roy
Director
Devraj Roy is a Partner of Irving Place Capital. Mr. Roy has more than 15 years of private equity investing and financial advisory experience. He focuses on investments in industrial manufacturing and distribution companies. Since joining Irving Place Capital in 2005, Mr. Roy has been involved in evaluating and executing investments in the industrial, retail and consumer products, and financial services industries. Prior to joining Irving Place Capital in 2005, Mr. Roy worked as an associate of Parthenon Capital. At Parthenon Capital, Mr. Roy focused on investments in industrial distribution, consumer products and healthcare services. Prior to Parthenon Capital, Mr. Roy was with the investment banking division of Salomon Smith Barney. Mr. Roy holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and BA, magna cum laude, from Yale University.
Thomas P. Shippee
Thomas P. Shippee
Director
Thomas P. Shippee retired as Chief Executive Officer of Wells Fargo Financial in December 2008. He oversaw all U.S. and Canadian consumer finance operations, as well as the commercial businesses for the financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Shippee served in various positions throughout his career and served as President and CEO from June 2004 until July 2008 when he transitioned to the CEO position in preparation for retirement in late 2008. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Bates College and an MBA at Pepperdine University.
David E. King
David E. King
Director
David King is a Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group, where he heads the firm’s Strategic Capital Group and focuses on investments in the financial services sector. Prior to joining Fortress in 2014, Mr. King founded and was the Senior Managing Director of Culpeper Capital Partners LLC. Mr. King was formerly a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns Merchant Banking and its successor firm Irving Place Capital, a middle-market private equity firm from 2001 to 2011, and a Managing Director at McCown De Leeuw & Co., where he worked from 1990 to 2000. Mr. King currently is a member of the board of several private financial services companies. Mr. King received his B.A. from Rice University, his M.S. from Stony Brook University, and his M.B.A. from Stanford University.
Daniel W. Porter
Daniel W. Porter
Director
Daniel W. Porter is member of our Board of Managers since 2006. Mr. Porter is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Skopos Financial Group, LLC which is a non-prime indirect automobile financing business. Mr. Porter was a Senior Advisor of Irving Place Capital from 2004 to 2011. Prior to joining Irving Place Capital in 2004, Mr. Porter served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WMC Mortgage, a leading non-prime wholesale mortgage company, from October 2003 to June 2004, when it was acquired by GE Capital. From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Porter was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wells Fargo Financial, a consumer finance division of Wells Fargo. From 1986 to 1999, he worked at GE Capital where he held several positions including Chief Executive Officer as well as other senior executive positions in automobile, private label credit card and commercial financing businesses. He also led or participated in numerous mergers and acquisitions in the United States, Latin America and Western and Central Europe. Previously, Mr. Porter was a management consultant at Booz, Allen and Hamilton (now Booz & Co.). Mr. Porter also served as director of White River Capital. Mr. Porter received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BS from the University of California, Davis.