Brazilian lender Itau's higher profits slightly miss forecasts on bad loan provisions (updated)

Banco Santander Brasil SA

10/11/2022 21:47

(Adds detail)
       SAO PAULO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Itau
Unibanco SA  ITUB4.SA  on Thursday posted a 19% jump in
recurring net profit, which nevertheless landed slightly below
expectations as it raised provisions for bad loans amid soaring
interest rates.
    Latin America's largest bank reported a third-quarter
recurring net income of 8.08 billion reais ($1.51 billion).
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected profit of 8.11 billion
reais.
    High interest rates prompted Itau to hike the provisions it
set aside for bad loans by 49.8% to 8.27 billion reais, in line
with moves by other Brazilian lenders Bradesco SA  BBDC4.SA  and
Santander Brasil SA  SANB11.SA .
    Unlike its peers, Itau did not hike its 2022 forecast for
loan-loss provisions.
        Finance chief Alexsandro Broedel said in a statement the
quarterly results reflected "the strength and consistency of our
performance over time, in the various lines of business".
  
    Net interest income (NII) from its customers jumped 33% from
a year earlier to reach 23.38 billion reais.
        NII it earned from the market, however, fell 73.2% to
516 million reais, it said, citing a bigger retail loan
portfolio.
  
        Itau reported a 90-day default ratio of 2.8% at the end
of September, rising above the previous quarter's 2.7% albeit at
a much slower pace than its peers.
  
($1 = 5.3665 reais)
 (Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Sarah Morland)
 ((Peter.Siqueira@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 56447727;))