Lima: Peruvian conglomerate Credicorp Ltd has agreed to buy Miami-based financial firm Helm Bank USA to cater to Latin American clients in the region.
Credicorp owns Peru’s largest bank, BCP, and the conglomerate’s largest investor is the Romero family, one of Peru’s wealthiest.
The company agreed to buy Helm Bank USA for US$180mil.
The Romero family owns stakes in a number of large businesses in Peru, including packaged foods producer Alicorp, an insurance company, a private pension fund, and the Matarani copper port.
The current head of the family business, Dionisio Romero Paoletti, is set to retire at the end of the month and will be replaced by Manuel Romero Valdez.
Credicorp is managed separately from the other Romero companies.
Credicorp said in a statement it was buying Helm Bank USA to “improve its cross-border capabilities to serve clients with international activities and reinforce its capacity to satisfy the growing needs of Latin American customers.”
Helm Bank USA is a closely held community bank founded in 1989 in Florida and authorised to operate in the state. — Bloomberg
