Brazil's Itaú eyeing Citigroup's Latin America assets (updated)

Banco Bradesco

07/04/2016 20:21

(Adds details on Itau's interest, quote from executive, 
background on Brazilian banks) 
    SAO PAULO, April 7 (Reuters) - Itaú Unibanco Holding SA 
 ITUB4.SA  is interested in assets that Citigroup Inc  C.N  has 
put up for sale in Latin America, as Brazil's largest bank by 
market value seeks opportunities to expand beyond its home turf, 
a senior executive said on Thursday. 
    Any assets that Itaú could analyze for potential purchase 
are outside Brazil, said Ricardo Villela Marino, senior vice 
president in charge of Latin American operations. 
    Marino, who is a member of one of the families that control 
the São Paulo-based bank, said the bank has not entered into 
negotiations for any of those assets. 
    "We'll take a look at every unit they put up for sale" 
excluding Brazil, Marino told reporters on the sidelines of an 
event in São Paulo. 
    Itaú is aiming for its operations outside Brazil to account 
for almost 20 percent of its total revenue by the end of the 
decade, up from less than 15 percent now, as part of a strategy 
to diversify from the recession-stricken nation. 
    Citigroup announced in February a plan to sell retail 
banking operations in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Citigroup, 
which has been present in Brazil for over a century, is trimming 
banking operations globally that have underperformed because of 
mounting competition or onerous costs. 
    A sale of Citigroup's Brazilian unit would come after HSBC 
Holdings Plc  HSBA.L  fetched $5.2 billion last year from a sale 
of its local operations to Itaú's arch-rival Banco Bradesco SA  
 BBDC4.SA . 
    However, Marino said Itaú's main strategy in the region is 
to successfully complete the acquisition and integration of 
Chile's CorpBanca SA in Chile, Colombia and Perú. The deal 
received regulatory approval last week.  
    Marino said that Itaú plans to set aside loan-loss 
provisions at CorpBanca for some loan transactions, including 
one with Canadian oil and gas company Pacific Exploration & 
Production Corp  PRE.TO . Related charges from that specific 
transaction will be reflected in Itaú's second-quarter results. 
    Itaú's non-voting shares rose 0.5 percent to 29.65 reais on 
Thursday. 
 
 (Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; 
Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Fiona Ortiz) 
 ((marcelo.teixeira@thomsonreuters.com; 5511 5644 7707; Reuters 
Messaging: marcelo.teixeira.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: ITAU UNIBCO HLDG CITIGROUP/