Bradesco buys 100% of the Brazilian digital bank Digio

Bradesco has acquired a 49.99% stake in the digital bank Digio which was previously owned and controlled by Banco do Brasil. The deal is valued at BRL 625 million and now gives Bradesco 100% possession of the digital bank.

In a statement announcing the development, Bradesco indicated that the transaction is in line with the lender’s strategy of investing in digital companies, diversifying its operations and extending its target audience, through the implementation of differing business models.

Bradesco adds this to its suite of financial technology firms, which also includes digital bank Next, which launched in 2017 and recently crossed 7 million users; and the digital wallet Bitz, which in September ranked second on the list of most downloaded digital wallets in Brazil after recording 1.1 million downloads.

Banco do Brasil published a report detailing the effect its sale of Digio has had on its results. Through equity accounting, it is  estimated at BRL 175 million and has no material effect on the institution’s capital.

Digio’s current offerings include a bank account, credit card and personal loan. Its customer base currently stands at 2.7 million, while the total number of credit cards issued stands at 2 million and its credit portfolio at BRL 2.5 billion. 

In the first half of 2021, the institution posted a profit of BRL 36.7 million, recording an increase of 497% compared to the same period last year.