SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
________________
SCHEDULE 13G
(Rule 13d-102)
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT
TO RULES 13d-1(b), (c), AND (d) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED
PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-2(b)
(Amendment No. 2)/1/
BANCO RIO DE LA PLATA, S.A.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Name of Issuer)
Class B Ordinary Shares, par value Ps. 1.00 per Share
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Title of Class Securities)
059644104
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(CUSIP Number)
January 22, 2002
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)
Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this
schedule is filed:
|X| Rule 13d-1(b)/*/
| | Rule 13d-1(c)
|_| Rule 13d-1(d)
/1/The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting
person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of
securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which
would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page.
The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall
not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section
of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however,
see the Notes).
______________
/*/ See also Item 3 of this Schedule 13G/A.
Page 1 of 13
- ----------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
CUSIP No. 059644104 13G Page 2 of 11 Pages
- ----------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON (ENTITIES ONLY)
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
#13-2740599
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) |_|
(Joint Filing pursuant to Rule 13d-1(k)(1)) (b) |_|
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
4 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
NUMBER OF 5 SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES 0
-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENEFICIALLY 6 SHARED VOTING POWER
OWNED BY 0
-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EACH 7 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
REPORTING 0
-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PERSON 8 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
WITH 0
- ------------------------- -------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
0
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
10 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES/*/ |_|
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
11 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)
0%
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
12 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
HC, CO
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
/*/SEE INSTRUCTION BEFORE FILLING OUT!
Page 2 of 13
- ----------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
CUSIP No. 059644104 13G Page 3 of 11 Pages
- ----------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON (ENTITIES ONLY)
Merrill Lynch International
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) |_|
(Joint Filing pursuant to Rule 13d-1(k)(1)) (b) |_|
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
4 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION England and Wales
- ----------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
NUMBER OF 5 SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES 0
-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENEFICIALLY 6 SHARED VOTING POWER
OWNED BY 0
-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EACH 7 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
REPORTING 0
-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PERSON 8 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
WITH 0
- ------------------------- -------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
0
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
10 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES/*/ |_|
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
11 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9)
0%
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
12 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
BD, CO
- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
/*/SEE INSTRUCTION BEFORE FILLING OUT!
Page 3 of 13
Item 1(a). Name of Issuer:
Banco Rio de la Plata, S.A.
Item 1(b). Address of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices:
Banco Rio de la Plata, S.A.
Bartolome Mitre 480
City of Buenos Aires, Republic of Argentina
Item 2(a). Name of Person Filing:
This Amendment No. 2 to Schedule 13G is filed on behalf of
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. ("ML & Co.") and Merrill Lynch
International ("MLI"). ML and MLI are collectively referred
to herein as the "Reporting Persons."
Item 2(b). Address of Principal Business Office or, if none, Residence:
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
World Financial Center
North Tower
250 Vesey Street
New York, New York 10281
Merrill Lynch International
Ropemaker Place
25 Ropemaker Street
London, EC2Y 9LY
Item 2(c). Citizenship:
ML & Co. is organized under the laws of the State of
Delaware. MLI is organized under the laws of England and
Wales.
Item 2(d). Title of Class of Securities:
Class B Ordinary Shares, par value Ps. 1.00 per share
Page 4 of 13
Item 2(e). CUSIP Number:
059644104
Item 3. If This Statement is Filed Pursuant to Rule 13d-1(b), or
13d-2(b) or (c), Check Whether the Person Filing is a:
(a) |_|Broker or Dealer registered under Section 15 of the
Exchange Act.
(b) |_|Bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of the Exchange Act.
(c) |_|Insurance Company as defined in Section 3(a)(19) of
the Exchange Act.
(d) |_|Investment Company registered under Section 8 of the
Investment Company Act.
(e) |_|An Investment Adviser in accordance with
Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E).
(f) |_|An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance
with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F).
(g) |_|A parent holding company or control person in accordance
with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G).
(h) |_|A savings association as defined in Section 3(b) of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
(i) |_|A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an
investment company under Section 3(c)(14) of the Investment
Company Act.
(j) |_|Group, in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).
This Amendment No. 2 to 13G is filed jointly, pursuant to Rule
13d-1(k)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
"Exchange Act"), by ML & Co. and MLI, pursuant to a no-action letter
issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation
Finance under Rule 13d-1(b) under the Exchange Act (1993 SEC No-Act. LEXIS
1121 (November 24, 1993).
