Itaú is strengthening its wholesale banking operations in Europe and concentrating its activities in Luxembourg

What growth targets have you set yourselves for the coming years in terms of customers, revenue and volumes?

As a banking group, we do not normally provide forecasts or financial guidance. Once the reorganisation has been completed and the transfer of operations from the United Kingdom to Luxembourg has been finalised, the bank is expected to rank amongst the top 15–20 institutions in the country. On a consolidated basis, taking into account the group’s various activities, our ambition is to reach a level of assets in the region of 13–15 billion dollars by 2030. This is not financial guidance, but an indication of the scale of our ambition. Growth must, however, be accompanied by discipline. We will continue to develop the businesses in which we have a proven track record, from investment banking to financial markets.

Is growth through recruitment also planned?

The bank is already fully operational. We obtained our banking licence in April – which came into effect in June – and we already have an office, control and regulatory functions, and around 20 employees based in Luxembourg. The next step will be to complete the reorganisation by transferring certain advisory and analytics activities from the UK. Over time, we will increase our local presence in line with business needs, through a combination of staff transferred from Portugal and London and new hires from the Luxembourg labour market. It is very important for us to have a balanced mix of expertise from our existing teams and new managers and professionals from outside the organisation.

Itaú’s European platform currently serves around 350 companies and manages over 50 global mandates in equities and fixed income. Which segments and markets do you believe offer the greatest opportunities for expansion in Europe over the coming years?

The core of our business will be corporate and investment banking, with a range of services including lending, capital markets and advisory services, including M&A. In addition, there is Global Markets, with equity and fixed-income activities and, more generally, capital markets services aimed at large institutional and global investors.

In your view, to what extent is the financial corridor between Europe and South America still underdeveloped, and what concrete opportunities do you see for Itaú?

The corridor between Europe and South America is already well established. Financial flows from Europe to the region are robust and span various industrial sectors: energy, oil and gas, utilities and infrastructure are some of the sectors in which we see the greatest interest. As regards European companies specifically, I believe that for large multinationals with global ambitions, Brazil represents a key market within South America and, more generally, amongst emerging markets. It is a very dynamic and large market. Major European companies already have a presence in South America and, when entering the region, Brazil is often the starting point. In some cases, Mexico also constitutes a key market. In this regard, one need only consider airports: one of the region’s main airports has been privatised and is now largely controlled by European operators, including Italian, Spanish and French concessionaires, as well as German and Swiss operators. I therefore believe that this will clearly be one of our growth drivers: being the natural financial partner and aiming to become the bank of choice for European clients operating in the region. At the same time, we are seeing growing demand from European companies, private equity funds and institutional investors interested in channelling capital into South America. In this context, Colombia and, to a lesser extent, Argentina are also once again attracting investment.

What role does Italia play in the Group’s European strategy?

Italia is a very dynamic market and we already have a solid customer base. There are major national players, such as Enel, which have made investments and acquisitions in Brazil. There is, therefore, a significant number of large Italian companies looking to expand in the region, particularly in Brazil. Our leading position as one of Latin America’s leading banks and our strong presence in Europe enable us to combine local market knowledge with the ability to serve European clients.

Do you also see opportunities in private banking?

Yes. Brazil is our main market in South America, and we operate an investment advisory and wealth management business dedicated to our most affluent clients. Some of these clients are relocating to Europe. We have already seen cases of clients from the UK who have moved to Italia, and we may see further movements in this direction. Over time, this could also become an interesting market for private banking.

Are Europe and the United States therefore the two main areas of international expansion?

Absolutely, these are two natural areas of expansion for Itaú. In the United States, we already have private banking units in Miami and we aim to obtain a full banking licence, subject to the completion of the authorisation processes. This would enable us to broaden our product range and client base and to accelerate the development of private banking in the country.