Santander voted in favor of Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks) support for the manifesto organized by civil society entities in defense of democracy.
President of Santander in the country, Mário Leão said this Thursday (28), during an interview with journalists, that the bank participated in an extraordinary session held by the federation to address the matter.
“We consider the debate legitimate, we consider the manifesto legitimate, and we consider it legitimate that Febraban, as the body that represents the congregation of banks, has a single vote, and therefore, a participation in the manifesto. that Febraban, in a democratic way, concluded in supporting [o manifesto]”, said Leo.
“We are happy with the result, because we believe in the legitimacy of a manifesto like this. This is not a political manifesto, it is a democratic manifesto, and it is not partisan, it does not favor either A or B. It favors democracy, that was our vote within the Febraban environment, and we are happy that Febraban as a whole, democratically, voted in favor of participating in the manifesto together with other congregations and individuals”, he said, adding that the bank has no intention of adhering to the manifesto individually in figure of its main executives.
“The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), within the scope of its internal governance, by majority, decided to subscribe to a document sent to the entity by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), entitled ‘In Defense of Democracy and Justice’ “, said the federation, in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon (27).
Controlled by the government, Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil took a stand against Febraban’s adherence to the manifesto in favor of democracy.
In turn, bankers Roberto Setubal and Pedro Moreira Salles, co-chairs of the board of directors of Itaú Unibanco, and Candido Bracher, former president of the financial institution and now also a member of its board, individually signed the manifesto in defense of democracy that is being organized by the USP Law School.
During the press conference this Thursday, the CEO of Santander Brasil also said that the bank is non-partisan and does not root for any specific result in the elections.
“We are rooting for a result that is pro-Brazil, pro-democracy, and obviously pro-economic growth. We are sure that all candidates have this on their agenda,” said Leão. “We hope that this pro-growth agenda is, in fact, supported by whoever wins [a disputa]”.
Cryptocurrency offering starts
Santander’s CEO also said that the bank plans to start offering services related to the cryptocurrency market during the coming months, including the individual customer base.
“We expect in the next few months to have definitions about it, who knows in the next release [de resultados trimestrais]or even before”, stated Leão. “We recognize that it is a market that is here to stay, and it is not necessarily a reaction to competitors positioning themselves, it is simply a view that our client has a demand for this type of asset, so we have to find the most correct and educational way to do it.”
On July 14, Itaú announced the launch of its asset tokenization platform, Itaú Digital Assets.
According to the bank, traditional market assets, such as debt securities issued by companies, will be digitized through the blockchain network, with the aim of making these crypto assets accessible to a wider audience.
In May, XP and Nubank had also announced the start of offering cryptocurrencies to customers of the platforms.
Despite the advancement of the financial sector in the niche, cryptocurrencies have faced a period of strong price correction throughout 2022. Bitcoin has accumulated a devaluation of about 50% in the year to date.
The hike in interest rates by central banks in developed markets to contain strong inflationary pressure in the regions has been one of the main factors contributing to the cryptocurrency slump in recent months.
Conflicting prospects for default
Santander’s CEO also said that he has noticed greater financial health with regard to delinquency among medium and large companies.
On the other hand, among individuals and small companies, delays in payments require even greater caution at this time, said the executive.
The bank’s total default rate ended the second quarter at 2.9%, compared to 2.2% in June 2021.
The increase was mainly influenced by the portfolio of individuals – the default rate of this public ended June at 4.1%, against 3.2% in the same period of 2021. The default rate of legal entities was 1.1% , stable in the annual comparison.
“In the portfolios of very small companies and individuals, especially the portfolios that are not guaranteed, we had this worsening in default, along with the entire market”, acknowledged the executive.
“The good news is, [por conta de] all the adjustments we made to portfolios and models since the end of last year and especially in the first quarter of this year, when we look at these new crops, they behaved exactly as we imagined, and we do not expect further deterioration.”
Santander reported on Thursday net income of R$4.084 billion in the second quarter, down 2.1% from the same period last year.
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