Itau Unibanco Closes Financing with OPIC
July 15, 2014
(OPIC)
São Paulo, Brazil - Itaú Unibanco, the biggest
bank in Latin America by market value,
announced today that it has secured financing
of US$400 million from the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S.
government’s development finance institution,
with an additional US$80 million from Wells
Fargo Bank, which is acting as a Sponsor of the
initiative.
The loan, which has a six-year maturity, will
be used to support the expansion of Itaú’s
small to medium sized enterprise (SME) loan
portfolio, particularly in the North and
Northeast regions of Brazil where there is
limited access to debt financing.
Cândido Bracher, CEO of Itaú BBA said: “Itaú is
committed to expanding its footprint further
into the North and Northeast of Brazil as part
of our lending strategy to small and medium
sized companies. This loan, which is OPIC’s
largest disbursement in Latin America to date,
demonstrates our intention to raise innovative
long-term funding solutions to support our
clients in these regions to help them overcome
restricted access to financial services.”
Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of
OPIC, said: “This support to Itaú Unibanco
represents a milestone for OPIC, the U.S.
government’s development finance institution.
Applying OPIC’s unique development scoring
methodology, Itaú’s effort to increase access
to finance in Brazil resulted in the highest
score among all of the Agency’s commitments in
2013. OPIC’s support will help Itaú fund
thousands of small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) through an innovative model to provide
loans with longer tenors than typically
available, spurring the next generation of
Brazil’s growth, job creation and
development.”
About Itaú Unibanco
Itaú Unibanco is one of the largest banks in
the world by market value. With total assets of
R$1.03 trillion and net income of R$ 16.5
billion in 2013, Itaú Unibanco is a leader in
private banking, vehicle financing and in the
credit card market. The bank maintains a
strong presence in banking activities for large
corporates and has strong positions in real
estate lending and credits withheld from
paychecks. Itaú Unibanco is present in 19
countries besides Brazil and listed on the
BM&FBovespa (ITUB3, ITUB4) as well as on
the New York Stock Exchange (ADR level), and
the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (ITUB4). Its
vision is "To be the leading bank in
sustainable performance and customer
satisfaction". For more information, please
visit our website: www.itau.com.br or www.itau.com.
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