Inter reported a first quarter with portfolio growth, record profits and an ROE close to 10%, easily exceeding the company’s expectations. sellside.
The bank had a Bottom line of R$ 195 million, with an ROE of 9.7%, while the consensus Bloomberg it was a profit of R$165 million with an ROE of around 8%.
For comparison purposes, last year Inter made a profit of R$345 million.
CFO Santiago Stel told Brazil Journal that the highlight of the quarter was the evolution of the net financial margin, which rose 20 basis points to 9.2%, excluding the cash credit card portfolio (which does not accrue interest).
The growth had to do with three effects: the repricing of the bank’s old portfolio, which is maturing and being replaced by loans with a better rate; the entry of a new portfolio at higher rates; and the fall of the Selic, which initially has a positive effect on the spreadsince the cost of funding falls forward.
“Another positive impact on NIM was default, which has remained at a practically stable level,” said the CFO.
In the quarter, the 90-day NPL rose just 20 bps to 4.8%, despite the negative seasonality of the period. Historically, the first quarters see increases in defaults, as the consumer has additional expenses such as IPVA and IPTU.
Inter grew its credit portfolio by 3% in the quarter in the sequential comparison, to R$32.1 billion.
The number shows a slowdown compared to the previous quarter, when the portfolio grew 8%. This loss of pace had mainly to do with the loan portfolio for companies, which fell 10% in the quarter, and the payroll loan portfolio, which was flat.
The card portfolio grew 7%; home equity, 10%; and FGTS, 21%.
Going forward, Stel said that Inter wants to grow the FGTS “as much as possible.”
“It is a product that has a 1.8% monthly fee and an ROE of more than 30%. At the same time, it is also a benefit for the consumer, because the alternative is much more expensive credit.”
Another highlight of the quarter was the evolution of the efficiency index, which fell from 51.4% to 47.7%. According to Stel, the improvement had to do with the fact that Inter was managing to grow revenue while keeping expenses stable.
In this quarter, expenses were R$618 million — the same level as the previous quarter and practically the same level of expenses as in the fourth quarter of 2021 (R$603 million), when the bank’s revenue was much lower.
Inter’s guidance is to reach an efficiency rate of 30% by 2027, but Stel said that the bank is “very advanced” in relation to its business plan and will probably deliver this target before the deadline.
Inter also improved its margin per active customer, maintaining its ARPAC at R$30 and reducing the cost of serving from R$12.50 to R$11.80.
The digital bank also said that it added 1 million active customers to its base, bringing the total to 17.4 million. The total number of registered customers is 31 million.
Pedro Arbex
