Itau BBA
Itaú BBA is the wholesale and investment banking arm of São Paulo-based Itaú Unibanco. Its research department covers Brazilian and wider Latin American equities and shared first place with BTG Pactual in Extel's Latin America research rankings in 2025 and 2026.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 1912M
- Actions
- 1912M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 19 / 0
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 3 / 16
- Buy-rated
- 16%of 19 rated
- On record
- Apr 2012 – Sep 2026
Overview
Led by Global Head of Research Thiago Macruz, the department covers Brazil and the rest of Latin America across banks, consumer and retail, healthcare and education, steel and mining, pulp and paper, oil and gas, agribusiness, real estate, TMT, transportation and utilities. In Extel's Latin America Research Team survey it tied BTG Pactual for first place in 2025 and 2026, with 25 team positions each year.
Banco BBA was founded in São Paulo in 1988 by Fernão Bracher and Antonio Beltran Martinez in partnership with Austria's Creditanstalt. In November 2002 Banco Itaú agreed to acquire 95.75% of BBA Creditanstalt and combine it with its own corporate and investment banking business as Banco Itaú BBA. The 2008 merger of Itaú and Unibanco made it the wholesale banking arm of Itaú Unibanco.
Milestones
- 1988
Banco BBA founded in partnership with Austria's Creditanstalt
- 2002
Itaú acquires 95.75% of BBA Creditanstalt, creating Itaú BBA
- 2008
Itaú and Unibanco merge, forming Itaú Unibanco
Firm facts
- Legal name
- Banco Itaú BBA S.A.
- Type
- Full-service
- Founded
- 1988
- Headquarters
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Parent
- Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.
- Listing
- NYSE: ITUB
- CEO, Itaú BBA
- Flávio Souza
- Global Head of Research
- Thiago Macruz
- Rating scale
- OutperformMarket PerformUnderperformMedium term
- Website
- itau.com.br
Research philosophy
Rankings recognize individual analysts, but what sustains a top platform year after year is exactly this: a team where the learning of one becomes the strength of all.
Itaú BBA's head of research, Thiago Macruz, says the department's distinction lies in its working methods rather than any single product. In 2026, he cited cross-sector reports and proprietary data tools for tracking key industry indicators, which could be developed by one team and adopted across the research department within weeks. He described the year's challenge as providing detailed analysis, access and views that differed from consensus on widely covered stocks, while also identifying strong companies that attracted little investor capital.
Rating methodology
Ratings are Outperform, Market Perform and Underperform, reflecting expected medium-term performance relative to the market average.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 BBB Foods Inc.TBBB | Outperform | — |
 AGI IncAGBK | Market Perform | — |
 Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.ASR | Market Perform | — |
| BBBBAJF | Market Perform | — |
 Banco Macro S.A.BMA | Market Perform | — |
 Grupo Cibest S.A.CIB | Underperform | — |
 Enel Chile S.A.ENIC | Market Perform | — |
 Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V.FMX | Outperform | — |
 Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.GGAL | Market Perform | — |
 Gerdau S.A.GGB | Market Perform | — |
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16 | Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.ASR | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Sep 16 |  Paychex, Inc.PAYX | Downgrade | Market Perform |
| Sep 16 |  Nu Holdings Ltd.NU | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Sep 3 | Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A.GGAL | Downgrade | Market Perform |
| Sep 3 | Banco Macro S.A.BMA | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Aug 31 | XPXP Inc.XP | Upgrade | Market Perform →Outperform |
| Aug 25 |  VtexVTEX | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Aug 18 | BBBBAJF | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Aug 11 | USUSNZY | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Aug 10 | Gerdau S.A.GGB | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |
| Jul 10 | Enel Chile S.A.ENIC | Downgrade | Market Perform |
| Jul 8 | GLGlobant S.A.GLOB | Downgrade | Outperform →Market Perform |