Itaú Unibanco Holding Financeira SA, Latin America’s largest bank by market value, agreed on Monday to buy the stake it still did own of Chilean wealth management company Munita, Cruzat y Claro SA‘s brokerage and securities unit for an undisclosed sum, according to Reuters.
Itaú first acquired a stake in Santiago-based Munita, Cruzat y Claro in 2011 to speed up the expansion of Itaú Unibanco’s wealth management and private banking platform in Chile. Currently, Itaú oversees $83 billion in private banking accounts, the largest for a Latin American bank.
In a statement, Itaú said the decision to exercise an option to buy the rest of MCC showcases «its clear commitment to the Chilean market and the vision for Itaú Private Bank to be a leader in Latin America.»
Ramón Suárez will remain as chief executive of MCC, with Alberto Munita, Gastón Cruzat and Eugenio Claro – the founding partners of MCC – will stay in the company’s board, the statement said.