After overcoming the housing issue, Caixa Econômica Federal’s biggest challenge today is digitalization, according to Carlos Antônio Vieira, president of the state bank. Vieira spoke with exclusivity to the InfoMoneyafter the recent award Most Valuable Brands in Brazil 2025promoted by TM20 Branding in partnership with InfoMoney, which – a legitimate recognition of Caixa’s trajectory, which aims to transform people’s lives, according to Vieira’s assessment.
In the conversation, the executive stated that “Caixa’s biggest challenge is the company’s modernization process” and assessed that, at a time when the world is experiencing digital transformation, Caixa is also “in this footsteps and facing another challenge, which is to become a company recognized in sustainability”.
Vieira also highlighted the evolution of real estate credit in the country, which went from R$5 billion per year in the early 2000s to R$225 billion currently, representing 10% of GDP – but still with a lot of room to grow and counting on Caixa to achieve this growth. “Today we already have 70% of the real estate credit market in the country. But we only have 10% of the GDP in real estate credit. We want to have 40% of this market, but for it to be much larger”, he stated.
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Regarding the middle class, the president explained that the state bank is expanding its operations for this audience, with a review of segmentation and product offerings, aiming to retain these customers.
Furthermore, he stated that, with a possible drop in the Selic rate in 2026 boosting the federal government’s new housing policy for the middle class, it is possible that the generation of extra financing will exceed that, shared by the Minister of Cities, Jader Filho.
This was another point discussed during the conversation, and the president explained that the growth of credit for agribusiness brought challenges similar to those faced by real estate credit 15 years ago. According to Vieira, Caixa is talking to producers to support financial recovery, and the federal government has created incentive mechanisms and debt extension. Vieira believes that the default curve should start to fall from the beginning of 2026.
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Among the bank’s future launches and investments, Vieira highlighted investments in cybersecurity, the recent creation of a specific board for the topic, and the future launch of a super app for the first half of 2026. He also mentioned as an “exodus” the potential creation of Fundação Caixa, a non-profit entity linked to the bank, to support actions, projects and public policies linked to education, social assistance, culture, sport, science, technology and innovation. The project awaits a vote in the Senate.
Check out the main excerpts from the interview below and watch:
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InfoMoney: What is your perception of Caixa’s strength and the award received?
Carlos Vieira: It is a great honor for us to receive this award and recognize its construction (…) Caixa is a secular institution and we continue in this vein: being a bank whose purpose is to transform people’s lives. And if it was the people, if it was our customers, if it was society that gave this return in the form of the strongest brand, it is a great source of pride for us.
InfoMoney: What challenge seemed insurmountable at Caixa and has now been overcome?
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Carlos Vieira: The housing. When I took over, I had the challenge of being one of Caixa’s housing managers, in the early 2000s, when Caixa needed to undergo a major transformation. When I was manager of this area — and obviously this is not due to one person, but to an entire generation that participated in this construction — we provided real estate loans in Brazil for around R$5 billion per year. Today, we make R$225 billion. In 2009, we only had 2% of GDP in real estate credit. Today, we have 10% (…) Today, Caixa’s biggest challenge is the company’s modernization process. At a time when the world is undergoing digital transformation, Caixa is also in this footsteps, and with another challenge: to become a company recognized in sustainability”.
InfoMoney: How does Caixa relate to the middle class, especially with incomes of R$12 to R$20 thousand?
Carlos Vieira: This class used some services at Caixa and we are in the process of bringing them to have Caixa as their main bank. So, this issue of advancing in real estate credit for this class also allows Caixa to have them as loyal customers. An entire process of reviewing the segmentation model, the appropriate product offering for this customer profile, is being built in the company. It’s a great opportunity.
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InfoMoney: Could the prospect of a Selic cut increase the extra financing generated by the new housing policy for the middle class?
Carlos Vieira: We expect, over the next 10 years, to put another R$1 trillion into the real estate credit market, with the restructuring carried out in a very unique way by the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. The drop in interest rates, which is a medium-term expectation, means that we are effectively creating the so-called secondary real estate credit market in Brazil. This combination of elements, honestly, I think leads to more than 80 thousand new users.
InfoMoney: How is default in rural credit?
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Carlos Vieira: The excess liquidity promoted by Caixa’s entry as a financier meant that we had an excess of credit in agribusiness which was, in a way, destined to the formation of economic assets. And economic goods, in the agribusiness sector, go through a maturation phase. The operational cycle takes place and the financial cycle takes place subsequently.
Today we have a problem to discuss, in addition to other aspects, which are opportunistic situations by those who do not want the best for Brazil and who are calling on these companies to enter the judicial recovery process. This is bad for everyone.
What are we doing today with this segment? Calling everyone to dialogue, to find the appropriate point in their recovery, with all the support that Caixa can provide. Today we have working groups all over Brazil, discussing with those who, in fact, want to maintain their activity without making this issue of liquidity that we promote in the market an opportunity to satisfy patrimonial assets and not productive assets. The federal government has also created some incentive mechanisms to extend debt.
Now, objectively, we have not yet reached the inflection of this default curve. We are, perhaps, at its peak and at the moment when, in the next phase, we will see this curve fall – I believe that from January or the first quarter of 2026 onwards.
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InfoMoney: How does Caixa protect data and combat fraud?
Carlos Vieira: We are very careful. It is one of the most important issues for us. We had a significant reduction in fraud, mainly related to a significant portion, users of the Caixa Tem application. We had the lowest rates in the last four years in August. Additional protection measures through facial recognition and biometrics guarantee that it is the true users of the program who are receiving resources (…) Caixa has stepped up to the plate and has a great collaborator throughout the system so that we can protect our financial system.
InfoMoney: When was the cybersecurity directorate created?
Carlos Vieira: About a month ago.
InfoMoney: How is Caixa investing in digital transformation?
Carlos Vieira: First, it was the investment in people. We created a model at Caixa that we call the TEIA Project (Transformation, Engagement, Innovation and Learning). A model that we started with 36, 37 people and today has 1,500 fellow developers anywhere in Brazil promoting digital transformation in the company. We are creating, for the first half of 2026, a super app.
InfoMoney: What project excites you most for 2026?
Carlos Vieira: Caixa has a project to achieve a certain level of excellence in 2030. In the areas of activity, we have the cultural transformation of the company, innovation and modernization while taking a very attentive look at people. We have a massive investment in training (…) now, that little thing that is the “son”, which you can say like “This here is the baby” is the Caixa Foundation. We approved bill 1,312 of 2025 in the Chamber. We are waiting for the Senate to take its vote. Fundação Caixa’s principle is to bring together what the company’s purpose is: transforming people’s lives.
