Eduardo Ebensperger, who has run the Santiago-based lender Banco de Chile for almost 11 years, says he will not retire when he steps down as chief executive on 2 April 2027. “I would like to stay tied to this world,” he told Diario Financiero, a Chilean business daily, in an interview published on Thursday 12 November 2026.
The bank’s board named Hernán Arellano as his successor on 29 October, in a notice to the CMF, Chile’s financial regulator, that the bank also filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the US market regulator. Arellano takes over on 3 April 2027.
Key Facts
•Who. Eduardo Ebensperger, chief executive of Banco de Chile since 2016, leaves the post on 2 April 2027.
•Successor. Hernán Arellano, now head of the bank’s corporate division, takes over on 3 April 2027.
•Profit. Banco de Chile earned 1.19 trillion pesos (about US$1.21 billion) in 2025.
•Next step. He has “not thought beyond 2 April” and declined to say whether he will stay in banking.
•Power Index Chile ranks 3rd of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 62.9 points (November 2026 edition).
What He Said About His Future
Asked what comes next, Ebensperger told Diario Financiero: “I have not thought beyond 2 April.” He added: “I would like to stay tied to this world, I am not retiring yet, far from it.”
Asked whether he would stay in banking or move to the Quiñenco group, the Luksic family holding that controls the bank, he replied: “I am not going to answer that.” He called the change planned and said chairman Pablo Granifo, the controlling shareholders and the directors understood it that way.
“It is not that I want to leave it. I am convinced a change is needed,” he said.
Why It Matters
Banco de Chile earned 1.19 trillion pesos (about US$1.21 billion at the 11 November close of 982.8 pesos per dollar) in 2025, Diario Financiero reported. That is more than double its 2016 profit of 552 billion pesos (about US$0.56 billion at today’s rate), the year Ebensperger took charge.
Arellano ran Banchile Corredores de Bolsa, the bank’s brokerage arm, from 2016 to 2024 and has led its corporate division since November 2024, Pauta, a Chilean news site, reported on 30 October. The bank’s notice to the US regulator means US holders of its shares saw the same news.
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| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPSA | 10,660.94 | +0.34% | — | 10,625.19 | 10,699 | 10,624 | — |
| USD/CLP | 994.16 | -0.13% | +6.95% | 995.48 | 1,002 | 993.78 | — |
| COPPER | 6.09 | -1.50% | +20.61% | 6.18 | 6.24 | 6.05 | 53,682 |
| SQM-B | 53,550 | -1.02% | +8.51% | 54,100 | 55,255 | 53,123 | 216,962 |
| COPEC | 6,275 | -0.08% | -8.26% | 6,280 | 6,366 | 6,250 | 1,086,410 |
| BSANTANDER | 80.50 | +0.56% | +18.35% | 80.05 | 80.60 | 79.77 | 63,171,220 |
| FALABELLA | 6,800 | +1.87% | +11.82% | 6,675 | 6,800 | 6,675 | 1,991,224 |
| ENELAM | 81.00 | -0.74% | -9.80% | 81.60 | 81.70 | 80.20 | 12,953,503 |
| CENCOSUD | 1,849 | +4.10% | -36.02% | 1,776 | 1,849 | 1,770 | 3,530,911 |
| CMPC | 890.00 | -1.11% | -34.32% | 900.00 | 900.01 | 890.00 | 2,905,569 |
| BANCO CHILE | 195.00 | +1.02% | +14.71% | 193.03 | 195.00 | 193.01 | 40,092,446 |
| LATAM AIR | 23.68 | -1.37% | +12.65% | 24.01 | 24.10 | 23.55 | 587,861,487 |
| SOUTHERN COPPER | 164.08 | -2.46% | +30.65% | 168.21 | 167.68 | 162.58 | 941,474 |
The Unfinished Business He Named
Ebensperger said the bank’s promise to the authorities to move Transbank, Chile’s main card-payments company, to a four-party model “has not been met.” In that model the banks that issue cards and the firms that serve shops are separate players, and he said that “Hernán will have to close it when it comes, or the shareholders in general.”
On Fonavi, a planned national housing fund still going through Congress, he said that with its current deductible, the share of losses a bank must absorb, it is “not attractive to anyone.” He added that a 3.5% deductible has little appeal.
What It Means for You
Ebensperger described the handover as planned, with five months’ notice. “One does not do in five months what was not done in 10 years,” he said.
Readers who follow Chilean banks can read more in our Chile market report of 11 November. Background is in our Chile coverage and the Santiago city guide.
What Is Not Known
Ebensperger declined to say where he will work after 2 April. Whether Transbank moves to the four-party model before then, and whether the Fonavi deductible changes, is also open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who replaces Eduardo Ebensperger at Banco de Chile?
Hernán Arellano, now head of the bank’s corporate division, takes over as chief executive on 3 April 2027. Ebensperger leaves the post on 2 April 2027.
Is Ebensperger retiring?
No, he told Diario Financiero on 12 November 2026 that he is not retiring yet. He declined to say whether he will stay in banking.
How much did Banco de Chile earn in 2025?
The bank earned 1.19 trillion pesos, about US$1.21 billion at the 11 November 2026 close of 982.8 pesos per dollar.
Sources: Banco de Chile notice filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, 29 October 2026; Diario Financiero, 12 November 2026; Pauta, 30 October 2026.
In depth
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