On November 3, 2008, Itaú and Unibanco signed the agreement for the merger of their financial operations. It was the formal beginning of the building of one of the largest conglomerates in the Southern Hemisphere, with a market value among the 20 largest financial institutions in the world.
This financial institution is fully capable of being a player in the new global competitive scenario. With a strong international presence, the institution will have the required agility to increase the presence of Brazil internationally.
The new bank is consolidated in a scenario in which Brazil and its financial system are in a privileged position, with strong possibilities of improving even more its relative position in the global scenario. In this phase of sustainable growth of the country, movements like this, which strengthen large domestic companies, are growing in importance, such as those which are occurring in other sectors of economy, continuously expanding their competitive capacity.
After over 15 months in gestation through dialogues, Itaú Unibanco is born with a strong identity in values and a converging vision for the future. For this purpose, the controlling stockholders of Itaúsa and Unibanco decided to establish a holding company with a shared governance model.
The conglomerate resulting from the merger has scale, expertise and a strong capital basis, which enable it to significantly reinforce the credit supply to the market, corresponding to the expectations of a sound and vigorous response to the demands from companies and individuals.
To the effect of giving a dimension of its potential, Itaú Unibanco will be a company with the highest market capitalization.
Integrate to grow. With this vision, the new bank intends to provide customers with the Best Itaú and Unibanco has to offer, by adopting the outstanding practices of each institution, regardless of its origin. The proposal is to keep all existing partnerships, maintaining the same conditions currently in effect and providing even more benefits to the customers and other stakeholders. Among the benefits that will be provided after this integration, the new bank will be able to expand credit, increase its range of products and services, value the work of its employees and ensure the soundness of our financial system.