Bradesco Chief Sees Limited M&A Opportunity

Marcio Cypriano, CEO of Bradesco, tells LatinFinance he sees few opportunities to grow through acquisition, and that his institution is focused on organic growth in the wake of Itau’s planned purchase of Unibanco. “The opportunities to buy [another bank] are very limited. The Brazilian [bank] market is clearly defined,” he says in an exclusive interview Thursday. “There has been a specific, one time event that has shifted the overall ranking [of banks in Brazil,] which is causing some commotion out there,” he says, referring to the deal announced Monday. “For us, it is remains essential to evaluate carefully any potential deal, especially from the point of view of its value to our investors, and only follow through if it really makes sense.” The bank is in no hurry to go out and buy another bank, Cypriano adds. Bradesco executives add that organic expansion is the main route, which could eventually help it catch up to Itau-Unibanco. Bradesco’s already distant hopes of acquiring Nossa Caixa, which belongs to the state of Sao Paulo, appear to have been dashed by two developments this past week. A Tuesday ruling by the National Judicial Council defending state-owned entities exclusive right to manage judicial deposits, of which Nossa Caixa has many, and a local report by the Folha de Sao Paulo Thursday saying Sao Paulo’s governor met with Banco do Brasil officials to sell the bank for BRL6.4bn. Nossa Caixa shares rose 13% Thursday while the Bovespa dropped 3.8%.