Brazil's Itau Unibanco eyes UK banks

Published 03rd Jan 2010

BRAZIL’s biggest bank is considering buying a stake in one of Britain’s taxpayer-backed banks. Itau Unibanco, the tenth-biggest in the world by market capitalisation, is running the rule over both Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group.

It is examining the possibility of buying shares as they are sold off by the British government as part of a global expansion. It is also examining deals in a number of other countries, including the US.

“We’re looking. Of course we’re looking,” said Pedro Malan, chairman of Itau’s international advisory board. “But we’re not in a hurry. We think we have time.”

Malan, Brazil’s finance minister in the previous government, said the bank would refine its plans this year. Aside from the uncertainty in the global economy, it is an election year in Brazil.

Itau Unibanco was created by a merger of Brazil’s two locally-owned large banks after the takeover of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank. Spain’s Santander acquired ABN’s Brazilian operations as part of that deal, merging it with its existing Brazilian business. Itau and Unibanco merged as a response to that.

Source: ' Times '

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