Business credit got cheaper and smaller at the same time: what that says about your cash flow

What Brazil's Central Bank showed today about business credit

Today, September 29, 2026, Brazil's Central Bank released its Monetary and Credit Statistics with the August data. For companies, the picture has two sides that seem to fight each other: credit got cheaper, and the amount lent got smaller. If you run a small business, it's worth understanding both at once.

Let's take it step by step. The average rate on unrestricted credit for companies (so-called free-resources credit, where the bank and you negotiate the terms) came in at 24.2% a year. That is 1.0 percentage point below the previous month and 0.7 point below 12 months ago. So far, good news.

But the balance of that same credit totaled R$ 1.6 trillion, down 0.6% in the month and up just 0.5% over 12 months. In plain English: money got a little cheaper, but the amount of money lent didn't grow the way the rate might suggest.

In this article, we explain each number, show what it may mean for a small company's cash flow, and close with a practical roadmap. One honest warning before we start: the Central Bank data shows what happened, but not why it happened. When we get to that point, we'll say so plainly.

A quick summary of the August numbers

So you have everything in one place before moving on, here is what the release showed about companies (legal entities, or PJ in Brazilian shorthand, for pessoa jurídica):

• Average rate on unrestricted credit: 24.2% a year, down 1.0 percentage point in the month and 0.7 point in 12 months.
• Balance of unrestricted credit: R$ 1.6 trillion, down 0.6% in the month and up 0.5% over 12 months.
• Business defaults: stable at 3.3%.
• Working capital: the rate on operations of up to 365 days fell 4.1 percentage points, and the rate on operations longer than 365 days fell 1.0 point.

The numbers come from the Mercado&Consumo and CNN Brasil reports on the release, which we list at the end of the article.

Did credit get cheaper? Yes, but look where

The 24.2% average annual rate for companies was below the previous month's and also below a year ago. But an average hides a lot. The sharpest drop showed up in working capital, the loan companies use to pay day-to-day bills.

According to the report, the rate on working capital operations of up to 365 days fell 4.1 percentage points. On operations longer than 365 days, the drop was 1.0 point. In other words, short-term money got a lot cheaper than longer-term money.

What 24.2% a year means in practice

Let's use a hypothetical example, just to give a sense of scale. Imagine a company that borrows R$ 100,000 for one year and repays nothing along the way (that's not how most contracts work, but it keeps the math simple).

At 24.2% a year, interest for the period would be R$ 24,200. If the rate were the one from 12 months ago, which works out to 24.9% a year (24.2% plus the 0.7-point difference), it would be R$ 24,900. The savings would be R$ 700 in a year, on R$ 100,000.

This is a hypothetical example with round values, and it ignores fees, insurance, and the fact that most loans are paid in installments. The lesson is something else: a 0.7-point drop over 12 months helps, but it doesn't turn an expensive loan into a cheap one. For a tight cash position, R$ 700 a year per R$ 100,000 doesn't solve anyone's problem on its own.

Business rates are one thing, personal rates are another

To have a yardstick, the same Central Bank data shows that interest for households (individuals) reached 61.7% a year, up 1.4 percentage points in the month. The business rate, 24.2%, is far lower. That matters for a practical reason: when the owner of a small business pays company bills with their own credit card or overdraft, they are paying personal-loan interest, which in the August data is much higher than business interest. Mixing your CPF (personal tax ID) with your CNPJ (company tax ID) tends to be expensive, and we come back to this point later.

So why did credit get smaller at the same time?

Here comes the second side. The balance of unrestricted business credit, R$ 1.6 trillion, fell 0.6% in August and grew only 0.5% over 12 months. The report attributes the drop in the balance to working capital and receivables discounting, but it doesn't give the balances of those two categories.

That means the reduction came precisely from products that small companies use a lot: money to get through the month and the advance of sales made on installment terms. But since the figures for each category weren't released in the article, there's no way to say how much each one weighed.

The data doesn't explain why the balance shrank

Some people will read "lower rate and lower balance" and conclude that banks are deliberately lending less. Others will conclude that companies are asking for less. Neither conclusion is in the data.

A balance can fall because companies paid down debt, because banks approved fewer requests, because people gave up asking, or because of a mix of all of these. The sources we consulted don't separate these reasons. So the most honest stance is: we know what changed, we don't know the cause.

Business credit grew by other measures

To avoid painting a gloomier picture than the real one, it's worth looking at other measures in the same report. Credit to companies in the financial system grew 7.1% over 12 months, reaching R$ 2.7 trillion within the total of the National Financial System. Total credit in the system adds up to R$ 7.4 trillion.

