Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported total gross revenues of BRL 15 billion, marking a 45% year-on-year growth, while net revenues grew 31% year-on-year to reach BRL 8.4 billion [13] - The net interest income increased by 41% year-on-year, driven by strong performance in payroll loans, credit cards, mortgages, and home equity loans [13] - The company achieved a net income of BRL 1.3 billion, surpassing a 15% return on equity (ROE) in the last quarter [18] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - The loan portfolio grew by 36% year-on-year, with mortgages increasing by 48% and home equity loans by 35% [9] - The private payroll loans portfolio reached nearly BRL 2 billion, with around 400,000-500,000 clients, showcasing the strength of digital distribution [6] - Credit card volume grew by 29%, with a focus on reshaping the client base from pure transactors to more engaged users [6][9] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company processed 32,000 financial transactions per minute, totaling almost 1 billion transactions in December, reflecting high client engagement [3] - The transaction volume through Pix reached around BRL 1.5 trillion for the year, leading to a market share of 8.5% [5] - The funding franchise grew by 32% year-on-year, reaching nearly BRL 73 billion, driven primarily by time deposits [11] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company aims to replicate the success of Pix in other products, with home equity already ahead of Pix in market share [7] - The strategy focuses on continuous innovation across seven verticals, enhancing client value and profitability [8] - The management emphasizes the importance of technology and AI to improve efficiency and operational leverage [24][68] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - The management expressed confidence in achieving growth targets for 2026, with expectations of continued loan growth and efficiency improvements [22][68] - The company anticipates a cost of risk between 5.5% and 6% for 2026, with a focus on maintaining asset quality [51] - The management highlighted the resilience of their funding strategy, even in a high-interest-rate environment [12] Other Important Information - The company maintained a healthy funding mix, with a cost of funding at 65.6% of CDI, an improvement from the previous quarter [12] - The efficiency ratio improved from 48.4% to 45.5%, reflecting operational leverage and cost optimization efforts [17] Q&A Session Questions and Answers Question: Concerns about efficiency ratio progress - The management acknowledged the slower progress in efficiency and emphasized ongoing efforts in technology and innovation to improve this metric [21][24] Question: Future dividend payments strategy - The company plans to maintain a 20% payout ratio for dividends, as long as it does not impact growth execution [25][26] Question: Fee income growth expectations - The management noted that fee income growth was impacted by increased expenses but expects initiatives to reengage clients to drive future growth [32][36] Question: Provisioning and asset quality concerns - The management confirmed that asset quality is performing as planned and that the increase in Stage Three formation was anticipated due to the maturation of certain products [47][49] Question: Competitive advantage in private payroll loans - The management highlighted their strong client base, low funding costs, and the non-cannibalization of other revenues as key competitive advantages in the private payroll segment [74][76]