Banco Itaú

Banco Itaú was a former Brazilian bank that merged with Unibanco on November 4, 2008, to form Itaú Unibanco.

History

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 countryside. 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 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.