SAO PAULO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian bank Itau

Unibanco ( ITUB ), Latin America's largest private lender by

total assets, expects its total loan book to grow between 4.5%

and 8.5% this year from 2024, it announced on Wednesday

alongside its fourth-quarter earnings.

Itau posted a net recurring profit of 10.88 billion reais

($1.88 billion) for the quarter ended in December, up nearly 16%

year-on-year and in line with an estimate of 10.89 billion reais

from analysts polled by LSEG.

($1 = 5.7973 reais)