Julio Herrera Velutini – International Banker and Financial Executive

Background and Family History

Julio Martín Herrera Velutini is the seventh generation of the Herrera banking dynasty, a financial family whose documented involvement in commerce traces back to the Castilian kingdoms of medieval Spain. The family established a significant presence in Venezuela during the colonial period, founding Hacienda La Vega in Caracas in 1590. The modern banking chapter of the dynasty began in 1890, when family patriarch Julio César Velutini Couturier co-founded Banco Caracas, an institution that would become one of Venezuela’s most important private banks and, before the Central Bank of Venezuela was established around 1940, was authorized to issue its own currency.

The Velutini family held approximately 70 percent of Banco Caracas through most of the twentieth century, with successive family members serving as chairmen or senior directors. The bank was sold in 1998. Following that transaction, family interests moved toward other banking ventures in Venezuela, including Banco Real, Banco Activo, and Banco Bolívar.

Education

Herrera Velutini received his education across three countries. He attended The American School in England (TASIS England) and La Scuola Americana in Switzerland (TASIS Switzerland) before returning to Venezuela, where he completed his undergraduate degree at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1990. This international background gave him early exposure to European banking systems, common law financial frameworks, and the regulatory environments of multiple jurisdictions. For a fuller account of his studies, see Biography and Career.

Early Career in Venezuela

Herrera Velutini began his professional career in the early 1990s at the Caracas Stock Exchange, working at Multinvest Casa de Bolsa, a brokerage firm where he developed experience in capital markets and securities trading. He joined the Multinvest board and later became CEO and a major shareholder of Inversiones Transbanca and Transban Investment Corporation in 1998. He also served on the boards of several Venezuelan corporations, including automotive finance companies associated with BMW de Venezuela and Kia Motors de Venezuela.

At the age of 29, he was appointed Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bolívar Banco Universal, one of Venezuela’s major private banks, making him among the youngest executives to hold a chairmanship at that level in Latin American banking at the time. Between 2007 and February 2009, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Banco Real and its international affiliate Banreal International Bank.

Bancredito International Bank

In 2008, Herrera Velutini founded Bancredito International Bank and Trust Corporation in Puerto Rico, establishing it as an international banking entity focused on private, corporate, and institutional banking services for clients primarily based in Latin America. The bank maintained capital in excess of $60 million and at peak employed over one hundred staff. Bancredito became the subject of regulatory action by FinCEN in 2023, which resulted in a consent order related to Bank Secrecy Act compliance. The bank subsequently entered receivership and was liquidated.

Britannia Financial Group

In 2012, Herrera Velutini founded Britannia Wealth Management in Geneva. He expanded this into Britannia Financial Group (BFG) in London in 2016, a holding company that consolidates financial services businesses across multiple jurisdictions. BFG’s subsidiaries include Britannia Capital Markets Limited (FCA-authorised, UK), Britannia Wealth Management (Switzerland), Britannia Bank and Trust (Bahamas), and Berkley Futures, a London brokerage acquired in 2019 and a member of the London Metal Exchange. For a detailed account of the group’s operations, see Business Empire.

Media Ownership and Philanthropy

Through Intermedia Limited, Herrera Velutini owns Diario Las Américas, a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Miami that has served the Hispanic community in the United States and Latin America since 1953. He has no known editorial involvement in the publication’s operations. He also founded The Lazarus Foundation, an animal rescue organization in London, and The Britannia Foundation, which administers scholarship and seed-capital programs for students and early-career professionals.

Legal History and Resolution

In August 2022, the United States Department of Justice indicted Herrera Velutini in the District of Puerto Rico on charges including conspiracy, federal program bribery, and honest services wire fraud, in connection with an alleged scheme involving political consultants and a Puerto Rico gubernatorial campaign. By August 2025, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss all seven felony counts, leaving a single misdemeanor charge under campaign finance law. In January 2026, President Donald Trump granted Herrera Velutini a full and unconditional pardon, and Federal District Judge Silvia L. Carreño-Coll formally terminated the proceedings.

In-Depth Coverage

The following pages on Progress Kingdom examine specific aspects of his career, business history, and professional philosophy in greater detail.

Frequently Asked Questions