Banco Espirito Santo finds new buyer for Brickell Bank

Banesco USA in Coral Gables, Fla., has agreed to buy Brickell Bank in Miami.

The $1.3 billion-asset Banesco USA said in a press release last week that it will buy the $440 million-asset Brickell from Banco Espirito Santo as part of a liquidation. Banesco USA did not disclose the price it will pay.

“We’re thrilled to announce this transaction and believe Brickell … is an exceptionally strategic fit on multiple levels,” Jorge Salas, Banesco USA’s president and CEO, said in the release.

“Geographically, this is an entrée to the Brickell corridor which remains the epicenter of finance both here and across the region,” Salas added. “Furthermore, Brickell Bank’s business model enhances Banesco USA’s strategy by taking us to another level in the residential mortgage and trade finance segments.”

Banesco USA recently raised more than $11 million in capital.

Banco Espírito Santo had agreed in January 2018 to sell Brickell to the Swiss financier Joseph Benhamou, along with certain family members, for an undisclosed price.

Regulators earlier this year lifted a consent order for Brickell that was tied to Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering compliance.

Avila Rodriguez Hernandez Mena & Ferri advised Banesco USA. Shutts & Bowen advised Brickell.