Citi Brazil posted a record net profit in 2025, with recurring business sustaining the bank's activity, while the capital markets are beginning to show signs that they will once again contribute to the results.

The subsidiary of the American bank announced this Wednesday, February 11th, that it obtained a profit of R$ 2.9 billion last year, a 28% increase compared to 2024. The return on equity (ROAE) rose from 18% to 22%.

“Despite the geopolitical and local challenges, we are very pleased with the results we delivered,” Marcelo Marangon , CEO of Citi Brazil, told NeoFeed . “Our recurring business has grown substantially, a result of the investments we are making.”

Citi Brazil's recurring business consists of client-facing banking services such as liquidity management, foreign exchange, custody, derivatives, working capital, and trade finance.

According to Marangon, who is about to leave his position as head of Brazilian operations to become co-head of global corporate banking at Citi, investments in team growth and technology in these areas have helped expand financial intermediation.

This, in turn, helped add more than R$700 million to the net financial margin, which for the first time exceeded R$7 billion. Deposits rose 15% in 2025, totaling R$93 billion.

By 2026, the expectation is that the recurring segment will be reinforced by the "episodic" segment, mainly from operations in the capital markets, given the signs that the market is reopening for IPOs and follow-ons .

Last year, the investment banking (IB) division saw a “solid participation” in external fundraising operations. Of the 35 international issuances, the bank participated in 22 of them, with the total issued volume amounting to US$ 24.6 billion.

Citi was also involved in five M&As, totaling R$ 36.2 billion, and participated in a follow-on offering until November, totaling R$ 72 million, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Market Entities (Anbima).

The year started well for Citi, which led the PicPay IPO and is part of the syndicate coordinating the Agibank operation. The expectation is to participate in more operations, including follow-on offerings, which last year addressed specific issues such as capital restructuring.

“We entered 2026 with optimism regarding the reallocation of global portfolios. We led the PicPay IPO and saw the appetite of foreign investors, positioning themselves in emerging markets,” says Marangon. “We invested heavily, both in our local and global teams.”

Regarding credit, Citi Brazil intends to maintain its conservative stance from 2025, even with the Central Bank (BC) beginning to cut the Selic rate . The loan portfolio ended practically stable, at R$ 53 billion.

Marangon points out that this approach has kept the delinquency rate (over 90 days) stable, representing 0.8% of the portfolio, guaranteeing its quality and readiness to handle any credit scenario.

“Interest rates will remain very high, which leads to consistent credit discipline,” he says. “We will remain selective in 2026, reviewing this strategy as we see interest rates falling, better fiscal discipline being implemented, greater election visibility, and clients positioning themselves in their respective industries.”

Total assets amounted to R$ 193 billion in 2025, stable compared to the previous year, influenced by changes in accounting criteria introduced by CMN Resolution No. 4,966/2021, which became applicable to foreign exchange transactions from January 2025.