Unibanco S.A. was a Brazilian bank which operated from 1924 to 2009, when it was merged into

Banco Itaú Banco Itaú S.A. was a former Brazilian bank that merged with Unibanco on November 4, 2008, to form Banco Itaú Unibanco. History Banco Itaú began in 1945 under the name ''Banco Central de Crédito'' (Central Bank of Credit) and later changed ...

. The name stood for ''União de Bancos Brasileiros'' ("Union of Brazilian Banks").

Foundation

In 1924

João Moreira Salles João Moreira Salles (Rio de Janeiro, born 1962) is a Brazilian documentarian and president of the Instituto Moreira Salles. In 2006, he founded the magazine piauí. He has also taught courses on documentary at the Pontifical Catholic Universit ...

established the Casa Bancária Moreira Salles (Moreira Salles Banking House) in the city of

Poços de Caldas Poços de Caldas is a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2020 was 168,641 inhabitants. The city is known for its hot springs. History Poços was founded in 1 ...

, state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. His son,

Walter Moreira Salles Walter Moreira Salles, also Walther Moreira Salles (May 28, 1912 – 2001), was a Brazilian banker, politician and philanthropist, considered as one of the founders of the modern Brazilian banking industry. Career Moreira Salles was born in 191 ...

, was named an acting partner in 1933 at the young age of twenty-one.

Regional mergers

During 1940, Banco Moreira Salles catalyzed its growth by merging with three regional banks, eventually changing its name to União de Bancos Brasileiros (Unibanco).

Acquisition of Banco Nacional

In time its headquarters moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, in the homonymous state, Brazil's largest financial center. Unibanco grew to be the third largest non-government bank in the country, largely due to the 1995 acquisition of

Banco Nacional Banco Nacional was a bank from Brazil. It was taken over by Unibanco in 1995. The ''Nacional'' brand is better known as main sponsor of Ayrton Senna during most of his racing career in Formula One (1984-1994). The TV Globo's popular news program ...

, which went bankrupt alongside other major financial houses during the national banking meltdown of the early years of the Real Plan.

Listed, family controlled, company

Even though its shares were listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), the bank was largely controlled by its founding Moreira Salles family. Until his death in 2001,

- a renowned banker and diplomat, who served as Brazilian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as well as Brazilian Finance Minister - headed the family. After 2006, his son

Pedro Moreira Salles Pedro Moreira Salles (born October 20, 1959) is a Brazilian billionaire businessman, banker, and the chairman of Itaú Unibanco, founded by his father Walter Moreira Salles, and the largest non-government banking institution in Brazil. Career S ...

served as the company's

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and Vice Chairman of the Board.

Merger with Banco Itaú

On November 2, 2008, Unibanco and the second largest Brazilian private banking group,

, announced plans for a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

. The merger was approved by the

Central Bank of Brazil The Central Bank of Brazil ( pt, Banco Central do Brasil) is Brazil's central bank. It was established on Thursday, 31 December 1964, a New Year's Eve. The bank is not linked to any ministry, currently being autonomous. Like other central banks, ...

in late February 2009. As a result of the merger process, Unibanco agencies became new Itaú agencies by the end of 2010, and the Itaú name became the strongest brand in the Brazilian private sector banking market. The defunct bank's name survives in the new merged bank's holding company, which became '' Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.'' However, only the Itaú brand is now used in the bank's corporate image.

References

External links

*Official site
unibanco.com.br
now automatically forwarded t
www.itau.com.br
Itaúsa Itaú Unibanco Banks established in 1924 Banks disestablished in 2008 Defunct banks of Brazil {{Brazil-company-stub