By Rogerio Jelmayer

SAO PAULO--Banco Santander Brasil SA (SANB11.BR), the Brazilian unit of Spanish bank Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC), saw an increase of 16.6% in its net profit in the second quarter, due to the combination of a rise in loans and reduction of its provisions charges.

The bank posted a net profit of 1.68 billion reais ($500 million), up from BRL1.44 billion in the year-ago period.

Santander's loan portfolio expanded 12.4% to BRL254 billion in the period. The bank's credit expansion was led by an increase in loans for big companies, which reached BRL106 billion, up 28.7% from the same period of 2014.

Even with the increase in loans, the bank was able to reduce its provisions charges in the period as its default rate declined.

The bank's provisions charges dropped around 8.4% to BRL5.5 billion in the first half from the year ago period. The bank did not provide separate figures for the second quarter. Its default rate reached 3.2% in the second quarter, down from 4.1% in the prior year period.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Banco Santander Charts.
Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Banco Santander Charts.