TIMELINE
1967: Majority stake in Banco Paraguayo De Comercio SA (later Banco Paraguayo de Comercio Sudameris SA and Banco Sudameris Paraguay SA) acquired by Banque Française & Italienne pour l'Amérique du Sud (Sudameris).

While Italy made fundamental contributions to Paraguay's economic and financial development following World War II, groups of Italians had come to the country far earlier, following in the footsteps of the pioneering adelantados who had come to explore this part of America.
Between the end of the nineteenth century and the start of World War I, the Italian community in Paraguay made remarkable progress, achieving a high level of development particularly in manufacturing and services. However, even though Confederbank proposed as early as 1941 that an Italian bank open a branch in Asunción, it was not until the 1960s that Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) would initiate its own activities in South America through Sudameris, in which it held a stake. Before attempting to establish a direct presence in the country, Banque Française & Italienne pour l'Amérique du Sud (Sudameris) first made an attempt to acquire its local banks. It decided against acquiring a stake in Banco de la Republica del Paraguay, but in 1967 bought Banco Paraguayo De Comercio SA, which later became Banco Paraguayo de Comercio Sudameris SA and subsequently Banco Sudameris Paraguay SA. In July 2004 Abbeyfield Group acquired a 78% stake in Banco Sudameris de Paraguay S.A.E.C.A., renaming it Sudameris Bank S.A.E.C.A. Subsequently, in March 2008, Abbeyfield Financial Holdings acquired the remaining 20% stake in Banca Intesa.

ASI-BCI, Representative Office in Rome (RR), cart. 25, f. 2
ASI-BCI, Sudameris, VCA
ASI-BCI, Sudameris, Financial Statements
ASI-BCI, Financial Affairs Division, News