Itaú is negotiating the sale of operations in Argentina – 06/06/2023 – Market

Itaú informed in a statement to the market this Tuesday (6) that it is in preliminary negotiations with Banco Macro, headquartered in Argentina, with the aim of selling its operations in the country.

“Listed on the Buenos Aires and New York stock exchanges, Banco Macro SA is one of the main private banks in Argentina. It has an extensive branch network in the country and offers financial products and services throughout the Argentine territory, serving all segments, from individuals to large companies”, says Itaú in the statement.

According to data from the BCRA (Central Bank of Argentina), Macro is the fifth largest Argentine bank in assets, with around 2.1 trillion pesos (R$ 42.5 billion) in January.

The shares of the Argentine bank jumped about 14% on the American Stock Exchange this Tuesday as a reflection of the confirmation of the negotiations, initially disclosed by the local press in Argentina.

Itaú’s operation in Argentina is among the bank’s smallest in the Latin American region. At the end of March, Itaú’s loan portfolio in the neighboring country totaled R$9.6 billion, just ahead of Panama (R$1.6 billion) among the bank’s operations in Latin America, and well behind Chile ( BRL 157.2 billion) and Colombia (BRL 26.4 billion).

The bank began its activities in Argentina in 1979, focusing at the time on the wholesale area, financing multinational companies in foreign trade. In 1998, it strengthened its operations in the country with the purchase of Banco Del Buen Ayre. In 2008, it renamed the operation to Itaú Argentina.

Talks for the sale of Itaú’s operations in Argentina take place in the wake of a serious economic crisis faced by the country, with inflation that surpassed the 100% mark in April, which led the BCRA to recently issue a 2,000 peso note, equivalent to about R$ 20.

Itaú also informed that, so far, it has not signed a binding document regarding the sale of operations in Argentina and that it will immediately inform the market of any relevant information in this regard.