Business defaults hit a record 9.3 million in August

In brief

Business defaults hit a record 9.3 million in August.

They rose 14.3%.

Verified fact · material
The number of businesses in default reached a record 9.3 million in August 2026, up 14.3% from August 2025, according to Serasa Experian.
Record.
Sources[01][02]
Verified fact · material
Debts totaled R$ 244.4 billion across 68.2 million overdue accounts.
Volume.
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Verified fact · material
Micro and small businesses account for 8.8 million of the defaulting companies and R$ 211 billion of the debt.
Concentration.
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Verified fact
According to UOL, the average is 7.4 overdue accounts per company.
Average.
Sources[01]

Transmission to assets

The record confirms the effect of high interest rates on smaller firms.

Bancosnegative

Defaults raise provisions.

Already provisioned.

What would change the view: Trend continues.

sector25% confidence

Direction is an explanatory hypothesis, not a forecast or recommendation.

Next signals

Limits of the reporting

The data count companies with at least one overdue account, not recoverable value.