Financial crises or not, Brazilian banks have been consistently climbing up the rankings of the world's most solid lenders for the past decade. Whether state-owned or in private hands, they have taken advantage of the country's large and fast-growing market. Their ambitions are also growing and the top lenders are now planning to expand to serve Brazilians in neighbouring countries as well as the US.
So it comes as no surprise to see Brazilian giant Itaú Unibanco heading the Top 25 Latin American chart, seeing as it ranks an impressive 33rd on the global list. Its Tier 1 capital represents a very comfortable 9.5% of total assets while its return on assets is a considerable 3.3%, the second highest in the country after Citi's 7.93%. Citi (Brasil) does not feature in the Top 25 Latin American list because of its foreign ownership - the regional ranking only includes locally owned banks.
