Brazilian Banks Again Most Sustainable in Latin America

Itau, Bradesco Again Top Ranking; Top 10 Mainly Brazilian and Chilean.

Miami and Madrid, Spain- Itau and Bradesco, Brazil's largest private banks, again occupy the top spots in the annual Management & Excellence/Latin Finance (M&E/LF) ranking of the 40 best large Latin banks in sustainability, corporate governance and social responsibility (CSR). The top six banks are Brazilian and Chilean, with BCI at a surprising 3rd.

Ranking 2007: 1. Itau: Brazil -95,41% | 2. Bradesco: Brazil-94,50% | 3. BCI – Chile: Chile -86,24% | Santander Chile: Chile -86,24% | 5. ABN AMRO Real: Brazil -85,32% | 6. Unibanco: Brazil-84,40% | BBVA Peru: Peru-84,40% | 8. BBVA Venezuela: Venezuela -82,57% | 9. Banco de Chile: Chile -80,73% | BBVA Mexico: Mexico -80,73% | 11. BBVA Colombia Colombia -77,98% | HSBC Mexico: Mexico -77,98% | 13. Santander Brazil: Brazil -76,15% | 14. Banco do Brasil: Brazil -74,31% | 15. Banco de Bogota: Colombia -70,64% | 16. Scotiabank Mexico: Mexico - 69,72% | 17. BBVA Argentina: Argentina -68,81% | Santander Mexico: Mexico -68,81% | B. de Credito del Peru: Peru -68,81% | 20. Bancolombia: Colombia -66,06% | Average - 64,89% | 21. Banco Galicia: Argentina - 63,30% | Ixe: Mexico -63,30% | 23. Banco Hipotecario: Argentina -61,47% | Nossa Caixa: Brazil - 61,47% | 25. HSBC Brazil: Brazil -60,55% | 26. Banorte: Mexico -59,63% | 27. Santander Argentina: Argentina - 58,72% | 28. Safra: Brazil -57,80% | Banamex: Mexico - 57,80% | 30. BBVA Chile: Chile -56,88% | 31. Suramericana de Inversiones Colombia -55,05% | Mercantil: Venezuela -55,05% | 33. B. Del Estado de Chile: Chile - 54,13% | 34. Macro Bansud: Argentina -44,95% | 35. Scotiabank Peru: Peru -44,04% | 36. Patagonia: Argentina - 43,12% | 37. Votorantim: Brazil -42,20% | Interbank: Peru -42,20% | 39. B. Nacion Argentina: Argentina -19,27% | 40. Bancafe:Colombia-14,68% .

Tough competition, sustainability and corporate governance indices at Bovespa, new governance legislation and growing public sensitivity helped Brazilian banks attain leading spots in the 3-year old ranking, which is one of several annual sustainability studies on Latin America by M&E. With 10 banks in the ranking and a country score of 73,21%, Brazil also wins the country ranking just ahead of Chile, which was the first country in Latin America to initiate serious corporate governance reforms in 2000.

Investments in sustainability and CSR alone easily exceed US$ 100 million at leading banks and permeate most operational areas ranging from quality control and customer service to community aid. CSR swallows half of these costs where budgets typically grew 25%+ this year, such as at Banco do Brasil, which is catching up with Itau, Bradesco and Real.

Performance among Santander and BBVA banks is unequal, suggesting that uniform policies are far from implementation. Santander Chile, BBVA Venezuela and BBVA Colombia are big gainers while BBVA Chile and BBVA Peru are dramatic losers. Yet network banks benefit from parent companies' research resources and codes of ethics.

Mexico, with seven banks and coming in 4th in the country ranking of seven banks, is led by BBVA Bancomer, which dropped 13 places over 2006, suggesting a lax regulatory environment in the country.

An excerpt of the study can be found in the September issue of LatinFinance. | http://www.latinfinance.com | http://www.management-rating.com | Por: PR Newswire.