Established in 1893 as result of the merger of Banco Nacional de Chile, Banco Agricola and Banco de Valparaiso, Banco de Chile has since been one of the largest and most profitable Chilean banks in terms of return on assets and shareholders' equity. Throughout its history, Banco de Chile has developed a well-recognized name in Chile and expanded its operations in foreign markets where it developed an extensive network of correspondent banks. In the early twentieth century, the Bank established a representative office in London, maintained until 1985, when its European operations were moved to Frankfurt. The Frankfurt office was closed in 2000, when the BankAos foreign operations were centralized at the New York branch. In 1987 and 1988, Banco de Chile established four subsidiaries to provide the full range of financial products and services permitted by the General Banking Law and in 1999, established the insurance brokerage and factoring subsidiaries.