M&A activity and strong performance has generated a swathe of new arrivals – and dropouts – in The Banker’s Top 100 Latin American listing.Latin banks as a whole managed a relatively strong year in 2002 despite a sputtering US recovery, uncertain financial markets and contagion from the Argentine collapse allied to fears about Brazil’s new government. In terms of Tier One capital, the cut-off point for entering the Top 100 rose to $58m, as compared to $45m last year, while pre-tax profits came in at $8244bn and total assets were $605,750bn.
Mexico’s BBVA Bancomer made it to the number one slot from number four last year, with a 33% increase in Tier One Capital to $3742m, while one of the highest climbers was Banco Santander Chile which rose to 11th place from 24th thanks to its merger with local Banco Santiago.
