Since 31 January 2026 Hey Banco has operated independently of Banco Regional. The separation was structured as a spin-off of assets, liabilities, capital and operations from Banco Regional, merged immediately into Hey Banco, S.A., which had held its own licence since 2023. It matters because it opens a third route to a digital bank in Mexico, distinct from a de novo licence and from buying an authorised entity: separating an already profitable business inside a regulated group.
The transaction
Banco Regional, a subsidiary of Banregio Grupo Financiero, spun off the Hey brand’s loan book and deposits into a new company that was merged into Hey Banco. Hey Banco remains a subsidiary of the group; the transaction is intragroup and no consideration was disclosed.
The approvals were: Banco de México in August and October 2025; CNBV on 18 December 2025 (official letter 312-2/10251/2025); independent operations from 31 January 2026; and SHCP letter UBVA/007/2026 in the Official Gazette on 15 April 2026. The transaction is complete.
Hey Banco starts with MXN 14,000 million in deposits, a MXN 10,000 million loan book, more than 500,000 active digital clients and a profit of MXN 56 million to November 2025. Its 2026 target is a profit of MXN 260 to 300 million with loan growth of 20 to 30%, focused on SME credit.
Value drivers
A licence with an opening balance sheet. Expansión counted Plata, authorised in February 2026, as the fifth banking licence granted from scratch after Bineo, Openbank, Revolut and Hey Banco. Hey’s difference is that the bank does not start empty: it receives deposits and loans from day one.
Profitability before separation. The profit to November 2025 and the 2026 target indicate, in our reading, that the group separated a business that already covered its cost, not a project that requires capital.
No consideration, no third party. Being intragroup, the value lies not in a price but in the separation of capital, risk and reporting. In our reading, an independent corporate structure is the precondition for any future external valuation; the sources do not indicate that the group has such a plan.
Eight months of regulatory calendar. Eight months elapsed from the first Banxico authorisation to the SHCP letter. Compare Bineo: Banorte agreed its sale to Klar in September 2025, the CNA cleared it in December, and as of 8 September 2026 no source consulted reports a closing.
What the market is signalling
Three routes to a digital bank in Mexico coexist in the period: the de novo licence (Plata, Revolut), the purchase of an authorised entity (Klar and Bineo, pending) and the intragroup spin-off (Hey Banco). After the 2025 FinCEN case, according to El CEO, SHCP, Banxico and CNBV “have tightened scrutiny” of new banks; in our reading, the intragroup route with an already supervised bank shareholder is the one that met the least friction.
For financial groups with digital brands, Hey Banco sets a reference: a regional bank separated its digital franchise and gave it a balance sheet of its own. For investors and comparables, Hey’s scale (more than 500,000 active clients, SME focus) differs from that of Nu México (more than 15 million clients) or Plata (more than 3.5 million active card clients); its thesis is early profitability, not volume.
G2’s reading for a mandate
In a spin-off or carve-out, preparation consists of defining the perimeter (which assets, liabilities, contracts and people migrate), building two or three years of standalone financial statements and sequencing the regulatory calendar with each authority. Whoever later values the separated business, whether investor or buyer, pays for that perimeter and its track record, not for the brand.
Sources
- Mexico Business News, 26 January 2026: Hey Banco to operate independently after Banregio split
- Expansión, 28 January 2026: Hey Banco se formaliza como banco independiente
- Milenio, 15 April 2026: Hacienda autoriza a Hey Banco separarse de Banregio
- Expansión, 19 February 2026: Plata ya es banco en México
- El CEO, 6 July 2026: Hacienda, Banxico y CNBV endurecen criterios para nuevos bancos
- El CEO, 23 April 2026: Bineo, la venta que Banorte y Klar siguen sin cerrar