In Brazil the domestic banks are managing to convince companies that in the provision of cash management services being local is best. This year’s Euromoney cash management survey shows that the universal banking model has limited appeal. HSBC remains ranked second in Brazil (and third regionally) and Santander has improved to third from fifth – although as Santander has been focusing on presenting itself to the market as a local, Brazilian bank the gains made with Brazilian corporates are probably less about the Spanish-owned bank’s global network than its emphasis on its Brazilian presence. Citi, which is still the leading regional cash management house, remains sixth in Brazil.
"We have a fruit that only grows in Brazil called the jabuticaba and there is a myth in the market that everything in Brazil is like a jabuticaba and is peculiarly local," says Adoniro Cestari, head of Citi’s TTS in Brazil.
