Latin America and Caribbean

The country needs to raise up to $4.5 billion in the international markets this year – and it won’t be easy.

XP has been outperforming even its most optimistic analysts’ projections in recent quarters.

It has made waves with an IPO and by building a strong retail banking platform. Less well known is how the firm is gatecrashing the country’s thriving wealth management industry.

With Santander Brasil registering record profits and Santander Mexico promising the same, the outlook for the group looks Latin. As its European business stalls, how will the bank be affected by Latin America’s shift from engine of growth to core business?

Report says they must cut costs by 10%; years of 20%+ ROE are coming to an end.

The process of financial digitalization has been a challenge for journalists covering Brazil’s banking sector.

Social housing bond comes just two weeks after mid-January economics report.

Cryptocurrencies have a specific use-case in countries where local currencies are in crisis, but elsewhere they remain a volatile speculative investment and will struggle to take off as a means of payment.

If Brazil does well, Bradesco does well. Its management is confident there are good times ahead.

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

Itaú retains 49% stake, now equivalent to 10% of the group’s market cap, as rapid growth leads to runaway valuation.

It’s 2020: welcome to the decade of low-cost Brazilian banking.

The country’s positive real interest rates shine like a beacon for international banks.

Brazil’s currency hit an all-time low nominal value on November 18, closing trading at R$4.20 to the dollar.

UBS’s country head refuses to comment on whether Banco do Brasil has been given a ‘call option on the bank’s Brazilian IB business’.

Consolidation and new entrants attracted to the country’s winning GDP streak.

Itaú overtakes state-controlled Banco do Brasil to become the largest lender.

As the number of financial technology startups in Brazil balloons, there is a growing sense that the pin to puncture their growth is one critical area of operation: credit. Full service in the digital age is a serious, long-term challenge for new entrants and traditional players.

Brazil should be careful of learning the wrong lessons from Chilean protests.

IMF conversations positive but with a streak of caution.

Lower local rates have increased price and increased demand onshore.

The French bank is in the process of being granted a banking licence by the Mexican Banking Commission and the Mexican central bank, likely by the end of the year.

Critics says IFC's standards lack rigour of World Bank’s 2018 Environmental and Social Framework; Bank accepts it has made many mistakes, caused environmental and social damage in the Amazon.

The Latin American nation has gone all-out to rebuild its natural environment over the last three decades, with great results – now it needs the rest of the world to pay attention.

Using a model of up-front financing for large one-off projects, project finance for permanence may be the mechanism that can help reach the goal of 50% of the planet’s natural areas being protected in perpetuity.

Deforestation – and the cattle farming that largely drives it – has caught the world’s attention. While some environmentalists suggest punitive measures to make Brazil a better steward of the forest, there are already more constructive, private-sector responses to the challenge. Can they scale quickly enough to save the Amazon?

International investors remain cautious, despite a strong performance in deal activity this year.

Three-quarters of fund managers that responded to a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey think that Mexico is going to lose its investment grade status.

Road testing the likely economic and financial policies come the October general election.

One country showed the way forward for Latin American sovereigns nearly 35 years ago. Many have tried to follow. Have they succeeded?