Brazilian banks remain the largest in the Latin American and Caribbean region by Tier 1 capital, but the economic recession that has affected the country for the past couple of years has taken its toll on lenders’ capital strength and profitability.
Nonetheless, Itaú Unibanco continues to lead the region with $25.9bn in Tier 1 capital. As was the case in the 2015 rankings, it is followed by Banco do Brasil, Banco Bradesco and Caixa Economica Federal. BTG Pactual, formerly in fifth place, has now slipped to eighth and is the only Brazilian bank that closed the 2015 financial year in the red, with a loss of $693m.
