Bradesco earnings for the third quarter of 2026 showed an 11.1% year-over-year increase in loans and 14% growth in net interest income, alongside mounting credit-quality pressure. In its October 23 results discussion, the Brazilian bank reported a R$1.15 trillion loan portfolio and a 4.6% ratio of loans overdue more than 90 days, while confirming completion of a R$10 billion capital increase.
Key Takeaways
- Interest income increased, but lending to lower-spread large companies weighed on the reported margin.
- Guaranteed business loans, rural lending and parts of the consumer portfolio remained credit-risk pressure points.
- Management retained annual guidance for net interest income after provisions, expecting performance toward the lower end.
Table of Contents
- Bradesco earnings show the trade-off between volume and margin
- Credit deterioration remains the main constraint
- Capital increase supports a changing loan mix
- Fourth-quarter expectations remain management guidance
- Conclusion
Bradesco earnings show the trade-off between volume and margin
The loan portfolio increased 1.1% from the previous quarter. Net interest income—the difference between interest earned and interest paid—rose 2.4% sequentially, while net interest income after provisions increased about 5%.
The reported net interest margin was 9.0%. Management said it would have been 9.3% excluding R$50 billion of large-corporate portfolio growth. That adjusted illustration highlights the effect of business mix: more lending can lift total revenue even when the additional loans carry lower spreads.
Chief Executive Marcelo Noronha said wholesale lending now has a short duration of roughly 60 days. Investor Relations Officer Andre Carvalho added that large-corporate relationships also generate service fees, treasury business and market-related interest income.
Other businesses contributed to revenue growth. Fee and commission income rose 4% during the quarter, while the insurance group’s net income increased 22%.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Private payroll loans | Up 102% year over year and 13.3% quarter over quarter. |
| Vehicle loans | Up 27% year over year. |
| Small and medium-sized enterprise loans | Up 24.8% year over year. |
| Large-corporate loans | Up 14.8% year over year. |
| Unsecured SME loans | Down 11.4% year over year. |
Credit deterioration remains the main constraint
The over-90-day delinquency ratio reached 4.6%. Noronha identified FGI/FGO-guaranteed lending and seasonal effects at John Deere Bank as important contributors, alongside pressure in small-business working capital. He also cited unsecured personal loans and parts of the credit-card portfolio as areas of concern.
Management said guarantees reduce expected losses on FGI/FGO lending, although delayed payments still affect reported delinquency. Noronha expected the delinquency curve for those portfolios to turn downward around the second or third quarter of 2027, an outlook rather than an achieved improvement.
The BNDES explanation of traditional FGI guarantees describes how that product supplements collateral and shares lending risk with participating banks. BNDES distinguishes traditional FGI from FGI PEAC; its explanation does not cover every arrangement in Bradesco’s combined FGI/FGO portfolio.
Bradesco has reduced unsecured personal lending and tightened its risk appetite in selected areas. Noronha said vehicle loans were performing well and wholesale loan-loss provisions remained stable.
Capital increase supports a changing loan mix
Following the completed R$10 billion capital increase, Bradesco reported a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.1% and a Tier 1 ratio of 13.7%. The additional capital accompanied expansion in selected lending categories rather than uniform growth across the portfolio.
Growth was particularly strong in private payroll lending, vehicle finance and small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, unsecured SME lending contracted, showing that the bank’s expansion remained selective.
Fourth-quarter expectations remain management guidance
Noronha expected a higher net interest margin and stronger client and market net interest income in the fourth quarter of 2026. He retained annual guidance of R$42 billion to R$48 billion for net interest income after provisions, saying performance was likely to be toward the lower end but within expectations.
Vice President Cassiano Scarpelli said operating-efficiency improvements were structural, with no one-off events behind the improvement. He cited service-network adjustments, procurement reviews, technology-license savings and artificial-intelligence-enabled processes, and projected about 40 basis points of further efficiency gains over the next two to three years.
Conclusion
The next reporting checkpoint is the fourth quarter of 2026, when Bradesco earnings will show whether stronger interest income and the expected margin improvement can offset continuing credit pressure. Management also said it would provide more detail next quarter on exposures to companies undergoing court reorganization.
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