Americanas Implosion Prompts Banks to Set Aside $1.8 Billion
- Bradesco, Itau Unibanco provisioned 100% of credit exposure
- Central bank is monitoring effects of the case: Campos Neto
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Brazil’s largest publicly-traded banks have set aside 9.3 billion reais ($1.8 billion) for potential losses tied to the collapse of retailer Americanas SA, which is adding to an increasingly complicated credit environment in the South American nation.
While banks didn’t specifically name the retailer as the company responsible for higher provisions in their earnings statements, the impact of the firm’s sudden downfall after uncovering 20 billion reais in accounting “inconsistencies” last month is clear to see in fourth-quarter results.