SANB11 after 2Q26: loan-loss charges rise 11.5% as mix shifts away from mass-market credit

On 29 July 2026, Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (B3: SANB11) released 2Q26 results (reference 30 June 2026). Recurring managerial net profit was R$ 3.01 billion, down 20.4% quarter on quarter and 17.6% year on year. Accounting net profit was R$ 2.67 billion (−25.8% YoY).

The quarter is a useful complement to other large Brazilian bank prints: the expanded loan portfolio still grew (+5.8% YoY to R$ 714.8 billion), but profitability compressed because loan-loss expense rose faster than revenue. Management frames the story as deliberate mix migration — less mass-market payroll and personal credit, more cards, mortgages, consumer finance, and SMEs — while PDD also absorbed wholesale provisions and a retail write-off criteria review. Readers should separate franchise repositioning from credit-cycle arithmetic.

What the earnings release shows

Figures below follow Santander Brasil's 2Q26 earnings release (managerial BRGAAP) unless noted:

Returns, efficiency, and cost of risk

Contemporaneous press coverage noted recurring profit below sell-side consensus near R$ 3.67 billion — treat that as an analyst benchmark, not a filed number.

Revenue — flat top line, diverging NII bridges

Total revenue grew only 0.4% year on year despite a larger balance sheet. Net interest income was essentially flat YoY (−0.4%), with client NII also −0.4% while market NII improved on inflation-linked securities and portfolio maturity.

The release attributes weaker client NII to mix: lower exposure to the mass-income segment tightens spreads even when cards and mortgages perform well. That is strategically consistent with shrinking payroll and personal lines, but it shows up in the P&L before credit costs.

Fees rose 2.5% YoY — cards +10.5%, consórcios +23.8%, insurance +6.4%, brokerage and placement +14.8% — but fell 1.9% QoQ on softer capital-markets and insurance lines and on more selective credit origination.

Credit cost — the binding constraint this quarter

Result from loan losses reached R$ 7.65 billion, up 11.5% YoY and 20.6% QoQ. Management cites (i) additional wholesale provisions, (ii) a review of retail write-off criteria, and (iii) a still-challenging macro backdrop, with stress in lower-income cards and agribusiness.

NPL formation was R$ 7.02 billion in the quarter (−2.3% QoQ; +3.8% YoY), with formation over the portfolio stable at 1.00%. Short-delay (15–90 day) NPL was 3.3%, broadly stable. Over-90-day NPL was 3.3% as well — flat QoQ but +0.7 p.p. YoY, influenced by higher write-offs tied to the retail criteria change.

Segment color from the release:

• Individuals over-90-day NPL: +0.2 p.p. QoQ and +1.1 p.p. YoY, with pressure in lower-income cards and agribusiness.
• Corporate & SMEs over-90-day NPL: −0.2 p.p. QoQ; SMEs at 5.3% after write-offs.

Stage 3 coverage eased to 65.0% from 67.6% in 1Q26 — worth watching alongside ROAE, not in isolation.

Balance sheet — credit still grows, funding mix tilts to individuals

At 30 June 2026:

Loan growth was led by consumer finance (+5.6% QoQ in the release's portfolio commentary), SMEs (+2.4%), and large corporate lines, while individual mass-market products declined and cards and mortgages rose. Funding from clients grew 6.9% YoY; the individuals share of funding reached 51% (+4 p.p. YoY), supporting a cheaper deposit mix even as credit spreads compress on the asset side.

Expenses remained controlled: general expenses −0.8% QoQ and +2.6% YoY, below inflation per management — so this was not an operating-cost blowout quarter; risk dominated the earnings bridge.

How this compares with other 2Q26 bank reads

Relative to ITUB4, BBAS3, and BBDC4 posts on this blog, Santander's print stresses mix-driven NII and a fee diversification story (cards, insurance, consórcios) more than a pure public-bank agribusiness narrative. The common thread across the sector in 2026 remains higher loan-loss lines versus 2025; Santander's +0.7 p.p. move in >90-day NPL and the explicit write-off policy change make the asset-quality section worth reading line by line in the ITR, not only the headline ratio.

The release landed in the first month under Gilson Finkelsztain as CEO (succeeding Mario Leão). Strategy headlines in the document emphasize customer primacy, 76.2 million customers (+6% YoY), and 34.4 million active customers (+3% YoY) — context for where fee growth may come from, not a forecast of near-term ROAE.

Limits of this reading

• Managerial recurring profit differs from accounting profit; 2Q26 includes a non-recurring labor provision of R$ 291 million in the reconciliation to accounting earnings.
• Market NII is negative in BRL terms — normal for Santander's presentation but easy to misread in peer tables.
• Wholesale provisions and write-off criteria are partly one-off; annualizing 2Q26 loan losses overstates a run-rate without management's own guidance.
• Consensus miss figures come from press, not CVM filings.
• Segment NII and consolidated NII bridges include reclassifications noted in the release footnotes.

Where to view in the explorer

• SANB11 — Banco Santander (Brasil)
• Company list
• Blog

Sources

• Banco Santander (Brasil) — 2Q26 Earnings Release (reference 30 Jun 2026), published 29 Jul 2026: Santander Brasil investor relations
• Banco Santander (Brasil) — 2Q26 Results Presentation (29 Jul 2026), via Investidor10 — SANB3 comunicado
• Valor Investe — recurring profit R$ 3.01 bn, margin and PDD context (29 Jul 2026)
• Valor Econômico — earnings reaction and credit backdrop (29–30 Jul 2026)
• SANB11 on the explorer — CVM filings and company page

Disclaimer

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment advice. Figures follow Santander Brasil's 2Q26 managerial release; when in doubt, the official CVM ITR and company filings prevail. Refer to those documents and, if needed, a licensed professional.