Banco Macro

Banco Macro S.A.

Type	Sociedad Anónima
Traded as	: BMA : BMA
Industry	Financial Services
Founded	1976; 41 years ago (1976)
Headquarters	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Key people	Jorge Horacio Brito, (Chairman & CEO)
Products	Retail Banking Investments Mortgages Consumer Finance Credit cards
Revenue	US$1.1 billion (2012)
Net income	US$304.0 million (2012)
Total assets	US$9.8 billion (2012)
Number of employees	7,268
Website	macro.com.ar

Banco Macro is the second largest domestically-owned private bank in Argentina, and the sixth-largest by deposits and lending.

Banco Macro began operations as Financiera Macro, a brokerage specializing in arbitrage founded by Mario Brodersohn, José Dagnino Pastore and Alieto Guadagni, in 1976. The institution was purchased by a competing arbitrageur, Jorge Brito, in 1985. Granted authorization to operate as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Argentina in 1988, Banco Macro operated as a wholesale bank until 1995, becoming a pioneer in the Argentine corporate bonds market. During this interim. its business revolved around money market investments, trading of government and corporate bonds and financial services for medium and larger companies.

Macro acquired capital stock in numerous privatized provincial banks during 1996: Banco Misiones (93%), Banco Salta (98%) and Banco Jujuy (100%). It later acquired Banco Noroeste C.L. and participated in the restructuring of a number of struggling, private-sector and cooperative banks: Almafuerte Coop. Ltdo., Mayo S.A., Israelita de Córdoba S.A. and Mendoza S.A. (increasing its presence in the northern and central areas of Argentina).

Macro purchased 60% of Banco Bansud in December 2001. This entity was a leader private bank in the southern part of Argentina, with significant background in its area of influence and a large branch network; but it had been adversely affected by that year's economic and financial crisis. Following the August 2002 purchase of Scotiabank Quilmes, Macro acquired the remaining shares of Banco Bansud and, in December 2004, it acquired Nuevo Banco Suquía S.A. - becoming the third-ranking private Argentine bank in terms of net assets, the fourth in terms of deposits and the fifth in terms of credit outstanding to the private sector.

Macro acquired Banco Empresario del Tucumán and Banco del Tucumán, in 2005. These two institutions were made a part of the Macro Group, maintaining Banco del Tucumán as financial agent for the province and incorporating the acquired bank's branches. Macro then acquired Nuevo Banco Bisel S.A., in 2006. Bisel's acquisition made Macro the largest private, domestically-owned bank in Argentina, with around 7,900 employees and 440 branches,. In March, 2006, the bank changed its corporate name from Macro Bansud to Macro, and was listed in the (NYSE), becoming the first Argentine company to be listed abroad since 1997.