Brazilian digital bank Nubank acquires Porto Real for banking license
Latin America's leading digital financial institution An agreement has been reached to acquire Brazil's Banco Porto Real de Investimentos S/A in order to obtain a banking license and meet the new regulations of the Brazilian Central Bank. The acquisition is intended to comply with Resolution No. 17 jointly issued by the Brazilian Central Bank and the National Monetary Council. The resolution stipulates that financial institutions using the word "bank" in their company names must hold a corresponding banking license. The new regulations will be approved in November 2025, giving financial institutions a one-year transition period, that is, they must complete compliance adjustments by November 2026. Banco Porto Real was established in 1992 in the state of Rio de Janeiro and is mainly engaged in credit business for wholesale customers. As of March 2026, the bank had assets of approximately R$32.1 million, net assets of R$31.4 million, and a credit portfolio of R$9.6 million. The line is owned by Luiz Eduardo Tarquínio Monteiro da Costa, a former Brazilian Heir to the bottler Companhia Fluminense de Refrigerantes. After the acquisition is completed, Porto Real's banking license will be added to Nubank's existing license system for payment institutions, credit financing investment companies and securities brokerage companies in Brazil. Nubank said the new license will not increase capital or liquidity requirements and will have no impact on the applications, products, services, brands and institutional names of Brazil's more than 115 million customers. David Vélez, founder and global CEO of Nubank, said: "Brazil is where Nubank was born, grew and proved that it is feasible to provide fairer and simpler financial services at scale. Thirteen years later, it is still our main market, and we can still significantly expand our share and continue to drive industry transformation." Livia Chanes, CEO of Latin America, added that the company's innovative genes remain unchanged and will be committed to deepening customer relationships and providing more solutions. The transaction is still subject to approval by Brazil's central bank. Previously, Nubank had joined the Brazilian Banks Federation in March 2026 and announced an investment of 45 billion reais in the Brazilian market this year, approximately double the total in the past two years.