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Wachovia Bank plans to expand its service platform in Latin America over the next couple of years to boost its correspondent banking business in the region.

In Latin America, the bank has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, and in terms of correspondent banking relationships Wachovia is the largest foreign bank in the region.

Wachovia focuses almost exclusively on correspondent banking in Latin America but through Wachovia Securities, it also offers brokerage and financial advisory services in six Latin American countries and the Caribbean.

The company has primarily offered so called “traditional” correspondent banking services in Latin America – such as payments, collection, trade and electronic services. But it is now bent on adding so called “non-traditional” services to its product range, says managing director and head of Wachovia’s international division’s global financial institutions Americas group, Carlos Perez.

Non-traditional correspondent banking products provide such services as future flows securitisation and other capital markets solutions, which Wachovia plans to promote among its Latin American clients during the next couple of years, he says. Perez adds that Wachovia has already completed three future flow operations in the region.

The Latin American region is one of the best-performing geographic areas within Wachovia’s international division and therefore the bank is interested in “eventually” opening more offices in the region to “help it grow and manage its already strong presence,” Perez says. Wachovia’s international network currently consists of 32 offices.