Itaú BBA takes the top Euromoney award for Brazil for its dominance across the bond, M&A and equity capital markets, and its versatility in deals.

New transition bond includes step-down, as new ‘green infrastructure’ bond issued.

Paraguay continues to prove that a raft of business-friendly economic policies can pay off in Latin America, with the small landlocked country enjoying GDP growth of 4.5%. Part of that bump was due to the recovery from the previous year’s drought, but economists are confident of another year of growth above 3% in 2024.

The definition of excellence in these Euromoney awards is multifaceted. Sometimes the best bank is the one that has innovated and changed the market, sometimes the momentum in the market deserves recognition and at other times the player that dominates in terms of scale and profitability is the winner. It’s not often all three, but in Brazil, Nubank has revolutionized the retail banking market while enjoying unprecedented growth that has begun to feed – thanks to its highly efficient operating model – into operational leverage that is driving market-leading profitability.

The paradox of Itaú is that it has maintained its leadership of Brazil’s banking sector with an ease and assuredness in recent years that belies the radical and continual transformation going on under the surface. The bank’s CFO, Alexsandro Broedel, tells Euromoney that its management’s only real constant is to view every new player as an existential threat – and react accordingly.

As the oldest private bank based in the southeast of Brazil – the traditional powerhouse of wealth in the country – Itaú Private Bank has an inbuilt advantage when it comes to managing the generational succession in private banking.

The echoes of 2014 have been loud in Brazil’s private banking industry over the past 12 months. A precipitous fall in interest rates – followed by a meteoric rise – has left the market completely the same but also very different.

Itaú’s Argentinian firm is its smallest. Nevertheless, innovation in its retail segment could be a game-changer in the country – and potentially the region.

The chance to acquire Citi’s Mexican business could attract some unexpected bidders.

Covid barely dented the strength of the banking system and most banks have been steadily releasing the provisions they took. Euromoney talks to the leaders of our 25 reviewed banks and others about the challenges they face as the world normalizes.

The CEO and CFO aren’t about to abandon the physical in the chase for digital business.

This year was like no other in Latin American banking – and the huge leap forward in digital adoption throughout the region caused by the pandemic is here to stay.

Milton Maluhy officially became Itaú’s new CEO at the beginning of February. He now faces the challenge of cutting the bank down to size.

Brazil’s fintechs and digital challenger banks are making more ground than traditional firms with the central bank’s new payments system.

Itaú Unibanco continues to outperform its peers in Brazilian banking, but its traditional competitors aren’t the real problem.

The penny is finally dropping – and bankers in Brazil appear to be taking deforestation in the Amazon seriously.

The awkward truce in Brazil between XP Inc and Itaú broke down in a very public way in June.

The bank may be at the peak of its value creation, as the government looks to promote greater competition in Brazilian banking.

The region’s leading banks produce some of the best numbers in the global industry, and success in retail banking – and a hard-learned approach to risk management – are core; could the growth of digital banking bring a new era of change?

Since Roberto Setubal became chief executive of Itaú Unibanco in 1994, the bank’s growth has been spectacular – but the next stage is harder to target.

Itaú is performing well, but faces challenges in its corporate banking unit.

A lower-profile announcement caught Euromoney’s eye after the bluster of the G20 meetings in Buenos Aires.

Brazil’s banks are now an election issue.

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The period under review for Euromoney’s Awards for excellence neatly captured a peak of strong performance by banks and investment banks in Latin America. Between April 1, 2017 and the end of March this year, there was a return to positive growth and, probably more importantly, genuine optimism about the fortunes of two of the largest economies in the south of the region, Argentina and Brazil.

Argentina

Bank of America and Citi win top prizes; Credit Suisse’s Tidjane Thiam is named Banker of the Year; Asian banks make their mark in global awards.

Bracher admits “severe pressure” to reduce spreads; credit portfolios tilting to SME and consumer segments.

Newly acquisitive Itaú's earnings have been remarkably resilient