Bradesco Expands Loan Portfolio 11.1% and Posts Recurring Profit of 7.109 Billion Reais
Key Facts
Banco Bradesco’s expanded loan portfolio reached 1.15 trillion Brazilian reais in the third quarter of 2026, up 11.1% year over year and 1.1% from the previous quarter, according to earnings results filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Recurring net profit rose to 7.109 billion reais, up 14.6% year over year and 0.8% quarter over quarter. Profit was close to the average analyst estimate of 7.14 billion reais, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the ratio of loans overdue by more than 90 days rose to 4.6%. This puts loan expansion and improved profitability alongside growing signs of pressure on asset quality.
Loan growth varied across customer segments: corporate loans increased 14.1% year over year, compared with 7.4% for retail loans in the third quarter, according to the bank’s statement. Total revenue reached 38 billion reais, up 8.4% year over year. Net interest income rose 14.2%, while fee income increased 3.1% year over year. Quarter over quarter, total revenue rose 1.1%, net interest income 2.4% and fee income 4.2%. The bank said growth in credit-related revenue slowed, but non-credit revenue and cost control offset the deceleration.
The ratio of loans overdue by more than 90 days rose 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter and 0.5 points from a year earlier, reaching 4.6%. The bank attributed about half of the increase in total delinquencies to working capital loans to small and midsize companies backed by federal guarantees. It added that seasonal delays in Deere Bank operations also put pressure on overdue retail loans. Provisions for expanded loan losses climbed to 10.642 billion reais, up 24.3% year over year. These figures indicate that the cost of credit risk increased alongside portfolio growth.
Return on average equity was 15.6% in the third quarter, compared with 14.7% a year earlier, according to Reuters. The bank said the return would have reached 16.1% without the impact of its recent 10 billion reais capital increase. Bradesco completed the increase after receiving regulatory approval from Brazil’s central bank and said its capital ratios rose following the transaction. Controlling shareholders subscribed to 5.4 billion reais, while non-controlling shareholders subscribed to 4.6 billion reais. The bank also allocated 4.1 billion reais in interest on capital to shareholders during the third quarter.
The bank said revenue diversification, including treasury, investment banking, brokerage, custody and insurance consortiums, along with expense control and a higher share of secured loans, supported performance. The operating efficiency ratio improved to 45.4%, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous quarter and 4.7 points from a year earlier. On the services front, the bank reported more than 45 million fully digital customers. Its high-net-worth customer segment also expanded to 93 offices and exceeded 500,000 customers by September. The bank also said financing directed to sustainable businesses reached 95.6% of its target of 450 billion reais by the end of 2026.
Bradesco left its 2026 annual guidance unchanged, targeting growth in its expanded loan portfolio of between 8.5% and 10.5%. It set a range of 42 billion to 48 billion Brazilian reais for net interest income after loan-loss provisions. These ranges provide a benchmark for comparing the portfolio’s performance and income after provisions with the bank’s results in coming quarters. In the market, the bank’s shares, listed under the ticker BBD, closed at $4.07 on October 23, 2026, according to EL7 data.