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Established in 1893 as result of the merger of Banco Nacional de Chile,
Banco Agricola and Banco de Valparaiso, Banco de Chile has since been
one of the largest and most profitable Chilean banks in terms of return
on assets and shareholders' equity.
Throughout its history, Banco de Chile has developed a well-recognized name in
Chile and expanded its operations in foreign markets where it developed an extensive
network of correspondent banks. In the early twentieth century, the Bank
established a representative office in London, maintained until 1985, when its
European operations were moved to Frankfurt. The Frankfurt office was closed
in 2000, when the Bank’s foreign operations were centralized at the New
York branch. In 1987 and 1988, Banco de Chile established four subsidiaries
to provide the full range of financial products and services permitted by the
General Banking Law and in 1999, established the insurance brokerage and factoring
subsidiaries.
Merger with Banco de A. Edwards
In 2002, Banco de Chile merged with Banco de A. Edwards - respectively,
the second and fourth largest private banks in terms of loans and,
the third and fifth in terms of equity - thus creating, at the time,
the largest Chilean bank as regards to both measures.
Merger with Citibank Chile
On December 27, 2007 the shareholders of Banco de Chile approved the merger by absorption of Citibank Chile branch into Banco de Chile, which became effective on January 1, 2008. Until the merger, Citibank Chile had been part of Citibank’s (Citi) global network. The merger agreement comprised the sale of Banco de Chile’s foreign branches in the U.S. to Citibank N.A. and a commercial agreement between the banks to offer international financial services to local customers. As a result, Banco de Chile remained as the largest Chilean bank of local capital and the second largest financial institution in an overall basis.
Business Segments
The Bank is principally engaged in commercial banking in Chile, providing
general banking services to a diverse customer base that includes large
corporations, small and mid-sized businesses and individuals. We deliver
financial products and services through a nationwide network of currently
415 branches, 1,535 ATMs and other electronic distribution channels.
As a full-service financial institution the Bank provides, directly and
indirectly through its subsidiaries and affiliates, a wide variety of
credit and non-credit products and services to all segments of the Chilean
financial market. Our business is organized on the basis of two markets:
the retail market, which includes the operations of
individuals and middle-market, small and micro businesses; and the wholesale
market, which includes the operations of corporations and
international banking activities, large companies and financial and
treasury operations. Together with our eight non-banking financial
service subsidiaries – namely,
Securities Brokerage, Investment and Mutual Funds, Collections, Retail
Sales, Factoring, Insurance, Financial Advisory, and Securitization – our
corporation provides a wide range of products and services.
Our corporate banking services include commercial loans - covering working
capital facilities and trade finance - foreign exchange, capital market
services, cash management and non-credit services such as payroll and
payment transactions. We also offer a wide range of treasury and risk
management products to our corporate customers, and we provide our individual
customers with credit cards, residential mortgage, auto and consumer
loans as well as traditional deposit services such as checking and savings
accounts and time deposits.
We offer international banking services supported by Citi’s strong
worldwide presence, in addition to our representative offices in São
Paulo, Beijing, and an office in Hong Kong providing trade services to
our customer and a worldwide network of approximately 1,000 correspondent
banks.
Banco de Chile is listed in the local stock exchanges and in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) -continuing with the ADS programme (Level III) maintained by Banco de A. Edwards since November 1995- and approved by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). As of June 2009, Banco de Chile (NYSE ticker: BCH) shows one of the largest market capitalizations among Chilean companies, valued in almost 6 billion dollars. Since 2002, the Bank has its shares listed in the Madrid Stock Exchange and in the London Stock Exchange, with the approval of the CNMV (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores) and the UKLA (United Kingdom Listing Authority), respectively. The Bank is headquartered in Santiago de Chile and is locally supervised by the Superintendencia de Bancos e Instituciones Financieras of Chile. |
