The changing economic landscape has led Bradesco to "change its tone" compared to the end of last year, adopting a more conservative approach to granting credit.
But the bank from Cidade de Deus remains optimistic about the year, believing it can expand its net financial margin by low double digits, which will be the main driver of revenue and profitability growth in 2026.
“A more conservative risk appetite doesn’t mean pulling the handbrake and stopping operations,” said Bradesco CEO Marcelo Noronha in a press conference on Thursday, May 7th. “The expectation for the year is one of delivery; we continue to expect growth, and we are excited about everything we are doing.”
As presented in the guidance , Bradesco estimates that its net financial margin should end 2026 between R$ 42 billion and R$ 48 billion. In 2025, it closed at R$ 40 billion.
The bank has no guidance for return on average equity (ROAE) for the year. The indicator reached 15.8% in the first quarter , up 0.6 percentage points on a quarterly basis and 1.4 percentage points annually.
According to André Carvalho, director of investor relations at Bradesco, the bank plans to expand its margin even with a conservative stance, performing good risk management in the margin with markets, a line that has already been performing well.
“That’s the Treasury’s job. We’ve already delivered R$600 million, and the soft guidance for the year is between R$1 billion and R$1.5 billion,” Carvalho stated.
Regarding margins with clients, Carvalho said the plan is to manage spreads effectively, cautiously advancing in secured lines of credit to reduce expenses related to provisions for doubtful accounts (PDD).
Although analysts considered Bradesco's performance in the first quarter positive, some points drew attention. The loan loss provision (PDD) was one of them, having risen 26.5% year-on-year to R$ 9.6 billion.
According to Hugo Cabral, equity analyst at Nord Investimentos , the increase was greater than that seen in the gross margin, which advanced 16.4% to R$ 20 billion. The result was a net margin of R$ 10.4 billion, an 8% increase.
Carvalho said the increase was driven by specific cases in the wholesale sector, including one significant event, and by older harvests in the rural sector, dating back to before 2024, in addition to the effects of a more challenging macroeconomic scenario.
Even with the increase in loan loss provisions in the first quarter, the outlook for the year is that it will not prevent the net interest margin from continuing to be the main driver of profitability.
Noronha highlighted that, historically speaking, the provision for doubtful debts (PDD) does not fluctuate as much, advancing in line with portfolio expansion and complying with regulatory requirements regarding provisions, which does not mean an increased risk due to delays.
“We will continue to grow in absolute terms in the mass market, while in the wholesale market there are many fluctuations,” he said. “But if you look at the whole picture and remove isolated events, we are in normality.”
According to him, the work done by Bradesco in recent years allows it to continue driving credit growth. "We continue to have an appetite for risk, but it's what we've been saying for several quarters: a moderate appetite, with a bias towards certain ratings and loan types," said Noronha.
At around 11:05 AM, Bradesco's preferred shares were down 3.53%, at R$ 18.59. Year-to-date, the shares have risen 2.03%, bringing the market value to R$ 183.8 billion.
