Itaú Unibanco Holding SA is not fully satisfied with the results of Chilean unit Itaú CorpBanca since it took control of the bank in 2016, Itaú CorpBanca CEO Milton Maluhy said in an interview with Brazilian news site Broadcast.
As Itaú moves toward the last steps of the integration, it will carry out a number of adjustments in order to improve the Chilean company's profitability. This includes improving credit supply and increasing service revenues and emulating Itaú's strategy in Brazil of reducing risk and increasing profitability, according to the executive.
"The bottom line is that we try to minimize the surprises. We want to have less unexpected things and that the (credit) portfolios are properly provisioned so that surprises do not happen in a significant magnitude," Maluhy told Broadcast.
To reach its goals, Itaú CorpBanca reportedly plans on strengthening provisions for doubtful loans as the Brazilian banking giant feels is necessary due to the Chilean company's credit risks.
In addition, the executive also stated Itaú's focus on migrating systems to digital channels in order to bolster service revenues. Maluhy said Itaú estimates the integration will be completed in mid-2019.
Itaú's regional head Ricardo Villela Marino recently said the banking group expects its Latin American business to contribute more than 10% of overall profit once the integration of the operations of Itaú CorpBanca in Chile and Colombia is completed.
