A group of 72 companies became "intruders" on Faria Lima (a major Brazilian financial district in São Paulo) and accessed the capital market for the first time in 2025, raising R$ 11.6 billion in debt issuances – from debentures to CRIs (Real Estate Receivables Certificates) and commercial notes. Unknown to the general public, these companies represent a more structural movement to expand the corporate fixed income market and reduce dependence solely on bank credit.
An exclusive survey conducted by Banco BV at the request of NeoFeed , based on data from Anbima, shows that, among the newcomers, 32 issuances were commercial notes, 15 were debentures, 12 were CRIs (Real Estate Receivables Certificates), six were CRAs (Agribusiness Receivables Certificates), and the remainder were via FIDCs (Investment Funds in Credit Rights) or hybrid structures. In 2024, 59 companies had debuted on the market, moving R$ 10.6 billion.
The average ticket size fell from R$182 million to R$161 million, indicating that smaller operations are beginning to gain ground – and in different formats. The issuances were tracked by CNPJ (Brazilian company tax ID) to ensure they were the first time the company entered the market.
“The increased depth of the fixed income market has broadened investors' appetite for new names and led to the compression of spreads, which has encouraged many companies to raise capital for the first time through the capital markets in 2025,” says Marcos Garcia, director of capital markets at BV.
In terms of sector, agribusiness leads as the sector that has brought the most companies to the market for the first time in the last two years: 10 in 2024, totaling R$ 2.6 billion, and 14 in 2025, with R$ 1.9 billion.
When the criterion is volume, the retail sector was the largest issuer of first-time debt in 2025, with R$ 3.98 billion of the total issued by newcomers, ahead of agribusiness and engineering, with R$ 1 billion each.
This movement occurs within a broader context. In 2025, the volume of financing through debt issuance by non-financial companies will surpass, for the first time, the total amount of loans granted by the financial system, according to Anbima based on data from the Central Bank.
Much of this change is explained by the growth of the investor base. In the last two years, fixed-income funds have raised more than R$ 340 billion. With resources to allocate and high interest rates for a prolonged period, managers have started looking for new issuers.
“With high interest rates for a long time, fixed-income funds raised a lot of capital and needed to put those resources to work. With all this appetite for credit, the most obvious securities are paying less. This opens up space for new names,” says Guilherme Maranhão, president of the Capital Market Structuring Forum at Anbima.
Although the initial cost may be similar to—or even slightly higher than—bank credit, companies seek longer terms, funding diversification, and track record building for future issuances in the market.
First access gear
The progress also reflects an active strategy on the part of the coordinators. BV, for example, has structured hybrid issuances, in which part of the operation remains on the bank's balance sheet and part is distributed to the market. "For the investor, the presence of the coordinator buying together acts as a seal of comfort," says Garcia.
The bank coordinated offerings that represented almost 10% of the total market operations in 2025, compared to just over 5% in the previous year, practically doubling the financial volume allocated to new issuers.
Commercial invoices have gained prominence. One example of a BV operation last year was the issuance of a commercial invoice for R$ 40 million to the Vidal Group, a business ecosystem behind Transvidal, focused on logistics and road freight transport.
“They are the simplest instrument to issue, and the market has started buying more. If in 2021 there were nine operations, in 2025 there were 231,” says Felipe Pretz, head of origination and DCM at BV.
Meanwhile, DCM boutiques have expanded their offerings to the middle market, especially companies with revenues of up to R$1 billion — a segment historically underserved by large banks.
AVIN, which has BTG Pactual as a partner, has already structured more than R$ 2 billion in issuances, mostly from first-time investors. One example is Regera & Co, which raised R$ 15.3 million in incentivized debentures to finance a biomethane plant in Paraná, yielding IPCA + 12% per year, attracting around 400 individual investors.
“Small transactions don’t pay off for large banks. Our focus is on those clients who need support to enter the market,” says Lucas Alves, head of corporate & investment banking at AVIN.
In the real estate market, Monte Bravo, which has XP as a partner, has focused its operations on CRIs (Real Estate Receivables Certificates). In the last two years, it has participated in almost R$ 2.4 billion in issuances, with R$ 406 million from companies that accessed the market for the first time via CRIs.
“The real estate market was financed for a long time by savings, which have shrunk. Real Estate Receivables Certificates (CRIs) have come to occupy this space, with a strong appetite from investors for tax-exempt securities,” says André Costa, partner and head of investment banking & corporate solutions at Monte Bravo.
What's coming next?
For 2026, the expectation is for continued dynamism, with the Selic rate falling and the cost of borrowing more accessible. At the same time, the election calendar could increase volatility and postpone decisions.
BV claims to have some new names in the pipeline for issuance, but believes the election scenario brings more volatility. Monte Bravo, on the other hand, states that it is currently supporting a sugar and ethanol company in its first access to the capital market and also has other names studying the possibility.
Another boost could come from the so-called "Easy" regime of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), which comes into effect in March and creates a regulatory shortcut for companies with annual gross revenue of less than R$ 500 million to access the market with less cost and bureaucracy.
“Abroad, the capital market is the main source of funding for companies. In Brazil, it's still bank credit. But we are making robust progress towards making the system deeper and more democratic,” says Maranhão, from Anbima.
