Two years after buying a bank in the United StatesO Bradesco 🇧🇷BBDC4) will invest another US$ 230 million (about R$ 1.2 billion) to accelerate its growth in the country. The reinforcement marks a new phase for the former BAC Florida.
Renamed, the bank will operate under the name Bradesco Bank and will have new facilities starting next year.
The acquisition was essential in the conglomerate’s strategy to grow in the “private” area, which concentrates very wealthy clients and is one of the main challenges facing Octavio de Lazari, who is about to complete five years at the helm of Bradesco.
With the new contribution, the bank increases the investment in its business in the USA by about 50%, to US$ 730 million (almost R$ 4 billion), since it was acquired in 2019.
In practice, the reinforcement will allow Bradesco Bank to double its equity, to US$ 500 million (R$ 2.7 billion), and will give the institution strength in the dispute for wealthy account holders.
Fuel will also help you move forward on two targets, large companies with international business and banks in the Latin America🇧🇷
With the gain in importance in the US, Bradesco is able to raise funds at a lower cost in the US market and lend with a spread, including to Brazilian rivals.
“As I grow in assets and I have the opportunity to expand them in the local market, so, if I have more adequate capital, I will accelerate growth”, said Bradesco’s executive vice-president, Marcelo Noronha, in an exclusive interview with Broadcastduring a bank event in New York.
According to Noronha, Bradesco Bank has expanded its business at a pace that exceeds 30% per year in segments in which it operates: investments, wealth management (great fortunes), credit card and mortgage, the main type of real estate financing in the USA. “The bank that does the most mortgages in Florida for foreigners is called Bradesco Bank”, he says. According to him, the default of the operation is low.
Bradesco took over the former BAC Florida in mid-2020, while Covid-19 locked everyone in their homes. Since then, it has reinforced the operation with the launch of an investment platform, Bradesco Invest US, expanded the team and entered into a partnership with BlackRock, the largest fund manager in the world, responsible for managing funds in the USA.
As a result, Bradesco Bank is stronger and has around 10,000 customers. In total assets, the bank currently holds US$ 3.1 billion, growth of 40% compared to December 2020.
The credit portfolio grew 56%, to US$ 2.5 billion in the period. In assets under custody, the feat was even greater: a jump of 87%, to the level of US$ 3 billion.
The next step is to give the ‘new face’ to the US business. The headquarters of Bradesco Bank will be transferred to one of the towers of the iconic ‘Plaza Coral Gables’, a new development located in Ponce de Leon, Miami, Florida. This is the largest construction project at the site since 1990. In addition to the commercial towers, the development includes a hotel and a shopping mall.
The new headquarters will have the same visual identity as Bradesco Private, like the bank’s building in Faria Lima, São Paulo’s financial stronghold. Like the current one, it will also have a more modern customer service agency. The inauguration is scheduled for February, at an event that should bring together the bank’s top management, in addition to local authorities.
In Bradesco Bank’s plans, new acquisitions and geographic expansion in the US are not a priority, at least for now. “We are going to grow BAC, but basically to serve the Brazilian and foreign customers we have here, even the Americans. Other acquisitions don’t make sense”, said the president of Bradesco, Octavio de Lazari, in an interview with Broadcast, also during a visit to New York.
Founded more than five decades ago, the former BAC Florida is the largest offshore operation, that is, abroad, in the bank’s wealthy segment, Bradesco Global Private Bank, whose brand was also recently updated. To consolidate itself with this public, the conglomerate also strengthened its bank in Europe.
As in the USA, in Brazil, Bradesco’s Private segment gained inorganic momentum, as it took advantage of the departure of the North American JPMorgan and the Swiss BNP Paribas from the business in the country. “With that, we brought clients, assets and staff,” said Noronha.
According to him, another movement that reinforces the area of great fortunes (wealth management) is the partnership that Bradesco is building with the manager of BV (former bank Votorantim). The bank bought 51% of the asset and is waiting for the go-ahead from the Central Bank (BC) to open the deal. “There, there is an asset and wealth component. This reinforces our positioning in the high income segment”, stated Noronha.
With the restructuring of its high-income unit, Bradesco became the second largest Brazilian bank in the Private segment, behind only rival Itaú Unibanco.
The bank from Osasco currently serves 18,000 wealthy customers, distributed across nearly 9,000 families, up 46% since 2018. In turn, its market share broke a record of 21.25%, against 18.09% in period.
“In fact, everything we did from the management point of view improved our performance because you don’t move simply by buying or making deals”, says Noronha. In practice, the bank perfected the way to serve high-income customers. For the client, among the advances, is the possibility of viewing their investments in Brazil and abroad in a consolidated manner, if they so wish, respecting the regulation. “Does it make a difference. It’s another experience,” he says.
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Source: Moneytimes
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