Banco Pan’s unlikely transformation into a force in digital retail banking in Brazil began in 2010 with a $1.4 billion accounting fraud. The owner, Silvio Santos, a well-known media figure in Brazil, was forced to offload the bank (then called Banco Panamericano and specializing in car financing) to a partnership of state-owned Caixa Economica and investment bank BTG Pactual.
It seemed an odd move by BTG Pactual at the time, pre-dating by many years the bank’s decision to enter retail banking through a digital platform.
The bank was stabilized by the two new owners, but it wasn’t until the power of digital banking became evident that it was re-launched as Banco Pan – a full service digital bank targeting the lower socio-economic income groups.
![Carlos Eduardo Guimarães PAN_400x225.jpg](https://assets.euromoneydigital.com/dims4/default/e4f2146/2147483647/strip/true/crop/400x225+0+0/resize/800x450!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Feuromoney-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2F22%2Ffb2dd2fa467baa7b6aa2afcc0c40%2Fcarlos-eduardo-guimaraes-pan-400x225.jpg)
Caixa has now divested and BTG Pactual runs the show, with 71.7%