Brazil's Itau gets preliminary approval from Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to expand US operations

Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco said on Monday it has received preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a bank with a national license in the U.S., to be called Itau Bank.

In a securities filing, Itau said the launch of the bank remains subject to additional regulatory approvals, including from the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.