Santander Brasil's Q4 net income down 19% from previous quarter (updated)

Banco Santander Brasil SA

31/01/2024 11:13

(Adds details, CEO quotes)
       SAO PAULO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Lender Santander Brasil
 SANB3.SA  on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter net income of
2.2 billion reais ($444.48 million), down 19.2% from the
previous quarter and below the 2.87 billion expected by analysts
polled by LSEG.
    The local unit of Spain's Santander  SAN.MC  saw provisions
for loan losses rise 8.7% in the quarter to 6.11 billion reais,
saying it was impacted by a "specific case in the wholesale
segment," which it did not name.
        Santander Brasil has been trying for the past couple of
years to be more selective in its lending as credit conditions
deteriorated, but reported some poor results while implementing
the strategy.
  
        Its management had pledged in the previous quarter to
improve net interest income (NII) going forward, saying the
worst was behind it, which proved right as the metric rose 4.8%
in the quarter to 14.055 billion reais.
  
        Clients NII increased due to stronger transactionality
in the period, Santander said, while markets NII kept improving
as it experienced a favorable impact from its sensitivity to
interest rates, which have been falling in Brazil.
  
        "We are ready to move forward with our growth strategy,"
chief executive Mario Leao said in a statement, adding the
lender's "solid, enduring" portfolio was capable of generating
sustainable results.
  
        "Regarding the quality of our loan portfolio, the new
vintages continued to perform well, as well as recurring
allowance for loan losses, which remained under control," Leao
said.
  

($1 = 4.9496 reais)

 (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan)
 ((Gabriel.Araujo2@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5047-3352;))