iFood raised R$600 million through an offering of senior shares in one of its credit funds, which closed last week. With this new funding round, the delivery company consolidates a structure of five FIDCs (Investment Funds in Credit Rights) that totaled approximately R$3.2 billion in net assets as of June — a volume that is expected to grow even further with the recently completed reinforcement.

iFood's move is not an isolated one. Increasingly, companies in the delivery, retail, and mobility sectors have been turning to FIDCs (Investment Funds in Credit Rights) to finance their credit operations. A survey by NeoFeed identified 18 active funds linked to six of these companies — iFood, Shopee, Mercado Livre, 99, Rappi, and Magazine Luiza — whose combined credit portfolio jumped from R$ 19.6 billion in December to R$ 27.3 billion in June, an increase of almost 40% in six months.

The platforms don't lend directly: they act as banking correspondents, using the history and data they already have about those who use their apps to approve credit on behalf of partner financial institutions. In all cases, the FIDC (Investment Fund in Credit Rights) acts as leverage, allowing for the expansion of credit offerings by raising capital from institutional investors.

The target audience, however, varies. In funds aimed at consumers, the money is used to finance purchases or for personal loans. In other vehicles, restaurants and small vendors receive working capital deducted from their own receivables within the platform.

The trend is for this market to continue growing by leaps and bounds. One of the funds identified by NeoFeed hasn't even started raising capital yet. Mercado Crédito III Brasil FIDC, linked to Mercado Livre, was established on May 4th, but still has no operations or significant assets registered in the reports sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).

According to a source in the FIDC structuring market, who spoke on condition of anonymity, this timeframe is normal. "With the fund's establishment, the manager prepares all the bureaucratic aspects—opening a bank account, documentation, registration—for the initial offering, which usually happens a few months after the fund's creation."

By the end of June, funds linked to Mercado Libre totaled R$ 5.7 billion in net assets, almost 12% more than at the beginning of the year. Although it also uses other instruments, such as raising R$ 1.5 billion through financial letters, the company is among those that invest most heavily in this area.

Among the six companies mapped, only the structure of FIDCs (Investment Funds in Receivables) linked to Shopee is larger, with R$ 11.1 billion in assets under management in funds linked to the Asian retailer. The growth has been rapid, with a 78% increase in the first half of the year – the largest percentage jump among the significant structures in the survey.

Rappi's only identified fund, Moustache Rappi, actually grew more during the period, but from a smaller base. From a net worth of R$ 25.7 million at the beginning of the year, it jumped to R$ 68.1 million. Vehicles linked to 99 grew 36% in assets during the period, while those of iFood grew 18%.

Magazine Luiza was the only company mapped to register a shrinking of its structures, with a 4% reduction in the equity of the Magalu I FIDC (Investment Fund in Receivables). In June, the fund had R$ 71.2 million in non-performing loans against a net worth of R$ 46.6 million.

Zero defaults

The starkest contrast in the survey is found in the IFOOD I FIDC. The group's largest fund, with R$1.4 billion in assets in June, this vehicle purchases from partner restaurants amounts they are already due to receive from sales made by card, Pix, or meal vouchers, which are simply held in the payment system awaiting transfer. As a result, its default rate is zero.

Three other funds surveyed also ended June with zero delinquency, but for different reasons.

One of them is Moustache Rappi, which operates on a model similar to iFood. Instead of lending to restaurants or delivery drivers, the fund buys invoices that a company linked to Rappi is due to receive from Rappi itself for services already rendered.

Another example is MONEE FIC, linked to Shopee, which invests in shares of other company vehicles, without its own portfolio to avoid default. Meanwhile, Mercado Crédito Estruturado, from Mercado Livre, operates loans via CCB (Credit Certificate), but, as it was launched in November of last year, it had little time for defaults to appear.

Excluding the IFOOD I, Moustache Rappi, and MONEE FIC funds—the only ones with structurally zero default rates—the picture for the remaining 15 vehicles shows a default rate that jumped from R$2.9 billion to R$3.7 billion between December and June—equivalent to 16.6% of the combined gross portfolio of these funds.

Risk control

The provision set aside by the funds to cover potential credit losses followed a similar trend: it jumped from R$ 4.6 billion to R$ 6.2 billion in the same period, an increase of 35% — the same growth rate as the portfolio. Considering the gross portfolio, the provision now totals 27.9% of the total lent by the 15 funds — compared to 28.1% in December.

Almost three-quarters of this entire increase came from FIDCs linked to 99. Together, GONN, GONN II, and GONN III added R$ 590 million more in defaults between December and June — 75% of the total R$ 791 million that the 18 funds in the survey added during that period.

The bulk of the problem is concentrated in GONN, the largest and oldest fund of the trio, whose default rate more than doubled, jumping from R$ 337.8 million to R$ 702.3 million. GONN II, meanwhile, reached June with the highest absolute volume of defaults in the sector, at R$ 803.7 million.

In practice, the credits function like a pure personal loan, offered to individuals who undergo a credit analysis by 99 itself.

GONN III, the third fund of the trio, appears to be 99's response to this scenario. Created from scratch in December, its portfolio was born under stricter credit criteria, with its regulations limiting the age of borrowers to between 20 and 70 years, compared to 18 to 85 years allowed in GONN II.

Mercado Livre went in the opposite direction. Although it had the lowest growth in FIDCs (Investment Funds in Credit Rights) among the four groups with more than R$ 1 billion in this type of structure, it was the only one to reduce delinquency. Even with the group's portfolio growing 11% in the semester, absolute delinquency decreased from R$ 1.65 billion to R$ 1.63 billion, falling from 22.3% to 19.9% of the portfolio.