Bradesco chairman wants top Brazil bank spot-report

SAO PAULO, July 27 (Reuters) - Banco Bradesco (BBDC4.SA)(BBD.N), Brazil's second-largest non-government bank, will seek to catch up with bigger rival Itau Unibanco (ITUB4.SA) through local expansion and possibly acquisitions, Chairman Lazaro de Mello Brandao told newspaper Valor Economico in an interview published on Monday.

Brandao, 83, told Valor that "it wouldn't be honest to say we will leapfrog (Itau Unibanco)," adding that such goal was not Bradesco's main priority in the short term. Yet, he said Brazil's fast population growth, the expanding role of banking and an increase in formal jobs might give Bradesco an edge to capture new account holders.

More importantly for growth, Brandao said in the interview, are Bradesco's technological platform and its geographical reach, which spans across 93 percent of Brazil.

Bradesco was Brazil's No. 1 private sector bank for decades until last November, when giant Itau took over Unibanco in an all-stock transaction that formed the largest Latin American bank with about 600 billion reais ($317 billion) in assets.

Bradesco is behind Itau Unibanco by 137 billion reais in terms of assets, by 66 billion reais in loans and 33 billion reais in deposits, according to Valor.

Trimming the distance with Itau Unibanco "progressively, is the strategy" for Bradesco, Brandao told Valor, adding that it might "try to speed it up" with acquisitions if necessary.

Some acquisitions might be targeted and pursued, Brandao said, depending on how much value they add to Bradesco, according to Valor. Brandao, who in 1942 joined one of the banks that later formed Bradesco, said takeovers have become a "remote" option for expansion because good opportunities have become scarce.

Bradesco will open 100 new branches this year, half the number it opened in 2008, to trim expenses, he told Valor. The pace of openings might accelerate should the economy give more solid signs of recovery, Brandao said.

The fact that Brazil has a solid government-controlled banking industry has helped in fighting the impact of the current credit crisis, Brandao said in the interview. He criticized state intervention in the industry when "political ingredients" lead to decisions that can "tip over (competitive) forces." ($1=1.89 reais) (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, editing by Maureen Bavdek)