Item 4. Ownership.
(a) Amount Beneficially Owned:
None of ML & Co. or MLI beneficially own any Shares.
Page 5 of 13
(b) Percent of Class:
0%
(c) Number of shares as to which such person has:
(i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0
(ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0
(iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0
(iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0
Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class.
If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as
of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner
of more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following |X|
Item 6. Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person.
Not Applicable.
Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired
the Security Being Reported on By the Parent Holding Company.
As indicated in Item 3, above, this Schedule 13G amendment is filed
jointly by ML & Co. and MLI, pursuant to a no-action letter issued by the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation Finance under
Rule 13d-1(b) under the Exchange Act (1993 SEC No-Act. LEXIS 1121 (November
24, 1993)). MLI is a foreign broker-dealer and an indirect wholly-owned
subsidiary of ML & Co. ML & Co. is a domestic holding corporation and the
ultimate parent company of MLI.
Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group.
The Reporting Persons have filed this Schedule 13G amendment jointly,
pursuant to Rule 13d-1(k)(1) under the Exchange Act. As further indicated in
Item 7, above, MLI is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of ML & Co. Although
the Reporting Persons are affiliates and have determined to file jointly, the
Reporting Persons are of the view that their affiliation does not cause them
to be acting as a group within the meaning of Rule 13d-5 under the Exchange
Act.
Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group.
Not Applicable.
Page 6 of 13
Item 10. Certifications.
By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge
and belief, the securities referred to above were acquired and are
held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are
not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or
influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not
acquired are not held in connection with or as a participant in any
transaction having that purpose or effect.
[Signature Pages Follow]
Page 7 of 13
SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief,
I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete
and correct.
January 22, 2002
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
/s/ Lawrence M. Egan Jr.
-----------------------------------
Name: Lawrence M. Egan Jr./*/
Title: Attorney in fact
/*/ Signed pursuant to a power of attorney, dated November 17, 1995, included
as Exhibit B to the Schedule 13G filed by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. for Walden
Residential Properties, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference.
Page 8 of 13
SIGNATURE
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief,
I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete
and correct.
January 22, 2002
Merrill Lynch International
/s/ J. David Montague
-----------------------------------
Name: J. David Montague
Title: First Vice President
Office of General Counsel
MLEMIA/GMI
Page 9 of 13
EXHIBIT A
---------
(COPY OF JOINT FILING AGREEMENT APPEARING AS EXHIBIT B TO ORIGINAL 13G FILED
BY THE REPORTING PERSONS ON DECEMBER 21, 2000)
JOINT FILING AGREEMENT
The undersigned hereby agree that this Schedule 13G, dated as of December
21, 2000 (the "Schedule 13G"), with respect to the Shares issued by Banco Rio
de la Plata, S.A. is, and any amendments thereto shall be, filed on behalf of
each of us pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of Rule
13d-1(k)(1) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
that this Agreement shall be included as an Exhibit to the Schedule 13G and
each such amendment. Each of the undersigned agrees to be responsible for the
timely filing of the Schedule 13G and any amendments thereto, and for the
completeness and accuracy of the information concerning itself contained
therein. Each of the undersigned further agrees that Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
may file the Schedule 13G, and any and all amendments thereto, on its behalf.
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which
when taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
[signature pages follow]
Page 10 of 13
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Agreement as of
this 21st day of December 2000.
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
/s/ Lawrence M. Egan Jr.
-----------------------------------
Name: Lawrence M. Egan Jr.*
Title: Attorney-In-Fact
* Signed pursuant to a power of attorney, dated November 17, 1995, included as
Exhibit B to the Schedule 13G filed by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. for Walden
Residential Properties, Inc. and incorporated herein by reference.
Page 11 of 13
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Agreement as of
this 21st day of December 2000.
Merrill Lynch International
/s/ Larry Dobosh
-----------------------------------
Name: Larry Dobosh*
Title: Director
* Evidence of authority to sign on behalf of MLI is set forth in a Certificate
of Incumbency dated December 20, 2000 and included as Exhibit C to this
Schedule 13G.
Page 12 of 13
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this Agreement as of
this 21st day of December 2000.
BRS Investments S.A.
/s/ Daniel Gonzalez
-----------------------------------
Name: Daniel Gonzalez
Title: Vice President
Page 13 of 13