A little more than three months after buying Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC)Brazilian assets in a stock-swap deal valued at roughly $2.2 billion, Banco Itau returned to the trough, exercising its exclusive option to purchase Bank of America's BankBoston operations in Chile and Uruguay.

This $650 million all-stock acquisition, structured similarly to the previous deal (Bank of America' stake in Banco Itau will rise to 7.5%), will see Banco Itau significantly expand its geographic footprint in two of Latin America's fastest-growing economies: Chile, which experienced growth of roughly 6% in 2005, and Uruguay, which expanded at a 6.6% clip during the same period.

While exposure to fast-growing economies outside its domestic market is all well and good, these acquisitions also are leveraged to Banco Itau's traditional strengths -- service to high-net worth individuals in the case of the Chilean operations, and a leadership position in the credit card market in Uruguay -- which I consider the real kicker.