Banco Real was a Brazilian bank, owned by Spain's Banco Santander. ABN AMRO had owned the bank but in October 2007, a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland that also included Banco Santander and Belgium's Fortis, acquired ABN AMRO and proceeded to dismember it. Banco Santander acquired Banco Real from the consortium, together with some other ABN AMRO operations in Italy, particularly Banca Antonveneta. Banco Santander already owned Banco Santander Brazil, which incorporated Banco do Estado de São Paulo (Banespa). Combining its existing operations with Banco Real will make Banco Santander Brazil the third largest private bank in the country, after Bradesco and Itaú.
Santander has named the CEO of Banco Real to be the head of the combined group in Brazil, with the charge to unify the operations; Santander transferred the CEO of Banco Santander Brazil to Madrid, and then to New York. He is now CEO of Santander's US subsidiary, Sovereign Bank.
Read more about Banco Real: History
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