Meta Platforms Earnings Preview: What to Watch in Q1 2026 Report<\/a><\/p>\nLe\u00e3o also pointed to the launch of \u201cSantander Rewards\u201d as a major initiative. He described it as a shift from a credit card-centric rewards model to one that considers the \u201ccustomer relationship as a whole,\u201d rewarding broader engagement with the bank through points, benefits, and a \u201cgamification\u201d approach. He said the campaign would begin that Saturday and called it \u201cone of the most important deliveries\u201d during his tenure.<\/p>\n
Portfolio mix: de-risking low income and emphasis on secured lending <\/p>\n
Le\u00e3o said Santander Brasil continues to pursue growth \u201cwith quality,\u201d focusing on risk-adjusted profitability at origination and ongoing backtesting of cohorts. He described a planned reduction in low-income exposure, noting the individual portfolio declined partly due to the ongoing runoff. Le\u00e3o said the de-risking process is expected to continue through 2026 and into part of 2027 given portfolio duration.<\/p>\n
He highlighted pockets of growth, including credit cards and real estate credit, and said home equity is an area where Santander holds leadership. Le\u00e3o said home equity origination has been increasing relative to prior periods, with monthly origination approaching what he described as \u201cclose to EUR 400 million,\u201d nearly double past levels.<\/p>\n
In small and mid-sized companies (SMEs), Le\u00e3o acknowledged the bank was more cautious in the quarter given the macroeconomic backdrop, particularly among very small companies where he said the \u201ccredit challenge is even higher.\u201d Still, he reiterated that SMEs and high-income individuals are two areas where the bank aims to grow at \u201c2+ digits\u201d during the year and gain share, while maintaining margin discipline.<\/p>\n
In large corporate, Le\u00e3o pointed to foreign exchange impacts on a trade portfolio denominated in dollars and euros, describing the quarter\u2019s effect as an FX translation issue rather than a change in appetite.<\/p>\n
Fees: seasonal pressure, strength in select lines <\/p>\n
Fees fell 5.5% quarter-on-quarter, which Le\u00e3o said partly reflected normal seasonality from the fourth quarter into the first. He said cards experienced seasonal pressure sequentially, but year-on-year growth was \u201cpractically\u201d double digits, which he attributed to portfolio quality and profitability in revolving and installment products.<\/p>\n
Le\u00e3o said insurance fees were broadly stable sequentially despite typical first-quarter seasonality and showed \u201cclear 2-digit growth\u201d year-on-year, with strength in open insurance not tied to credit. He also said current account services declined but less than the market, as the industry faces pressure from \u201cfree accounts with no commissions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other fee-related highlights he cited included:<\/p>\n
Nearly 20% growth in credit card turnover.<\/p>\n
Strong performance in securities brokerage and capital markets, which he described as one of the strongest quarters.<\/p>\n
Growth in cons\u00f3rcio, supported by fixed bid and reduced installments, though he said he expects faster sequential growth.<\/p>\n
Asset management up 20.9% year-over-year, which he said underscores potential to further expand the franchise.<\/p>\n
Asset quality: stable NPLs, write-off policy changes, and areas of attention <\/p>\n
Le\u00e3o said cost of risk declined by \u201csome basis points\u201d in the quarter and that non-performing loans were \u201cpractically flat,\u201d adding that the bank is not concerned with the overall NPL trajectory at current levels. He attributed higher provisions largely to lower recoveries and fewer portfolio sales. He also flagged continued pressure in segments including agribusiness, low income, SMEs, and very small enterprises.<\/p>\n
Discussing early-stage delinquencies, Le\u00e3o said 15\u201390 day NPLs declined in companies, partly linked to government programs that do not necessarily translate into losses. In individuals, he cited a slight increase related to consumer finance and mortgages, but said the rollover into 90+ day NPLs is contained and that the bank expects a reversal in the second quarter.<\/p>\n
He also described a \u201ctechnical review\u201d initiated in the fourth quarter that changed write-off timing by product. For cards, he said Santander is bringing forward write-offs based on analysis of prior cohorts, while in auto loans and some other products, recoveries can extend longer and the bank is adjusting write-off treatment accordingly. Le\u00e3o said these changes may push reported 90+ day NPL higher than last year\u2019s average, but he did not frame it as a deterioration in underlying credit quality.<\/p>\n
In response to questions on SMEs, Le\u00e3o said 25%\u201330% of the SME portfolio is tied to government lines, where \u201cmost of the delays occur,\u201d and he acknowledged macro sensitivity in the segment. He said it is possible delinquency could rise depending on economic conditions, while noting the government may also support programs such as Pronampe and FGI.<\/p>\n
On consumer finance and auto loans, Le\u00e3o said Santander\u2019s broad origination visibility allows it to be highly selective. He said the bank has shifted away from used cars and motorcycles toward new vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs), citing better credit performance and higher-income borrowers. Le\u00e3o said Santander funds \u201cout of every two e-vehicles, one,\u201d and in some brands the bank\u2019s share is close to 70%.<\/p>\n
Le\u00e3o said Santander does not expect the cost of risk to deteriorate materially this year, while cautioning that macro conditions remain uncertain. He said the bank expects a \u201cflat order of magnitude\u201d with some basis-point variation and argued de-risking and improved origination should support lower cost of risk in 2027 and 2028.<\/p>\n
Le\u00e3o closed by pointing to capital strength, reporting a 15.2% Basel ratio and 11.2% CET1 ratio, and said the bank plans to maintain its distribution policy, adding that distributions should rise as profits grow.<\/p>\n
During the Q&A, Le\u00e3o also said the call was his last earnings presentation. CFO Carlos Mu\u00f1iz, introduced as the new CFO, joined Le\u00e3o during the Q&A session, though Le\u00e3o said he would address the questions.<\/p>\n
About Banco Santander Brasil (NYSE:BSBR) <\/p>\n
Banco Santander Brasil SA is the Brazilian unit of Spain-based Grupo Santander and one of the country’s major commercial banks. Headquartered in S\u00e3o Paulo, the bank serves a broad client base across Brazil through an integrated network of branches, ATMs and digital channels. Its shares are represented abroad via American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BSBR.<\/p>\n
The bank offers a full range of financial products and services for retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate clients.<\/p>\n
The article “Banco Santander Brasil Q1 Earnings Call Highlights<\/a>” was originally published by MarketBeat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Banco Santander Brasil logo Key Points Pre-tax earnings rose 5.4% QoQ even as reported net income fell versus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[144,284,747],"class_list":{"0":"post-14407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-banco-santander","8":"tag-banco-santander","9":"tag-santander","10":"tag-santander-brasil"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Banco](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ef68b4a09608b0fcfbb43063397c567b.png\")
Banco Santander Brasil logo Key Points <\/p>\n