Brazilian banks Itau, Unibanco to merge

SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Itau (ITAU4.SA) and Unibanco UBBR11.SA, two of Brazil's largest private-sector banks, said on Monday they had reached a deal to merge their operations into one company.

The new company, to be called Itau Unibanco Holding, will be the largest private-sector financial group in Brazil, the banks said in a joint statement to the local securities regulator. (Reporting by Todd Benson; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)