Share the article
twitter-iconcopy-link-iconprint-icon
share-icon
AmericasApril 4 2004

Banking for the bankless

Young Argentines who sold a small internet site to Banco Santander for millions of dollars at the height of the internet bubble are jumping into Brazilian banking to compete with the region’s largest financial institutions.
Share the article
twitter-iconcopy-link-iconprint-icon
share-icon

Brazilian banks such as Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest commercial bank, and Banco Bradesco, Brazil’s biggest non-government bank are expanding services targeted at Brazil’s rich. Bradesco also recently started going after the affluent, opening offices called Prime for clients with at least 50,000 real ($17,000) to invest.

Argentines Wenceslao Casares and Guillermo Kirchner have a different idea: target Brazil’s poor. There certainly are a lot more poor people in a country with a minimum wage of $1,072 a year. Per capita income dropped 1.5% last year and is less than the equivalent of $300 a month, according to the federal statistics institute.

To continue reading, join our community and benefit from

  • In-depth coverage across key markets
  • Comments from financial leaders and policymakers worldwide
  • Regional/country bank rankings and awards
Activate your free trial