BTG Plots Regional IB Expansion

BTG Pactual is planning to move beyond Brazil and could open other LatAm offices this year, the firm’s CEO Andre Esteves tells LatinFinance. “We will continue to grow further in Latin America so you should continue to expect some expansion,” says the banker. He mentions Colombia, Chile and Argentina as possible areas of focus. “Colombia certainly is a good move, but Argentina, Chile also are good candidates . . . maybe as a next step you should expect offices in some of these countries,” says Esteves. Asked whether the new units would come in 2011, he responds, “probably yes.” BTG appears less keen on the second biggest LatAm IB market, Mexico. “Mexico is a great economy but it’s a more plain vanilla investment banking industry,” says Esteves.