Itau Unibanco Refocusing On The Consumer To Drive New Growth

For a variety of reasons, including less-than-responsible competition from state-controlled banks in Brazil, increasing competition from new fintech entrants, and a management team that is consistently overly positive on the prospects for the business, Itau Unibanco (ITUB) has never been my favorite Latin American bank. With Brazil’s recovery underwhelming expectations in 2019, the shares are down more than 10% over the past year and down about 8% since my last article on the company.

Brazil’s economy needs a lot of work, and it remains to be seen if the current government has the willpower to tackle a host of thorny structural issues, including pension reform. If the recovery of Brazil’s economy accelerates, Itau can do well, but I still don’t love this bank from a fundamental standpoint and while the shares don’t look expensive, I’m not all that excited about the idea of owning these shares.

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Itau Unibanco Refocusing On The Consumer To Drive New Growth