Moody's Local México Assigns Investment-Grade National-Scale Ratings to Grupo Trafalgar's Broker-Dealer and SOFIPO Subsidiaries

TRF Casa de Bolsa rated BBB+.mx and Trafalgar SFP rated BBB.mx, both with stable outlooks. The Group has expressed its interest in participating in the securities markets of the United States and Mexico.

MEXICO CITY and NEW YORK, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Trafalgar (the "Group"), led by Chairman of the Board Porfirio Sánchez Talavera and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Septién Michel, announced today that Moody's Local MX S.A. de C.V. ("Moody's Local México") has assigned investment-grade ratings on Mexico's national scale to its two principal regulated entities: its broker-dealer, TRF Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. ("TRF Casa de Bolsa"), and its popular financial company, Trafalgar SFP, S.A. de C.V., S.F.P. ("Trafalgar SFP").

All ratings are local-currency issuer ratings on Moody's Local México's national scale for Mexico.

Both long-term ratings sit within the investment-grade category of Mexico's national rating scale - ratings of BBB-.mx and above, as that category is customarily classified in the Mexican market. National-scale ratings rank the relative creditworthiness of Mexican issuers against one another. They are not global-scale ratings, are not comparable to ratings on Moody's global scale.

TRF CASA DE BOLSA: AN INDEPENDENT BROKER-DEALER RATED BBB+.MX

TRF Casa de Bolsa, has been acquired by Grupo Trafalgar since June 2026. Because that transaction represented a full change of control, Moody's Local México evaluated the firm primarily on the basis of the financial projections for its new business model. According to Moody's Local México, the ratings reflect the following factors, balanced against a limited financial track record under the current ownership:

• Established, fully licensed platform. The firm retained its authorization from Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, or CNBV), its technology infrastructure, its trading desks and most of its senior management team.
• Capitalization. The new shareholder made a capital contribution as part of a broader capitalization plan. Under Moody's Local México's normalization scenario, in which the capitalization ratio (ICAP) converges toward approximately 30% as operations scale up, capital would remain above regulatory minimums.
• Conservative liquidity and leverage profile. Intermediation focuses primarily on government debt instruments, with predominantly intraday settlement and limited proprietary positions, and risk limits have been recalibrated toward a more conservative profile.
• Short-term capacity. The ML A-2.mx rating reflects an above-average capacity to meet short-term obligations relative to other Mexican issuers.

TRF Casa de Bolsa is an independent broker-dealer that is not part of a banking group, unlike many Mexican broker-dealers, which benefit from the implicit support of a parent bank in their credit assessments. Management views the rating as significant because it rests on the firm's own capitalization, liquidity, risk management and business model, together with the support of Grupo Trafalgar, rather than on that kind of parent-bank backing.

The stable outlook covers the next 12 to 18 months and reflects the expectation that the firm will continue onboarding counterparties and correspondents, reactivate its client base, grow assets under custody and execute its stabilization plan while maintaining capitalization, liquidity and leverage consistent with its risk appetite. Management's projections, which Moody's Local México considered in its analysis, contemplate reaching breakeven in the second half of 2027 and positive net income in 2028. These projections are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially.

TRAFALGAR SFP: INVESTMENT GRADE WITHIN ITS FIRST YEAR OF OPERATIONS

Trafalgar SFP is a SOFIPO - a regulated, deposit-taking institution under Mexico's Popular Savings and Credit Law (Ley de Ahorro y Crédito Popular) - authorized and supervised by the CNBV to provide savings, credit and other financial services to individuals and small businesses. Trafalgar SFP was approved to begin operations in October 2025, and its BBB.mx rating was assigned less than twelve months later.

In management's view, obtaining an investment-grade national-scale rating within the first quarter of public operations validates the governance, risk framework and capitalization plan with which Trafalgar SFP was built, ahead of the broader commercial rollout the Group intends to undertake jointly with TRF Casa de Bolsa.

MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY

"At the broker-dealer, we preserved what already worked - the license, the technology and an experienced team - and backed it with fresh capital and a more disciplined risk framework. At our SOFIPO, we built from the ground up with that same discipline. Our focus now is execution." Said Carlos Septién Michel, Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Trafalgar. "Rebuilding counterparty relationships, growing our client base across both institutions and reaching sustained profitability are the milestones we are organized to deliver." he added.

CAPITAL MARKETS STRATEGY IN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO

Separately from, and independently of, the rating actions, Grupo Trafalgar has expressed its interest in participating in the securities markets of the United States and Mexico.

Management believes that combining CNBV supervision in Mexico with the disclosure framework applicable to public companies in the United States - including periodic reporting obligations, independently audited financial statements and executive certifications - would subject the Group to a dual layer of oversight that few Mexican financial groups of its size have chosen to accept. In management's view, that standard is what allows an independent group to compete with top-tier institutions on equally transparent and regulated terms, and to give clients added assurance that their assets are properly managed and safeguarded. Management also believes that a broader capital markets presence would open significant growth opportunities, broaden access to capital and strengthen stability for the benefit of the Group and its clients, positioning it to compete with top-tier institutions on equally regulated terms and giving clients added assurance that their assets are properly managed and safeguarded. Management also believes a broader capital markets presence would open growth opportunities, broaden access to capital and strengthen stability for the Group and its clients.

Any such initiative would remain subject to, among other conditions, the negotiation and execution of definitive documentation; prior authorization from the CNBV and any other competent Mexican financial authorities; any required filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the corresponding Mexican authorities; corporate approvals; applicable market eligibility requirements; and market conditions. There can be no assurance that any such initiative will be agreed or completed on any terms or timeline, or at all.

ABOUT TRF CASA DE BOLSA

TRF Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. (formerly CI Casa de Bolsa) is a Mexican broker-dealer authorized and supervised by the CNBV and wholly owned by Grupo Empresarial Trafalgar since June 2026. The firm provides securities intermediation, money market and equity trading, corporate finance, investment fund distribution and custody services to institutional, government, corporate and private clients in Mexico.

ABOUT TRAFALGAR SFP

Trafalgar SFP, S.A. de C.V., S.F.P. is a popular financial company (SOFIPO) authorized and supervised by the CNBV. Since beginning public operations in June 2026, it has offered savings and credit products to individuals and businesses in Mexico.

ABOUT GRUPO EMPRESARIAL TRAFALGAR

Grupo Trafalgar is a diversified Mexican group chaired by Porfirio Sánchez Talavera, and led by Chief Executive Officer Carlos Septién Michel. Its regulated platform comprises TRF Casa de Bolsa, Trafalgar SFP and an electronic payment funds institution (IFPE), alongside its asset management activities.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE RATINGS

Ratings carrying the ".mx" suffix are national-scale ratings that express Moody's Local México's opinion of the relative creditworthiness of Mexican issuers and obligations. They are not comparable to, and should not be read as, global-scale ratings. Moody's Local MX S.A. de C.V. is not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization. References in this release to "investment grade" describe the Mexican national-scale category only and do not indicate investment-grade status on Moody's global rating scale or any other global scale. Credit ratings are opinions, may be revised or withdrawn at any time, and are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Methodologies applied: for TRF Casa de Bolsa, Moody's Local México's Methodology for Rating Credit Financial Institutions and Brokerage Firms (January 26, 2024); for Trafalgar SFP. The full rating actions are available at www.moodyslocal.com/country/mx.

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States, Mexico or any other jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding business plans, projected capitalization, breakeven and profitability targets, counterparty onboarding, client growth, the commercial rollout of Trafalgar SFP, and the Group's interest in participating in the securities markets of the United States and Mexico. Words such as "expect," "intend," "plan," "target," "may," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including regulatory actions and pending or future authorizations in Mexico and the United States, changes in credit ratings, market and interest-rate conditions, competition, operational and technology risks, litigation, and the ability to negotiate and complete any capital markets initiative. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Grupo Empresarial Trafalgar and its subsidiaries undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law.

Media Contact:
Amanda Emmer
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SOURCE Trafalgar Asset Management