In Brief: Bank of Boston Opens Colombian Subsidiary

Bank of Boston Corp., which has the third-largest network of international offices of any U.S. bank, announced last week that it opened a full-service commercial banking subsidiary in Bogota, Colombia.

With the recent opening of the Colombian economy to new foreign investment, especially to the financial sector, the bank's primary focus there will be correspondent banking, trade finance, and corporate banking.

"The opening of our office in Colombia provides a gateway to the rapidly developing Andean markets," said William Shea, vice chairman of Bank of Boston. "It allows us the opportunity to expand our international banking activities on behalf of multinational corporations, global correspondent banks, and Colombian companies doing business here.

"Our long-term strategy is to become a full-service commercial bank with a branch network located in major cities of Colombia and to be active in both the wholesale and retail markets," he said.

With more than 90 offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, Bank of Boston's Latin American business represents over $8 billion of assets.

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