Bradesco forecasts 14% credit growth in 2022.
The bank announced on Tuesday a recurring profit of R$ 6,6 billion between October and December.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Bradesco reported profits slightly below market expectations in the fourth quarter, with operating results overshadowed by accounting write-downs, and forecast an increase of up to 14% in its loan portfolio in 2022.
The bank announced on Tuesday a recurring profit of 6,613 billion reais between October and December, a 2,8% decrease compared to the same period in 2020. The average forecast from analysts consulted by Refinitiv was 6,916 billion reais.
Without adjustments, profit fell 42% year-on-year to 3,17 billion reais, reflecting a series of accounting write-downs, including the repricing of treasury assets and expenses related to the reduction of the branch network, in addition to civil provisions.
The annualized return on equity for the quarter was 17,5%, down 2,5 percentage points year-over-year on a recurring basis.
The country's second-largest private bank closed 2021 with an expanded loan portfolio of 812,66 billion reais, an increase of 18,3% in 12 months. For 2022, the bank predicted that its portfolio will grow between 10% and 14%.
The quality of the loan portfolio deteriorated slightly, with the delinquency rate for loans overdue by more than 90 days rising 0,6 percentage points to 2,8%. However, Bradesco's provision for expected loan losses in the quarter fell 6,2% year-on-year to R$4,28 billion.
In its relevant fact statement outlining its performance forecasts for the year, the bank also predicted that its expenses for loan loss provisions will be in the range of 15 billion to 19 billion reais in 2022.
In a separate document, Bradesco announced a bonus of 4 billion reais to its shareholders, who will receive one share for every 10 of the same type they currently hold.
(By Aluísio Alves and Carolina Mandl)