Latin America's biggest bank Itau Unibanco SA on Thursday posted a recurring net profit rise of 19%, outperforming other private Brazilian lenders as a larger loan book helped it offset mounting risk of debt delinquency.
Aggressive monetary tightening from Brazil's central bank has left the benchmark interest rate at a six-year high, prompting peers Bradesco SA and Santander (BME:SAN) Brasil SA to hike provisions for customers defaulting on loans.
Itau also reported a 90-day default ratio of 2.8% at the end of September, up from the previous quarter's 2.7%, albeit at a much slower pace than its peers.
The company also reported higher income from interest it earned on customer debt.
Its customer net interest income (NII) jumped 33% from a year earlier to reach 23.38 billion reais.
Finance chief Alexsandro Broedel said in a statement the quarterly results reflected "the strength and consistency of our performance over time, in the various lines of business."
Source: Investing.com
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