During the presentation to analysts, considered positive by the market, Santander Brasil () made clear its intention to double the size of its legal entity (PJ), mainly small and medium, in the coming years. However, it emphasized that this should be cautious and selective growth, taking into account the macroeconomic scenario, which led to a growth in short -term default in this segment.
“We have almost $ 80 billion in a portfolio here and can have $ 150 billion in a few years. We can also grow in a few million, we are still directed directed at this, ”said Mario Leão, CEO of Santander Brazil, noting that“ strategy is something that aims to horizon from five to ten years ”.
Santander’s expanded credit portfolio totaled R $ 682.693 billion in 4T24, an increase of 6.2% in comparison year by year.
Santander ended 2024 with 69.5 million customers. Today an 8% growth in active clients and 15% in account holders who have the bank as the main financial institution.
In conversation with journalists, the executive made it clear that the bank will prioritize profitability, extracting more value from the existing customer base.
Leão recalls that Santander was even called “less ambitious” in terms of the growth of his total portfolio by some analysts, due to his most cautious posture in relation to expansion.
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“We already saw signs that it made no sense to think of two -digit growth growth – and I still find it,” said the executive. “Where we wanted to grow we grew up, even more than the market. […] I chose to grow in financial, I chose to grow in small businesses. ” Leo says the bank’s growth agenda is being worked on.
“From the perspective of wallets, we want to grow and we are prepared for it. We made the necessary adjustments and now it depends more on demand, ”added Gustavo Alejo, CFO. “We are technically adjusted for a year of 2025 that can have several characteristics.”
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“We have brought new customers of better quality, on average, than we had before,” said the CEO. “We have not sought a broad and unrestricted open sea.” Recently, the bank has extinguished the Van Gogh brand, migrating the customer from a “high average” income to select, along with high income account holders.
“We invested a lot in redesign our credit processes, the discipline is daily. With the challenging macro, as it is now, we will continue to test and make decisions every day, ”said Leão.“ We will remain quite selective with the input additional a slightly harder macro ”.
Leo said discipline does not mean brake on growth. “We are demanding to have increasingly high technicity and rigor in management,” he explained.
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Santander Brazil CEO recalled that “all banks have sensitivity to macro”, but says that the institution has worked to have a lower sensitivity to the scenario, especially interest, with operations of hedge. Still, Leão believes that the current scenario does not yet have a “material impact” for the bank.
In mass credit, Leão states that the agenda is growth with focus on profitability. “This does not mean that we will grow in all products and at the same pace we have done in recent years.”
