Marcelo Mizrahi

Marcelo Mizrahi asked about the positive surprise in expenses, specifically the reduction of 2,000 employees, with 1,300 migrating to the SST global platform. He sought clarification on whether this was a global back-office platform, its impact on expenses, and if further adjustments were expected. He also inquired about provisions, NPL movement, and concerns regarding corporate cases and their potential impact on the cost of risk, given the constant large corporate portfolio growth.

Answer

CEO Mario Leão explained that the employee migration to SST (a global unit for infrastructure, mainframe, cloud, and telecom management) reduces costs for Brazil as these employees now serve multiple geographies. This move contributes to the bank's 'zero nominal expenses' mindset by creating absolute reductions. He noted that the expense agenda involves optimizing service models towards digital and chat-based interactions, reducing the need for physical stores and remote channel headcount. CFO Gustavo Alejo stated that the bank's credit appetite has changed, and while known large corporate cases are being managed, no new significant cases are emerging. He confirmed adjustments in smaller company portfolios (B1) and individuals, but no overall reduction or increase in credit appetite, focusing on consistent client performance and profitability.

Marcelo Mizrahi from Bradesco BBI inquired about the nature of the growth in the corporate credit portfolio and the strategy to address the negative net new money from corporate clients.

Answer

Chief Financial Officer Victor Mansur explained that the credit portfolio growth is from assets originated to be securitized and sold to XP's client base, consistent with past quarters. Regarding negative corporate net new money, he attributed it to a market dynamic where traditional banks are demanding investment reciprocity in exchange for credit lines. Since XP does not focus on this type of lending, it is seeing some corporate cash flow to competitors.

Marcelo Mizrahi questioned why credit disbursements were at a record high in the quarter despite a conservative provisioning stance and asked for guidance on the future cost of risk.

Answer

CFO & IRO Mateus Scherer Schwening explained that the high disbursement follows a non-linear growth pattern and came after a flatter Q1. He stated the increased provision was a proactive, cautious decision based on macro signals, not current portfolio health, as NPLs are stable. He reiterated that the cost of risk should normalize to the mid-teens, not the 20% seen in the quarter.

Marcelo Mizrahi asked about the impact of the Easter holiday on Stone's TPV and sales volumes during the first quarter, referencing comments made by other companies in the payments ecosystem.

Answer

Executive Lia de Matos responded that there were no specific trends to highlight regarding an Easter impact on Stone's volumes. She suggested this is likely due to the company's client profile, which has minimal exposure to the large retail sector where such holiday effects are typically more pronounced.

Marcelo Mizrahi of BBI asked about the opportunity for Itaú's investment platform, particularly with the influx of clients from the 'One Itaú' initiative, and the strategy for this segment now that the bank is no longer a shareholder in XP.

Answer

CEO Milton Maluhy Filho explained that 'One Itaú' creates a significant cross-sell opportunity for investments. While the existing 'íon' platform with human specialists serves the affluent segment well, the bank is piloting an AI-powered wealth specialist to provide scalable investment advice to the broader client base. He emphasized that combining Itaú's deep investment expertise with AI technology creates a powerful competitive advantage.

Marco Mizrahi inquired about the sustainability of the current proportion of interest-earning assets within the credit card portfolio, in light of the bank's strategy to increase installment-based lending.

Answer

Executive Alexandre De Oliveira confirmed that the shift towards more installment loans is a deliberate and desired strategy. He described it as a 'win-win' that helps clients manage debt while increasing Inter's interest income. The stated goal is to increase the interest-earning portion of the credit card portfolio from around 20% to a target of 25-26% by launching new products that encourage this behavior.