Citi and Elavon Announce Antonio Castilho as the New President of Elavon in Brazil

July 18, 2011 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Executive arrives with objective to position Elavon as a leading acquirer in the Brazilian market by 2015

SÃO PAULO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citi and Elavon today announced that Antonio Castilho is the new president of Elavon in Brazil, the merchant services company created by a joint venture between Credicard, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and Elavon, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and leading global payments provider.

“Castilho brings a wealth of industry and local market knowledge to our business in Brazil”

Castilho’s main objective will be to position Elavon as a competitive, leading acquirer in Brazil’s fast-growing payments market by 2015. Elavon’s expertise in technology and specialized services for the aviation, tourism, health and large retailers segments and Credicard’s market expertise will be key drivers in the company’s ability to meet this objective. At present, the company is hiring personnel and organizing the structure of the Brazilian head office. It is estimated that Elavon will begin operating in Brazil by the end of the year.

“Castilho brings a wealth of industry and local market knowledge to our business in Brazil,” said Mike Passilla, President & CEO of Elavon. “We are very fortunate to have such a well-respected and proven industry executive leading the challenge to build and grow our business in Brazil’s evolving payments market.”

Widely experienced in the card issuing and acquiring segments, Castilho previously occupied senior positions at Visanet (currently Cielo), Banco Votorantim, in addition to Ticket and Vale Refeição. He holds a degree in Mining Engineering from West Virginia University, in the United States, and holds a Masters in Business Administration, from Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM) in Brazil, and a specialization in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) in Brazil. He also holds a business management course degree from the Instituto Européen d'Administration des Affaires (Insead), in France.

Credicard

Present in the Brazilian market for over 40 years, Credicard – administrator of Citi’s credit card portfolio, one of the largest credit card issuers in the world, – is synonymous of credit cards in Brazil and manages Diners Club International, Visa and MasterCard labels. In 2009, the brand expanded its expertise in the country’s payment means market to engage in financing operations in Brazil, creating a complete portfolio of credit solutions for consumers. For more information, please visit www.credicard.com.br.

Elavon (www.elavon.com)

Elavon's Global Acquiring Solutions organization is a part of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and provides end-to-end payment processing services to more than one million merchants in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Elavon markets solutions including credit and debit card processing, electronic check services, gift cards, dynamic currency conversion, multi-currency support, and cross-border acquiring through multiple alliance channels including financial institutions, trade associations and third party sales agents. Elavon’s suite of solutions is tailored to meet the needs of merchants in specialized markets such as small business, retail, hospitality/T&E, health care, education and the public sector.

Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com.

USB (www.usbank.com): U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $311 billion in assets as of March 31, 2011, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,082 banking offices in 25 states and 5,238 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp and its employees are dedicated to improving the communities they serve, for which the company earned the 2011 Spirit of America Award, the highest honor bestowed on a company by United Way.

Contacts

Public Affairs – Citi Brazil/Credicard
Priscilla Cortezze, (+55) 11 4009-3818
priscilla.cortezze@citi.com
or
Citi Latin America
Anthony Ingham, +1-305-347-1400
anthony.ingham@citi.com
or
Public Affairs - Elavon
Holly Lytle, +1-678-731-5236
holly.lytle@elavon.com
or
Public Affairs - U.S. Bank
Teri Charest, +1-612-303-0732
Teri.charest@usbank.com