Brasilia, Sept. 29, 2026 (Lusa) - Brazilian banks recorded a record-high default rate on lending transactions, rising from 4.9% in July to 5% in August, primarily due to defaults by private individuals, the Brazilian Central Bank (BC) revealed on Tuesday.

In the case of private individuals, the default rate rose from 5.8% in July to 6% in August, the highest level in the historical series that began in March 2011, according to the institution's data, which defines a default as a payment delay of more than 90 days for both private individuals and businesses.

For businesses, the Central Bank noted that the default rate remained stable at 3.3% in August, though this was still the highest figure recorded since October 2017, when it stood at 3.4%.

The Central Bank also released July household debt data, which stood at 49.9%, up 0.2 percentage points over the month and 1.1 percentage points over 12 months.

«The debt-to-income ratio remained stable compared with June and rose by 1.4 percentage points over twelve months, standing at 28.7%,' the bank noted in a statement.

This new record for non-payment of credit facilities comes against a backdrop in which the government launched, in May this year, a second round of a debt renegotiation programme.

Debt levels among Brazilians have been a key issue in the final stages of the campaigns of the main candidates for the Brazilian presidency: Lula da Silva, who is seeking re-election, and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who claims that the Lula government's spending directly affects people's pockets.

MYMA/ADB // ADB.

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