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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Itaú's Setubal eyes Banamex as potential entry to Mexico, (NYSE: BCA), (NYSE: C)

Ita� Unibanco Holding SA , Latin America's largest bank by market value, wants to enter the Mexican retail banking market and is eyeing Grupo Financiero Banamex SA as a potential way in, Chief Executive Officer Roberto Egydio Setubal said on Tuesday.Speaking to shareholders at an event in S�o Paulo, Setubal did not elaborate on Ita�'s strategy for Mexico. Earlier, his brother Alfredo, Ita�'s senior vice president for investor relations, said Ita� was in no rush to purchase a rival overseas as a currency slump made foreign acquisitions more expensive.Ita�'s interest in Banamex, which was acquired by Citigroup Inc in August 2001 for $12.5 billion, comes as Setubal seeks to build the S�o Paulo-based lender into the largest Latin American financial conglomerate. Ita� has wholesale banking operations in the region's main countries and is building a retail banking presence in Chile and Colombia through a tie-up with CorpBanca SA."Ita� Unibanco has an interest in entering the Mexican market ... Banamex is an option that could be evaluated," Setubal said in response to a question from a shareholder.

CorpBanca is a Chile-based bank engaged in the provision of commercial and retail banking services. Shares of BCA traded higher by 0.23% or $0.04/share to $17.40. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $15.76 and as high as $22.30. On average, 57506 shares of BCA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 107867.

Citigroup Inc. (Citigroup) is a global diversified financial services holding company whose businesses provide consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services and wealth management. Shares of C fell by 3.07% or $-1.62/share to $51.17. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $45.18 and as high as $56.95. On average, 17872400 shares of C exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 34733144.



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