Brazil's Itaú Unibanco Holding SA in 2017 again topped the list as the largest bank in Latin America or the Caribbean, extending its lead over second-place Banco do Brasil SA.

The two Brazilian heavyweights diverged last year; according to the assets reported under the IFRS, Itaú Unibanco's assets increased by $17.4 billion year over year, while Banco do Brasil's fell by $17.7 billion.

Brazil again dominated the rankings, sweeping all five of the top spots and placing 11 banks in the top 50. However, this was down from 12 banks in 2016's ranking as weakness in the Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar, along with sluggish credit growth, influenced results. In total, the 11 Brazilian banks held $1.95 trillion in assets at the end of 2017, 50% more than all of the other top 50 banks combined.

Among the more notable movers, Scotiabank Chile jumped 15 spots to No. 17 as its assets grew to $44.76 billion, compared to $16.93 billion a year earlier. The company's assets were adjusted higher to account for the $2.2 billion acquisition of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chile SA, which held $22.86 billion in assets at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, Brazil-based Banco Citibank SA fell eight spots to No. 32 after the company sold off its retail operations to Itaú Unibanco.

Deal activity also helped to propel Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV back into the top 10. The bank, which in October 2017 agreed to acquire Grupo Financiero Interacciones SAB de CV, rose four spots year over year to become Latin America's No. 7 largest bank.

In this ranking, company total assets were adjusted for pending mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as M&A deals that closed after the end of the reporting period through March 31 on a best-efforts basis.

Assets reported by banks filing in native currencies have been converted to U.S. dollars using period-end exchange rates. The majority of banks were ranked by total assets as of Dec. 31, 2017. In the previous ranking published April 20, 2017, most company assets were as of Dec. 31, 2016, and were adjusted for pending and completed M&A as of March 31, 2017.

Runaway inflation in Venezuela continued to batter the bolivar in 2017. While the official rate remained steady at around 10 bolivars per U.S. dollar, the black market rate was approximately 111,413 bolivars per dollar, up from 3,791 bolivars per dollar in 2016's ranking. Due to the wide discrepancy in exchange rates, Venezuela's banks were removed from the top 50 ranking altogether. At the official exchange rate, Banco Provincial SA Banco Universal's assets would amount to more than $6.7 trillion, which would make it the largest bank in the world by a large margin. However, at the black market rate, the bank's assets would only total $600 million.

Most Latin American and Caribbean currencies strengthened modestly against the U.S. dollar in 2017, led by the Chilean peso which gained 8.8%. On the other hand, the Argentine peso lost nearly 15% against the dollar, the biggest decline among major Latin American currencies.

Click here to view the above chart in Microsoft Excel and here to view the above map as a PDF. Click here for the 2017 rankings.