The president of Caixa Econômica Federal, Carlos Antônio Vieira Fernandes, stated this Thursday (27) that the country experienced an “excess of credit” in agribusiness, which led to the accumulation of land instead of investments, increasing the risk of default in the sector.
In the third quarter of this year, Caixa Econômica Federal recorded net accounting profit of , an increase of 15.4% compared to the same period in 2024 and 50.3% compared to September last year.
The agribusiness credit portfolio stood at R$61.8 billion in September, an increase of 3.7% compared to September last year. According to Vieira, this growth has been significant in recent years, which has made the increase in default in the sector a “point of attention” for the institution’s management.
Caixa’s default rate rose from 2.66% in June to 3.01% in September, still below the competition’s average, which went from 3.79% to 4.12%, according to the bank’s most recent balance sheet. The biggest contribution to the increase in default came from agribusiness, which rose from 7.02% to 11.20% in the same period, with commercial in second place (8.23% to 8.95%) and real estate in third (2.66% to 3.01%).
As a result, the agricultural provision index also rose. It went from 6.8% in June to 9% in September, with the portfolio of credits considered safer falling from R$55 billion to R$53 billion in the same period, and the most problematic credits increasing from R$6 billion to R$8 billion.
According to Vieira, the provision increases according to the sector’s risk of default, but the expectation is for recovery for the next quarter.
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According to Vieira, Caixa is mitigating default by calling debtors to talk about the causes of the debt, separating those with climate or harvest problems from those who have had a breach of trust in the relationship.
“We are calling on all our debtors to understand the cause of the debt, to separate the wheat from the chaff. Those debtors who, in fact, had problems arising from crop failure, climate problems, or other nature, who are effectively committed to an adequate recovery, we will provide support through renegotiations. As for those in which, in this relationship, there was a breach of trust, Caixa is already starting to be very tough with them”, he states.
He states that the agricultural sector went through a process of land accumulation and border expansion. “What was often used for an investment process became the accumulation of new land”, he explains.
Vieira stated that the institution must stabilize the portfolio of credit concessions for agribusiness and will establish “new conditions” based on the lessons learned over the years in this relationship with the sector.
“Starting next year, we will review these conditions. So, there is an appropriate strategy adopted in the sense that Caixa will maintain its relationship with this segment, but I believe that maturity has also occurred”, he stated.
