Brazil’s Itau Unibanco beats profit expectations, raises loan forecast
![](https://brazilcham.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/itau-1024x1021.png)
Brazil’s largest lender said second-quarter recurring net profit rose 17.4% from the previous year to 7.67 billion reais ($1.50 billion), beating analyst expectations of 7.48 billion reais, as compiled by Refinitiv.
The bank also said its loan book is likely to grow between 15.5% and 17.5% this year, above a previous estimate of 9%-12%.
Its 2022 cost of credit, which is mainly composed of cash set aside for loans likely to default, is now seen in the range of 28 billion-31 billion reais, up from the previous forecast of between 25 billion and 29 billion reais.
In the three months ending June 30, Itau’s loan-loss provisions reached 7.81 billion reais, up 61.7% from last year, while its loan book rose 19.3% on a year-on-year basis to 1.08 trillion reais.
By Peter Frontini via Reuters