Expanded credit to companies, a broader measure, reached R$ 7.3 trillion, equivalent to 54.6% of GDP, up 8.7% over 12 months. Each measure tells a different story, because it covers a different piece of the market.

The point is that unrestricted credit, which is what a small company most often finds at the bank counter, grew only 0.5%, while broader measures grew far more. The data doesn't say why these measures diverge, but the message for anyone planning cash flow is clear: growth in total credit doesn't guarantee that the type of credit you use is growing along with it.

If it's cheaper, why do so many companies look for credit and end up without it?

Demand for credit is not falling. According to Serasa Experian, companies' search for credit grew 10.4% over the 12 months through July 2026. Among micro and small companies, the increase was 10.5%.

Looking only at July 2026 against July 2025, the rise was even larger: 17.6% overall and 17.9% among micro and small companies. In the services sector, the jump was 29.0%.

Put these numbers together with the Central Bank's and the central picture of this article appears. On one side, more companies looking for credit. On the other, a balance of unrestricted credit that barely grows. The rate fell, but looking for credit is not the same as getting it.

What "credit search" doesn't mean

Beware of a reading that's too easy. Credit search measures how many companies went to check conditions, not how many got the money. It also doesn't say whether they were looking for credit to invest or to plug a hole.

One company may look for credit because it wants to grow. Another, because its cash got tight. The sources don't separate one case from the other. What we can say is that the line at the door is longer, and that the available balance hasn't kept pace.

The services sector stands out

The 29.0% jump in credit search by the services sector in July, year over year, is the largest on Serasa Experian's list. If your company provides services, look at this number closely: your competitors and your peers in the sector are going after credit at an accelerated pace. Again, the sources don't explain why. But it's a signal to talk to your bank and your accountant early, and not in the week your cash closes in the red.

Who is already in debt? The default picture

Business defaults, in the Central Bank data, stayed stable at 3.3%, and the two sources we read agree on that number. Stable sounds reassuring. But the picture changes when we switch lenses and look at who has a CNPJ and an overdue bill.

According to Serasa Experian, in July 2026 there were 9.2 million defaulting CNPJs in Brazil. Of those, 8.7 million are micro and small companies, about 95% of the total. The debts added up to R$ 238.6 billion, of which R$ 206 billion were owed by micro and small companies.

How much each company owes, on average

Serasa Experian calculated the average debt at R$ 25,983.88 per defaulting company. It's an average, so some companies owe far less and many owe much more. But it works as an order of magnitude: we're not talking about billion-real holes, but about amounts that, for a small business, weigh heavily on the cash flow of a bad month.

A hypothetical example helps show the weight. If a company has revenue of R$ 40,000 a month and owes R$ 26,000 (a value close to the average above), that debt equals more than half a month of revenue. It's not the end of the company, but it's enough to block a new credit request and to consume weeks of breathing room.

Two metrics, two messages

Don't get confused by the two default numbers. The 3.3% comes from the Central Bank. The 9.2 million CNPJs come from Serasa Experian, which counts companies with overdue debts. These are different surveys, and the sources don't detail how they compare.

That's why it's prudent not to mix the two numbers. But the message for a business owner is the same: default among small companies is a widespread phenomenon. If you're in that situation, you're not alone. And if you're not, it's worth protecting that position, because it becomes an advantage when you ask for credit.

And Selic? Why isn't interest falling faster?

In its decision of September 16, 2026, Copom (the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Committee) cut the Selic (Brazil's benchmark interest rate) from 14% to 13.75% a year, unanimously. It's a cut, but a small one, and the rate remains high. The Selic is the basis for almost all interest rates in the country, so any Copom decision ends up reaching, one way or another, the cost of your credit.

According to the minutes, released on September 22 and reported by the website Soubrasilia (a secondary source), unanchored expectations require restrictive interest rates for longer. Put simply: the Central Bank judges that, until price expectations are under control, interest rates need to stay high for longer.

What this changes for anyone planning cash flow

For those who plan, the translation is straightforward. You can't build a budget expecting credit to get much cheaper in the coming months. The direction may be downward, but the minutes signal that the pace tends to be cautious.

Sensible planning works with the current cost and treats a future reduction as a bonus, not as an assumption. If the plan only works with lower interest, the plan is fragile.

What this means for your company's cash flow

Putting it all together, the practical reading is this: credit is cheaper on average, but access hasn't improved to the same degree. In a scenario like this, a company that depends on loans to close the month carries more risk than the rate alone reveals.

