Banco Itaú began in 1945 under the name
Banco Central de Crédito (Central Bank of Credit) and later changed its name to
Banco Federal de Crédito (Federal Bank of Credit). In 1964, Banco Federal Itaú S.A. merged Banco Federal de Crédito and Banco Itaú, a rural bank belonging to a group originated in
Itaú de Minas, in
Minas Gerais state. Later that decade, Banco Itaú acquired Banco Sul Americano (1966) and
Banco da América (1969). In the 1970s, it merged with Banco Aliança in
Rio de Janeiro (1973), Banco Português do Brasil (1974), and Banco União Comercial (1974). In 1979, it opened its first operations abroad with a representative office in
New York City and a subsidiary in
Buenos Aires. In the 1980s, it acquired only one small bank, Banco Pinto de Magalhães (1985). Still, this enabled it to continue growing while other Brazilian banks were getting smaller. In 1984, it converted its representative office in New York to a branch. In the 1990s, it acquired BFB (Banco Francês e Brasileiro) (1995) from
Credit Lyonnais, and also several privatized former state banks: • 1997: Banerj (
Rio de Janeiro) • 1998: BEMGE (
Minas Gerais) • 2000: Banestado (
Paraná) • 2001: BEG (
Goiás) During the 1990s, Banco Itaú invested heavily in automation, including
ATMs and machines installed on customers' premises. At the same time, it cut its staff by more than 50%. In 1994, it expanded its international operations by founding Banco Itaú
Europa, Banco Itaú Argentina, and Itaú Bank (
Cayman). In 1997, it acquired Bamerindus
Luxembourg, which is now Banco Itaú Europa Luxembourg. When it acquired
Banco del Buen Ayre in Argentina in 1998, it subsequently incorporated it into
Banco Itaú Argentina, now known as Banco
Itaú Buen Ayre. Banco Itaú has also established a number of alliances. In 1996, it and
Bankers Trust, New York, created Itaú Bankers Trust Banco de Investimento, the present Itauvest Banco de Investimento. Banco Itaú also has an important stake in
Banco BPI, one of Portugal's largest banks. In 2002, Banco Itaú joined with Banco BBA-
Creditanstalt S.A. (BBA) to create, in 2003,
Banco Itaú-BBA, the largest wholesale bank in Brazil. In the 2000s (decade), it continued to acquire banks. In 2002, it acquired Banco Fiat, together with all of
Fiat's auto financing activities. In 2004, it opened a branch in
Tokyo. Then, in April 2006, Banco Itaú purchased the Brazilian operations of
BankBoston, a subsidiary that
Bank of America acquired with its purchase of
FleetBoston. This increased Banco Itaú's clients by 300,000 and assets by R$22 billion. In return, Bank of America took about a 6% stake in Banco Itaú.
BankBoston do Brazil had been founded in 1947. With the purchase, the BankBoston name disappeared from Brazil as Bank of America retained the rights to the name. Banco Itaú also received exclusive rights to purchase BankBoston's operations in
Chile and
Uruguay. In late 2006, it exercised these rights, and in late 2006 and early 2007, it received the necessary regulatory approvals. These two operations became Banco
Itaú Chile and Banco
Itaú Uruguay. On November 2, 2008, Banco Itaú and the third largest Brazilian private banking group,
Unibanco, announced their intention to
merge. == Logo Evolution ==