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Two of Mexico's economic survival tactics are sparking increased importexport activity in San Antonio.
First, the Mexican government's past policy of restricting imports to stop the drain of Mexico's capital made it difficult to get spare parts and raw materials needed to keep factories and businesses running. New that import restrictions have been eased, the pent-up demand is creating more export business for some San Antonio firms.
Second, the Mexican government is aggressively promoting the exportation of Mexican products to help compensate for the country's huge loss in oil revenues. This is fostering a new group of San Antonio-based Mexican companies which import their own products from Mexico for sale in the United States.
Curiously, neither of these trends can be documented with figures because of the private nature of the business and the fact that U.S. customs officials have no way of knowing how much of the Mexican goods entering the country are destined for San Antonio. Yet insiders say there is a definite increase in area import and export business with Mexico.
One barometer of this activity is the letter of credit, according to Frank Martinez, senior vice president in charge of the city's largest international banking department at Frost Bank. "The letter of credit normally is the instrument that is utilized for the purchase of these (U.S.) goods. The banks in Mexico choose one of their corresponding banks in the United States and we're one of them," Martinez explained. "Banks are seeing an additional number of letters of credit coming through which means to us that there are more products which are being imported into Mexico." So far this activity has not translated into increased deposits...