BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Banco Macro Bansud BSU.BA(BMA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of Argentina's fastest-growing banks, is targeting 50 percent loan growth this year and a new acquisition after raising $150 million in an initial public offering in New York, the bank's CEO said on Monday.
Investor demand for the bank's IPO on Wall Street on Thursday was more than double that expected, Banco Macro Bansud President Jorge Brito said in Buenos Aires at the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit.
The hugely successful U.S. debut, the first by an Argentine firm since the 1990s, put to rest fears that Argentina was still considered a pariah by investors after its devastating financial crisis in 2001 to 2002, Brito said.
"Filing with the SEC was quite the experience. There was a lot of fear because of what happened in Argentina with the crisis. We were very closely watched, especially being from the financial sector," Brito said.
Bolstered by the fresh capital, the bank -- the No. 4 private bank in Argentina in terms of deposits -- is aiming for sharp growth in its private sector loans.
"The bank has been growing well since 2003 and we aim to grow this year by more than 50 percent," Brito said.
The Argentine entrepreneur hopes to be the winning bidder on a smaller regional bank, Nuevo Banco Bisel, next week to complete its 11th takeover since 1995.
The acquisition would add about 1.2 billion pesos ($338 million) in deposits to Macro Bansud's current total deposits of 6 billion pesos ($1.94 billion).
MONEY FOR ARGENTINA Continued...
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