Itau Unibanco Closes Financing with OPIC
July 15, 2014
(OPIC)
São Paulo, Brazil - Itaú Unibanco, the biggest bank in Latin America by market
value, announced today that it has secured financing of US$400 million from the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s
development finance institution, with an additional US$80 million from Wells
Fargo Bank, which is acting as a Sponsor of the initiative.
The loan, which has a six-year maturity, will be used to support the expansion
of Itaú’s small to medium sized enterprise (SME) loan portfolio, particularly in
the North and Northeast regions of Brazil where there is limited access to debt
financing.
Cândido Bracher, CEO of Itaú BBA said: “Itaú is committed to expanding its
footprint further into the North and Northeast of Brazil as part of our lending
strategy to small and medium sized companies. This loan, which is OPIC’s largest
disbursement in Latin America to date, demonstrates our intention to raise
innovative long-term funding solutions to support our clients in these regions
to help them overcome restricted access to financial services.”
Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of OPIC, said: “This support to Itaú
Unibanco represents a milestone for OPIC, the U.S. government’s development
finance institution. Applying OPIC’s unique development scoring methodology,
Itaú’s effort to increase access to finance in Brazil resulted in the highest
score among all of the Agency’s commitments in 2013. OPIC’s support will help
Itaú fund thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through an innovative
model to provide loans with longer tenors than typically available, spurring the
next generation of Brazil’s growth, job creation and development.”
About Itaú Unibanco
Itaú Unibanco is one of the largest banks in the world by market value. With
total assets of R$1.03 trillion and net income of R$ 16.5 billion in 2013, Itaú
Unibanco is a leader in private banking, vehicle financing and in the credit
card market. The bank maintains a strong presence in banking activities for
large corporates and has strong positions in real estate lending and credits
withheld from paychecks. Itaú Unibanco is present in 19 countries besides Brazil
and listed on the BM&FBovespa (ITUB3, ITUB4) as well as on the New York
Stock Exchange (ADR level), and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (ITUB4). Its
vision is "To be the leading bank in sustainable performance and customer
satisfaction". For more information, please visit our website: www.itau.com.br or www.itau.com.
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