Relationships - Banco Itaú

Message from the President
“Intensely. That’s how
we lived and worked in 2009.”
And that’s how we started 2010. After all, the
process of integrating an organization of our
size has required flexibility, commitment and
adaptability from all of us. Just over a year after
the beginning of joint operations, virtually all
areas of the Bank have been unified, which
reveals our teams’ level of mobilization.
This is underlined by the fact that even in the
middle of this intense process of transformation
we kept our market share in our key business
portfolios, and were chosen by our staff as
one of Brazil’s best places to work. We have
consolidated our leadership in motor vehicle
financing and in the cards market, grown
significantly in mortgage lending and redoubled
our efforts with small and medium-sized
companies, all of which are priority segments for
us. We also restructured our insurance area and
joined forces with Porto Seguro, Brazil’s leading
vehicle insurer, which should add greatly to the
products and services we offer.
We have been alert to the effects of the global
economic situation on our markets, but have
not allowed ourselves to become paralyzed.
In fact, we have looked for innovative and
creative solutions to remain by our customers’
side and maintain our commitment to provide
them with high quality financial services. We
have made car loans easier and, faced with
the challenges imposed by these economic
times, have made refinancing much faster,
which helps customers better adapt to their
financial means. In mortgage lending our
strong portfolio has continued to grow. We
have increased the range of services for
credit card customers, which has improved
their perception that electronic money is an
ally in their financial planning. In insurance
our priority has been simplicity, enabling
customers to clearly identify the value of
having protection. All these initiatives share
the philosophy of placing customers first,
regardless of internal or external circumstances.
In 2010 our challenge will be to complete the
integration of Unibanco’s 1,000 branches to
the Itaú platform while maintaining service
quality. Our teams have been working on this
since 2009, and have shown they can make
this integration a success, thanks to shared
cultures and values which will allow us to
develop business opportunities that will easily
exceed the sum of our strengths. Now, with all
our areas restructured and driven by a single
culture, we will begin to reap the rewards of the
potential synergies generated by the merger.
With the creation of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.,
we envision new new business opportunities
in the domestic market, in which gains of scale
have become crucial in the face of determined
competitors. At the same time, we have
expanded our operations in the Southern Cone as
a springboard to strengthen our performance in
Latin America.
Given the desire to become a key player in the
global financial market, in August we established
an International Advisory Board, whose objective
is to help expand our presence within the
international financial community. This new
Board will allow us to better monitor the risks and
opportunities offered by the global economy.
In this environment of change and hard work,
it’s critical to be connected to the desires of
the markets we serve. Listening to customers,
investors, consumer protection agencies and
the general public are one of our primary
commitments, as our strategic relationship
groups are in the best position to point out where
we need to improve. We also recognize that not
everyone may be happy with our integration
process, but we are committed to minimizing
these impacts and restoring their level of
satisfaction and trust.
4 Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.