Brazil is in the brim of economic explosion, triggered
by a chain of events like government reforms, global participation, increased
exploitation of natural resources and imports/exports. Some of the key segments
are financial services, mining and exploration, real estate, biofuel (ethanol),
automobiles, paper pulp, meat and juice, exports/imports and information
technology.
One of the notable achievements was represented by
Brazilian banks. Brazilian banks were unscathed or literally escaped the
financial crisis of 2008, or yielded higher
benefits from the crisis. It was a simplistic sign of economic strengthening
and continued the favorites of foreign direct investments. The Brazilian banks had exponential transformation
in the last decade and had already registered footprints globally. The Central
bank and government of Brazil has shown immense interest and crafted strong
regulatory policies, indicators and were monitored rigorously. Apart from the
reforms, the bank enabled channels to bridge the gap between customers,
investors and merchants which received tremendous appreciation and trust from
the customers and investors. Along, the banks provided huge job opportunities and active participation in transforming social conditions.
Brazilian banks are one of the most advanced with
cutting edge technology, increased efficiency, plethora of products and
services, elaborate network of service centers and internet banking. Incidentally
banks have become aggressive, competitive, creative and concentrated. The
industry is prominently referred as an oligopoly, which is dominated by few key
giants. In recent years the industry had witnessed a continuous pattern of
various mergers and acquisitions. It was the case of international banks; many
of them dissolved operations and merged with Brazilian banks. However some
managed to grow bigger like Banco Santander, basically from Spain. Other major
international banks are Citibank, HSBC, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, Morgan
Stanley, ING, Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile the smaller and yet profitable domestic
banks were being swallowed by the big ones.
It is not always a favorable condition for the banks
as they are facing tough challenges like lack of skilled professionals, risk
and fraud, technology constraints, labor cost, tough government policies and
social stigmas. The banks are continuously reiterating their policies on a long
term vision and to stand up for the upcoming world class events of 2014 World cup football and 2016 Olympics. Some investment banks along with
some international banking giants have taken full advantage and are investing
massively.
However, like every coin with two sides, the banks in
Brazil have its other darker side too. The heavy taxes (interest rates, late
payment fees…etc), limited access in the interior of Brazil, few players
(reduced competition) and so on.
Here is a listing of few market giants (with a short
description). For detailed information check the references at the last.
Banco
Central do Brasil,
the central bank of Brazil
founded in 1964. They are responsible
for drafting policies, monitoring and evaluating the banking system. As of
August 31, 2011, Central Bank had total assets of R$1.428 trillion (US$900.7
billion). Central bank has many subsidiaries/entities which SELIC, an entity of
central bank, is responsible for all the interbank transfers. There are lots of
entities associated with central. The complete lists with services are
available at www.bc.gov.br
Banco do Brasil (BB), one of the largest bank
in Brazil and biggest in Latin America n hemisphere. Founded in 1808,
headquarter in Brasilia (capital of Brazil) and wholly managed by the Brazilian
government with stocks being traded in São Paulo stock exchange. With 110, 000
employees, over 55 million customers, 17800 agencies, 45000 ATM's (largest
network in Latin America) and operates in 23 countries with 45 agencies. During
the last decade BB made huge expansion through massive acquisitions, the recent
acquisition of 51% stake in Banco Patagonia (one of the largest bank in
Argentina). BB is recognized for their social orientation programs, cultural
and sports events.
[ 31/12/2011 - Total assets - US$526.6 ( R$981.230
billion ) | Total deposits R$442.386 billion | Shareholder equity - R$58.42
billion ] www.bb.com.br
Banco Itaú Unibanco, the largest private
bank (second biggest bank in Brazil), financial conglomerate in the Latin
America and is one among the 10 largest banks in the world by market value. It
grown into a giant after the merger of Banco Unibanco with Banco Itaú in 2008. It has over 5000 agencies, 30000
ATM's and more than 110,000 employees. It has operations in North America,
Europe and Asia, headquarter in São Paulo city, Brazil. In the last years they
had hugely invested in technology transformation, branding (marketing) and
customer satisfaction. The blue logo in the orange band across the Brazil
attracts customer attention.
Itaú Unibanco owns Redecard, one of the
largest card payment processor companies and has an alliance with Porto Seguro,
Brazilian insurance giant.
[ 2012 - Total assets - US$491.3 billion | Net Income
US$7.8 billion | Revenue - U$57.8 billion | Market capitalization -
R$179.6 billion ] www.itau.com.br
Banco Bradesco, is
one of the largest bank in Brazil, the largest card issuer with 90 million
credit cards and 64 million debit cards, the first bank to launch internet
banking in Latin America. It has 105,000 employees, 59 million customers, 13083
agencies, 49000 third party service points, 35000 ATMs. It has operations in
North America, Europe and Asia. They had many acquisitions like Banco
Mercantil, Banco IBI, BBVA, JP Morgan Fleming Asset and American Express
operation in Brazil. Bradesco Seguros is their subsidiary and is based in São
Paulo.
[ 2012 - Total assets - US$432 billion | Net Income
US$5.8 billion | Revenue - U$48.9 billion] www.bradesco.com.br
Caixa Economica Federal, one of the biggest bank
and the largest public bank in the Latin America and was founded in 1861 by
then Emperor Dom Pedro II. It has 82000 employees, 38 million customer, 17000
agencies and 19000 ATMs. It received high popularity from the Brazilian
audience through the lotteries and also controls other Brazilian
lotteries. The profits from the
lotteries are utilized for enhancement of education and campaigns/promotion of
sports.
[ 2012 - Total assets - US$305.7 billion | Net Income
US$2.7 billion | Revenue - U$19.5 billion ] www.caixa.gov.br
The article is not a comprehensive and for detailed
information refer the links below:
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