Banco do Brasil forecasts challenging 2026
After closing 2025 with a profit of BRL 20.68 billion, Banco do Brasil expects a very “challenging” year in 2026.
“2025 was a challenging year, and 2026 is expected to be demanding as well. But it will be a challenge we have already learned to handle,” said Tarciana Medeiros, the institution’s CEO, during a teleconference with analysts on Thursday (Feb. 12) to present the bank’s results.
Later, in an interview, the president of Banco do Brasil again addressed these challenges, which began to emerge in 2025 with the high default rate in agribusiness.
“We had come from two years of record-breaking results. But 2025 was a challenging year, with a decline compared to the previous year, which had been Banco do Brasil’s highest result in history. We saw atypical behavior in agribusiness, with defaults in 2025 rising by around 500 percent compared to the historical average,” she said.
Accounting rules
On Wednesday (11), the bank announced an adjusted net profit of BRL 20.685 billion in 2025, a decrease of 45.4 percent compared to 2024. According to the institution, new accounting rules and rising defaults, mainly in agribusiness, influenced the result. For 2026, the bank projects some growth, with adjusted net profit between BRL 22 billion and BRL 26 billion.
One of the strategies for the year is to lead the payroll loan segment for public sector employees and increase its share in payroll loans for private sector workers.
“We have long-standing knowledge and expertise in payroll loans - we have been operating since the product was launched. Therefore, we will seek to further strengthen the bank’s leadership in this segment,” said the president of Banco do Brasil.
Payroll loans are a type of credit with lower interest rates, offered to employees of public or private companies affiliated with the bank. Installments are deducted directly from payroll.
