Banco Bradesco S.A.

Bradesco reported second-quarter 2026 net income of BRL 7.1 billion, up 16.2% year over year and 3.5% quarter over quarter, with ROAE of 16.2%. The loan portfolio grew 11.6% year over year to BRL 1.137 billion. Total revenue reached BRL 37.6 billion, up 10.3% year over year; total net interest income was almost BRL 20.9 billion; and fee and commission income was BRL 10.5 billion. Management also cited operating expenses up 3.4% year over year and insurance net income growth of 28.3% to BRL 2.9 billion. Forward, management said NIM is tracking around 9.1% and should stay close to that range through the year, while ROAE is expected to continue improving step by step. No formal full-year EPS guidance was given in the transcript.

Marcelo de Noronha framed the quarter as evidence that Bradesco’s transformation is working, with stronger commercial traction, a more secured loan mix, and broader diversification across banking, insurance, payments, and capital markets. He repeatedly emphasized risk-adjusted return over raw growth, saying the bank is focusing on lines where collateral, client quality, and pricing discipline are strongest. His tone was confident and defensive at the same time: confident about the business momentum, but careful to explain why capital, portfolio mix, and temporary delinquency pressure are being managed conservatively.

Cassiano Scarpelli said the quarter’s market NII strength came from treasury execution across trading, ALM, and energy/client desks, and he noted the bank does not have a fixed hedge policy, preferring to manage exposures opportunistically. He also pointed to capital discipline, saying the BRL 10 billion capital increase is tied to tangible capital strength and gives the bank more comfort across macro scenarios. On profitability, management said NIM was around 9.1% in both the first and second quarters and should stay near that level, while the capital raise and pending Bradsaúde recognition should support a stronger capital position.

Analysts pressed management on why Bradesco needs more capital, whether the Bradsaúde transaction’s remaining capital recognition is delayed, and whether the BRL 10 billion capital increase is excessive. Management replied that strong capital is healthy, that the remaining Bradsaúde recognition is mainly a timing/regulatory process issue, and that the capital increase reflects shareholder confidence and supports tangible capital. They also fielded questions on whether credit risk is structurally worsening and whether costs of risk should rise; management said some pressure is real but largely temporary, driven by FGI/FGO guarantee timing, agribusiness, and portfolio growth, and said it is not adding extra stress for 2026. On NII and fees, management said market NII remains supported by treasury and business traction, while current account fees are not likely to be a growth engine and future fee growth should come more from consortium, asset management, investment banking, brokerage, and other cross-sell lines.