Itaú Unibanco Loan Growth Slows to 2.2% in Third Quarter
Net interest income with clients rose 2.6% as the BRL 1.5 trillion loan book expanded and recurring profit reached BRL 12.6 billion.
Itaú Unibanco (ITUB) reported a recurring managerial result of BRL 12.6 billion in the third quarter of 2026, with a recurring return on equity of 23.6%. The loan portfolio grew 2.2% in the quarter, reaching BRL 1.5 trillion, after a 2.7% increase in the second quarter. Growth was concentrated in collateralized products: mortgages rose 4.4%, payroll loans 3.5%, and the SMEs book 4.2% on Government Program sponsored facilities, while large corporate loans increased 1.0%. In July, Banco Itaú Colombia completed the transfer of retail operations for individuals; the quarter-over-quarter delta of the result from that sold retail operation was considered in the base quarter of the comparison for calculating the ratios’ evolution.
Net interest income with clients increased 2.6% in the quarter, in line with loan growth. The bank said the rise reflected higher lending volumes, a greater number of days in the period, and higher revenues from structured operations in wholesale banking. Those effects were partially offset by product mix toward secured portfolios, including mortgages, payroll loans and Government Program sponsored facilities, and by asset-spread compression, which the bank said was mitigated by higher volumes in the liability margin.
Fee income increased 0.5% in the quarter. Asset-management revenues rose 7.8% across investment funds and consortium products, and card issuance revenues increased 7.1%. Investment-banking revenues declined, mainly due to lower fixed-income securities issuance.
Cost of credit totaled BRL 10.4 billion, with the annualized cost-of-credit ratio remaining stable at 2.7% versus the previous quarter. The NPL ratio for loans overdue more than 90 days ended the quarter at 2.0%, up from 1.9% in the second quarter; the NPL ratio for loans overdue 15 to 90 days ended at 1.7%. The bank said September delinquency over 15 days was 6.7% for individuals, 6.4 percentage points below the market rate excluding Itaú, and 2.9% for corporates, about half the market level excluding Itaú.
Non-interest expenses totaled BRL 17.1 billion, up 2.4% in the quarter, mainly reflecting a 4.6% wage adjustment from the collective bargaining agreement. Brazil’s efficiency ratio reached 35.7%, 1.4 percentage points better than the same period last year at 37.1%.
The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio reached 12.7%, supported by organic capital generation, versus 12.3% at the end of the second quarter. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio ended September at 205.8% against a 100% minimum, and the Net Stable Funding Ratio reached 123.7%. The loan-to-funding ratio was 78.6%. Considering CET1 at 11.5%, the bank said the consolidated recurring managerial return would have been 24.7% and 25.8% in Brazil.
Itaú revised its 2026 guidance for the effective income and social contribution tax rate to between 28.0% and 29.0%, reflecting the change in the Long-Term Interest Rate (TJLP) trajectory. Guidance for all other lines remained unchanged. Results were in line with market consensus, which had a managerial result of BRL 12.584 billion.
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