Itau profits triple to US$51.4mn

The insurance, pension and prize bond business at Brazilian insurer Itau Seguros reported a tripling of profits in the third quarter, reaching 147mn reais (US$51.4mn), the holding company Banco Itau Holding Financeira said in a statement. Revenues increased 58.4%, to 1.25bn reais while earned premiums showed a quarter-on-quarter increase of 3.5% driven by the auto line, a segment in which Itau saw its market share rise to 8.2% by end-September. Auto insurance was responsible for 44.2% of all premiums earned in the quarter, followed by life (29.3%), property (10.9%), transport (4.2%) and other (11.4%). Itau's insurance, pension and prize bonds units contributed 17% of the holding company's total profits in the quarter. The three units operate as separate companies, but are analyzed in consolidation. Prize bonds are a popular savings product sold by Brazilian insurers. For a few years, the bondholder commits to buying a fixed amount of low yield bonds every month, which makes him or her eligible to run for prizes.