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TIMELINE
1924: Banque Française & Italienne pour l'Amérique du Sud (Sudameris) branch opened in Montevideo.
1968: Majority stake in Banco de Rio Nigro SA, later Banco Sudameris (Uruguay), acquired by Sudameris.
2004: BCI's stake in the Sudameris Group transferred to Crédit Agricole-Banco ACAC.
Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) operated in Uruguay through its subsidiary Banque Française & Italienne pour l'Amérique du Sud (Sudameris). Keen to expand Sudameris' activities throughout most of Latin America, between 1912 and 1914 Sudameris made various attempts to buy out local banks in difficulty not only in Uruguay, but also in Paraguay and Chile. One such attempt, in 1912, involved the possible buy-out of Banco Italiano dell'Uruguay, an institution that had been founded by the country's Italian émigré community, but in the end the deal did not go through.
In 1924 Sudameris, in order to have a direct presence in the country, set up a branch in Montevideo; over time various other branches and agencies were created as well in Punta del Este.
In 1968 Sudameris acquired control of the local bank Banco del Rio Nigro SA, later renamed Banco Sudameris (Uruguay). Following Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL)'s decision to leave the country and the sale of Sudameris, which belonged to the Intesa BCI Group, to Crédit Agricole-Banco ACAC (the transaction was finalized in 2004), no Italian banks remain in Uruguay. |
