Founded on 28 October 1893 by the merger of the Valparaiso Bank , National Bank of Chile and Agriculturist Bank , Banco de Chile has traditionally led the Chilean financial market as one of the largest banks in terms of turnover and deposits.In 2001, the Chile conglomerate Quiñenco group bought 59.3% share of the company through the subsidiary company LQIF and took control of the bank.In 2008, Citigroup agreed with Quiñenco to take a 32.96% stake in LQIF and merged Citigroup Chile operations with Banco de Chile.In April 2010, Citigroup exercised its two outstanding options and increased its share in LQIF to 50%.On December 9, 2004, Banco de Chile became the first Chilean financial institution to operate in the Asian markets, after closing a co-operation agreement with Standard Chartered Bank.
