Company in the wholesale segment stopped paying the amount in the last quarter of 2025, increasing the default rate
A company in the wholesale segment failed to pay R$3.6 billion to (Banco do Brasil) in the last quarter of 2025. The bank released the information on Wednesday (11.Feb.2026), during the presentation of its financial statement, without revealing the name of the company involved. Because of this event, the institution’s default rate over 90 days rose to 5.17%.
According to BB, without the impact of this default, the default rate would be 4.88%. The current percentage represents an increase compared to 4.51% in the 3rd quarter of 2025 and 3.16% in the same period of the previous year.
In the balance sheet, the bank explains that the increase in default is related to a specific case in the Securities portfolio. During the interview with journalists about the results, BB’s Vice President of Risks, Felipe Prince, did not mention the name of the company, but indicated that it would be possible “make an association” with information already published by the media.
Felipe Prince said that this is an old case, considered “problematic” and which had already been provisioned by the bank for some years.
On Wednesday (11.Feb.2026), at 6:50 pm, Braskem, which had been highlighted by the newspaper Economic Value and by g1 as the possible defaulter, she issued a note denying that she had any outstanding debts with the bank.
Profit falls 45.4% in 2025
In 2025, the BB value represents a drop of 45.4% compared to 2024. In the 4th quarter of 2025, adjusted net profit was R$5.7 billion, a drop of 40.1% compared to the same period in 2024, but an increase of 51.7% compared to the 3rd quarter, exceeding market projections that pointed to R$4.5 billion.
Throughout 2025, BB’s executive president, Tarciana Medeiros, highlighted that the year would be one of adjustments, after the bank’s balance sheet was affected by the increase in defaults in part of the agribusiness portfolio and by new accounting rules implemented in the period.
Projections for 2026
BB released its projections for 2026, projecting adjusted net profit of R$22 billion to R$26 billion. The institution projects expansion of 0.5% to 4.5% in the credit portfolio, with growth of 6% to 10% expected for individuals. For companies, the estimated range goes from a drop of 3% to an increase of 1%, and for agribusiness, from -2% to 2%.
The bank estimates that the cost of credit will be between R$53 billion and R$58 billion in 2026. For next year, BB projects growth of between 2% and 6% in service revenue and between 5% and 9% in administrative expenses. The gross financial margin should increase between 4% and 8%.
In the 4th quarter of 2025, BB once again recorded a double-digit return on equity, reaching 12.4%. This result represents a recovery in relation to the 8.4% of the previous quarter, although it is still below the 20.8% recorded in 2024.
BB’s performance was below the results presented by other large banks in the same period. Itaú Unibanco recorded a return of 24.4%, Santander Brasil reached 17.6% and Bradesco obtained 15.2%.
Default in agribusiness
Defaults in the agribusiness sector ended the 4th quarter of 2025 with a rate of 6.09%, above the 4.84% recorded in the previous quarter and the 2.23% observed a year earlier. In November, when presenting the 3rd quarter results, BB executives had already signaled that default rates in this segment would remain under pressure, with an expectation of improvement only from the 1st quarter of 2026.
In BB’s credit portfolio, the individual segment increased by 1.8% in the quarter and 7.6% in the annual comparison, with default rates of 6.56%, higher than the 6.01% in the previous quarter and 4.66% a year earlier. In the legal entities segment, the portfolio remained stable, with default rates of 3.75%, compared to 3.40% three months earlier and 3.30% in the 4th quarter of 2024.
In the 4th quarter of 2025, the bank’s gross financial margin reached R$27.8 billion, representing an increase of 3.8% compared to the same period in 2024. Service revenues fell 3.9% in the annual comparison, while expenses rose 4.1%.
The bank also announced the distribution of R$1.2 billion to shareholders, in the form of interest on additional equity.
