Banco Bradesco was founded in 1943 as a commercial bank under the name “Banco Brasileiro de Descontos S.A.”. In 1948, we entered a period of intense expansion, which made us becoming Brazil’s largest commercial bank in the private sector at the end of the 1960s. We expanded our activities nationwide during the 1970s, conquering Brazilian urban and rural markets. In 1988, we incorporated our housing loan subsidiaries, our investment bank, and our finance company, making us a multiple bank and then we changed our name to Banco Bradesco S.A. According to Central Bank’s ranking, as of December 2004, we are the largest private-sector (non-government-controlled) bank in Brazil in terms of total net worth. We provide a wide range of banking and financial products and services in Brazil and abroad to individuals, small to mid-sized companies and major local and international corporations and institutions. We have the most extensive private-sector branch and service network in Brazil, which permits us to reach a diverse customer base. Our services and products encompass banking operations such as lending and deposit-taking, credit card issuance, consortiums, insurance, leasing, payment collection and processing, pension plans, asset management and brokerage services. According to information published by the Superintendência de Seguros Privados (the Superintendency of Private Insurance, which is known as “SUSEP”) and by the Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar (the National Agency of Supplemental Health, known as “ANS”), we are the largest insurance, pension plan and títulos de capitalização provider in Brazil on a consolidated basis in terms of insurance premiums, pension plan contributions and income from certificated savings plans.