--Itau seeks acquisitions to expand Latin American retail
operations
--Itau considering Colombia, Peru and Mexico, hasn't ruled out
U.S.
--Bank not interested in Europe
By Luciana Magalhaes
SAO PAULO--Brazil's largest private-sector bank, Itau Unibanco
(ITUB, ITUB4.BR, ITUB3.BR) is considering acquisitions in the
region as it aims to become Latin America's "global bank" in the
next few years, a top bank executive said in an interview.
"We aspire to be considered the global bank of Latin America by
2020," said Ricardo Marino, the vice-president responsible for
Itau's operations in the region. "We are seeking a larger role and
greater scale, which we intend to achieve as the market presents
more acquisition and merger opportunities."
With a local presence in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay,
Itau sees Colombia, Peru and Mexico, where it already has a
credit-card operation, as its next frontiers. In the future, the
bank could even consider setting foot in the U.S., Mr. Marino
said.
The bank also has a regional presence through its
investment-banking arm, Itau BBA, which last month officially
started corporate-banking operations in Colombia, aiming to provide
services for businesses in areas such as mining, energy, oil and
infrastructure.
"Our focus today is Brazil and Latin America. But, in the
future, we could also analyze the U.S, where the subprime crisis is
being resolved" Mr. Marino said. He said an acquisition in Europe
is completely outside Itau's plans.
In fact, earlier this year, Itau sold an 18.87% stake in
Portuguese bank BPI, or Banco Portugues de Investimento, as part of
its strategy of focusing on the fast-expanding Latin American
markets. The move reduced its risk exposure, as banks in the
Iberian Peninsula were hit hard by the euro-zone debt crisis.
Itau, which started its first regional operation outside Brazil
from scratch in Argentina, doesn't want to replicate that
experience in other Latin American countries, where banking
activity is often concentrated in the hands of a few players, the
executive said.
However, Mr. Marino added, there is a scarcity of good targets
available in the region. "There aren't banks for sale in Latin
America and many are controlled by families," he said.
Even though Itau is looking for opportunities to extend its
reach in Latin America, Mr. Marino said there are no deals in the
pipeline at the moment.
As of September, excluding Brazil, Itau had 253 branches in
Latin America with assets of 37.5 billion Brazilian reais ($18.4
billion). While small compared with Brazil, where assets exceed
BRL922 billion and the number of branches is close to 4,000,
regional growth has accelerated, Mr. Marino said, adding there is
an increase in intraregional businesses as well larger demand by
customers traveling in Latin America.
Itau isn't the only Brazilian bank seeking to expand its retail
operations to neighboring countries. State-run Banco do Brasil
(BDORY, BBAS3.BR) has also been looking for acquisitions in
countries such as Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Chile. Banco do
Brasil kicked off a concerted effort to expand into retail banking
overseas in 2010 with the acquisition of a majority stake in
Argentina's Banco Patagonia S.A. In 2011, it bought tiny
Florida-based Eurobank for $6 million.
Itau started its regional retail expansion in 1994 with the
foundation of Itau Argentina. In 2006, it signed an agreement to
acquire BankBoston in Brazil and for the exclusive rights to
acquire that bank's existing operations in Chile and Uruguay.
"Today there are many American, Chinese and Spanish banks, but
there isn't one bank that is recognized as truly Latin American and
we want to occupy that place," Mr. Marino said.
Write to Luciana Magalhaes at luciana.magalhaes@dowjones.com