Conference will feature over 55 companies mostly represented by their CEOs. NEW YORK, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Itau Securities, the securities arm of Banco Itau Holding Financeira, one of the largest banking groups in Latin America by market cap, announced that it will host the most comprehensive global equity conference dedicated to Brazil in New York, on May 21-22 for its third consecutive year. With the recent upgrade of Brazil to investment grade, Itau expects a renewed interest from its global institutional investor base. Over 55 companies across all sectors and market capitalization will attend the conference. Each company will be represented by their CEOs and other senior executives. Itau Securities has pioneered the Brazilian security distribution service globally, and is the first to provide dedicated coverage and distribution of Brazilian securities to investors on every continent. Itau was the first Latin American bank to have a broker dealer in Hong Kong, and will also be the first financial institution from a BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) country to open up a broker dealer in Tokyo. In addition to its well established broker dealer in London, New York and Sao Paulo, the company plans to expand with representative offices in Singapore, Beijing and the UAE by the end of the year. Itau Securities has also the largest team of research analysts, with an in-depth coverage of over 130 listed companies. Itau Securities and Banco Itau BBA ("Itau BBA"), the investment banking arm of the group, have consistently occupied a leading position in the Brazilian equities league table since 2004. Itau BBA is the country's largest wholesale bank. Operating in the corporate segment, it provides investment banking services and meets the needs of Brazil's 2,000 largest organizations. For the last three years, Itau BBA has been one of the leading investment banks in Brazil, consistently leading Equities, M&A and local Fixed Income rankings, Itau BBA led approximately US$ 24 billion and US$ 15 billion in equity and fixed income offerings since 2004 and advised on close to 50 M&A transactions. Itau BBA bookrun 3 out of the 4 largest IPO's ever done in Brazil and was named Brazil's Best Investment Bank of the year by Latin Finance in 2006. Banco Itau Holding Financeira S.A. (ADR: ITU) is a multiple bank under the supervision of the Central Bank of Brazil and is one of the largest financial institutions in Latin America by Market Cap. CEO Roberto Setubal was named top CEO in the category of Banking & Finance Services by Institutional Investor in 2006. Itau's market capitalization is US$ 72 billion as of May 5th, 2008. Itau's shares are traded on three Stock Exchanges: Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and New York. Euromoney has named Itau the best Brazilian bank every year since 1998. Itau Securities plans to host similar events in London, Hong Kong, and Dubai, to meet the demands of the growing client base. For more information and details about the New York conference, please contact Jennifer Riordan, Itau USA Securities at (212) 710-6756. For more information on Itau, please visit our website at http://www.itau.com.br/. For U.S. investors please contact Itau USA Securities Inc. in New York, MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC, at: 212-207-9056. About Itau USA Securities: Itau USA Securities Inc. MEMBER: FINRA/SIPC Itau USA Securities was established in 2002 in New York as a broker dealer specialized in distributing Brazilian public and private equities and fixed income securities to institutional investors. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Itau Securities (Itau Corretora de Valores S.A.), the securities arm of Banco Itau Holding Financeira S.A., and a member of the FINRA, NFA and SIPC. DATASOURCE: Itau Securities Web site: http://www.itau.com.br/

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