| Type | Sociedade Anônima |
|---|---|
| Traded as | BM&F Bovespa: BRSR3, BRSR5, BRSR6 |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | (1928) |
| Headquarters | Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| Products | Banking |
| Revenue | US$ 2.9 Billion (2010) [1] |
| Net income | US$ 447.3 Million (2010) [1] |
| Total assets | US$ 20.0 Billion (2011) [1] |
| Employees | 9,350 |
| Website | www.banrisul.com.br |
Banrisul (BM&F Bovespa: BRSR3, BRSR5, BRSR6) is the largest bank in Southern Brazil and operates primarily in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), with a network that serves 364 cities (73% of Rio Grande do Sul cities). The services, however, are extended to other localities of Brazil. Beyond the 339 agencies in Rio Grande do Sul state (49 in the state capital Porto Alegre, and 290 in the interior), Banrisul is present in the Federal District and the following states: Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and keeps a business office in Buenos Aires and agencies in New York and Grand Cayman.
Banrisul was also the first bank in the world to have an automatic teller machine running the Linux operating system.
In 1927, with the accomplishment of 1º Congress of Creators, appeared the proposal of the creation of a farm loan bank. The event, carried through with all the pomp and circumstance in the "Sao Pedro Theater", in Porto Alegre, aimed at to analyze the problems of the state economy, with direct focus on the crisis faced for "charqueadas" and all the production related to the cattle one.
The arguments were strong excessively to pass unobserved for the federal government, and president Washington Luis lowered decree authorizeing the State to create a credit bank. To 10h of day 12 of September 1928, in solemnity that counted on the presence of then the president of the State, Getúlio Vargas, was created the Bank of the Rio Grande Do Sul.
With an initial capital of 50 a thousand réis, the main objective of the new institution was to take care of to the necessities of credit of the cattle gaucho. As official bank, the state taxation started to soon collect of beginning all, until then received for the "Banco Pelotense" (Pelotense Bank, in English), that later was incorporated by the Banrisul.
In 1969 and 1970, the institution incorporated, respectively, Banco Real de Pernambuco s.a. and the "Banco Sul do Brasil s.a." (South Bank of Brazil s.a., in English), extending its net until Pernambuco and Ceará, besides extending the number of existing agencies already in Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. The opening of an agency in New York, in 1982, inserted the Banrisul in the group of international operators.
The decade of 80 marked the beginning of the automation in the services of the bank. The massive investments effected since March 1991 had placed the institution in the vanguard of the banking automation in the State.
In March 1990, the Banrisul got authorization of the Brazilian Central Bank to operate as Commercial bank, with Accounts receivables, of Home loans and Credit, Financing and Investment.
In 1998, the Banrisul incorporated the agencies of the old "Caixa Econômica" (State Public, in English) saving bank, consolidating its position of bigger net of distribution of the south of the country, besides becoming a retail bank. The actions directed in credit facilities of long stated period had passed to be operated, in 2002, for "Caixa Estadual S.A." - Agency of Promotion.