At a time when rising interest rates are weighing on the Brazilian economy, Bradesco appears confident regarding the quality of the credit it is originating.
Even with some analysts pointing to the issue as a point of concern in the second quarter's earnings report this year, executives affirm that the institution has been operating safely and is prepared to face the current market scenario.
“We are operating with collateral to have a credit quality superior to the market quality,” stated Marcelo Noronha , CEO of Bradesco, in a press conference held on Thursday, August 6th. “We are not doing anything reckless.”
Bradesco ended the second quarter of 2026 with recurring net income of R$ 7 billion, up 16.2% compared to the same period in 2025, and ROAE of 16.2%.
But one of the points that most caught the market's attention was the 22.6% growth in expenses related to provisions for doubtful debtors (PDD) compared to the previous year, and the increase in delinquency rates over 90 days to 4.3%.
Based on these figures, analysts at Banco Safra wrote that the provisions "were above consensus" and that the credit environment "demands caution and entails greater execution risk."
XP said it expects "pressure on asset quality indicators to persist in the coming quarters," while Citi pointed out that "attention may continue to focus on the deterioration of consumer credit indicators."
In the press conference, Noronha attributed much of the recent pressure on provisions and defaults to two specific portfolios: operations guaranteed by the government funds Investment Guarantee Fund (FGI) and Operations Guarantee Fund (FGO), as well as rural credit.
In the case of FGI and FGO, the bank argues that there is a particular accounting aspect. When companies end their grace period and some of them start to show delays, the institution creates provisions even before activating the fund guarantees.
Since the recovery period can reach 185 days, these operations end up temporarily putting pressure on both the cost of credit and default indicators. "We are at the peak of maturity for these portfolios," he said.
The phenomenon is exacerbated by the strong growth of these operations. Bradesco stated that it expanded its portfolio of these assets by 64% in one year and achieved a market share of nearly 22%.
"The cost of credit naturally increases if I grow the portfolio," said Noronha, highlighting that a significant portion of this pressure should be reversed as operations complete their recovery cycles.
In the case of agribusiness , he acknowledged that the situation is more complex, but highlighted that a large portion of the loans have collateral, especially those originated by John Deere Bank, aimed at financing machinery, and that default rates remain below the market average.
Noronha also highlighted that some increase in the cost of credit is natural given the 11.6% expansion of the portfolio compared to the previous year. However, he stressed that the focus remains on secured lines of credit.
The bank continues to reduce its exposure to traditional personal loans and maintains limited growth in credit cards for lower-income customers.
Conversely, it has been accelerating expansion in products such as payroll loans, vehicle financing, and transactions with public guarantees, while personal credit remains restricted to high-income earners and more select audiences.
"I see the market under more pressure due to defaults and the cost of credit, but we are a step ahead in the sense that we have better portfolios," said Noronha. "And our risk appetite remains much more moderate."
At around 11:18 AM, Bradesco's preferred shares were down 2.27%, at R$ 17.64. Year-to-date, the shares have accumulated a decline of 3.02%, bringing the bank's market value to R$ 176.8 billion.