Think of your cash as a water tank. The interest rate is the price of the water you buy from outside. The credit balance is the size of the tap. If the price drops, but the tap is narrower and many people are competing for the same flow, having your own reserve matters more than ever.

Three questions to ask your cash flow

Before any credit decision, answer in writing:

1. How many days can the company hold out if a big sale is 30 days late?
2. What share of the month's expenses depends on money that hasn't come in yet?
3. If the bank denies the request, what is plan B for the next 60 days?

If any answer is "I don't know," the problem isn't the interest rate. It's lack of visibility, and that costs more than any percentage point.

When credit is medicine and when it becomes routine

There is an important difference between using credit for a planned investment and using credit to cover cash every month. The first has an expected return. The second is a symptom. If you take working capital loans at the same time every year, to pay the same bills, the loan is hiding a mismatch between when you pay and when you get paid. That is solved with term planning, not just a lower rate.

How to read your own debt (and not just the rate)

The advertised rate is only one part of a loan's cost. Two contracts with the same rate can end up costing very different amounts because of fees, insurance, and term. That's why, before talking about renegotiation, it's worth learning to read what you already have.

CET: the number that matters

The CET (Custo Efetivo Total, or total effective cost) adds up interest and the contract's other charges into a single percentage. Ask any institution for this number. When you compare two proposals, compare the CET, not the interest rate. It's the simplest way to avoid surprises.

Ask for the CET in writing and check whether the credit proposal includes insurance, an origination fee, or other items that raise the cost without you having asked for them.

Short or long term? Working capital or investment?

The Central Bank report shows that working capital of up to 365 days became much cheaper than longer-term working capital. That doesn't mean short term is always better. It depends on what you're going to finance.

A rule of thumb: short-term debt goes with short-term needs (an inventory purchase that turns into sales within weeks). Long-term debt goes with assets that last, like a machine or a renovation. When you finance a long expense with short money, the installment comes due before the return arrives, and that's when cash gets tight.

A debt spreadsheet that fits on one page

List each debt with five columns: creditor, current amount, CET, remaining term, and installment amount. Add up the month's installments and compare them with the cash coming in. Then sort from most expensive to cheapest by CET.

This exercise takes less than an hour and usually reveals two things: which debt is worth renegotiating first and how much of your revenue is already committed before the company sells anything in the month.

Is renegotiating worth it? And advancing receivables?

With the average rate falling, many people wonder whether it's worth renegotiating old contracts. The short answer: it may be, especially if your contract was signed when the cost was higher. But the decision depends on the current CET and on what the bank offers, not just on the news about interest rates.

A simple renegotiation roadmap

Before calling your manager, gather four things: the current contract, the CET you pay, your payment history without delays, and a competing proposal, even an informal one. With that, the conversation changes from "can you help me?" to "show me a better deal than this one."

If you're overdue, also ask for a simulation with the total amount of the debt, the possible discounts for a lump-sum payment, and the installment terms. Compare everything using the CET, because a long installment plan with a small payment can cost more in total.

Receivables advance: beware of the convenience

According to the report on the Central Bank data, receivables discounting is among the categories that pulled the balance down. For a small company, advancing sales made on installment terms is practical, because the money comes in right away. The cost, however, comes out of your own revenue.

Consider a hypothetical example with round numbers. You have R$ 10,000 to receive in 30 days and you advance it by paying a discount of R$ 500 (5%). If you do that every month, that's R$ 6,000 a year giving up revenue just to bring cash forward. It's not an annual rate calculation, it's only to show the effect of repetition.

The useful question is: do I advance once because an opportunity came up, or do I advance every month because the cash doesn't add up? In the first case, it's a tool. In the second, it's a sign that the payment terms to your suppliers and the collection terms from your customers are mismatched.

How to build a cash reserve without stopping the company

A cash reserve is the cheapest way to deal with credit that may not come. It doesn't need to be large at first. It needs to be separate, visible, and protected.

Start small. Set a target in days of fixed expenses (for example, 15 days) and set aside a fixed percentage of each sale until you get there. Then raise the target to 30, 45, 60 days. For a company with tight margins, this pace may seem slow, but it's what keeps the first late payment from turning into a snowball.

Where to keep it and how to protect it

Keep the reserve in an account separate from your operating account, preferably in a daily-liquidity investment. The goal is for it to be available quickly, but for you not to spend it by accident. Golden rule: the reserve is only used for a real cash shortfall, never to pay for a planned purchase.

The reserve also improves your negotiation

Whoever has a reserve negotiates better. If the bank turns down the request or offers a high CET, you can wait. Without a reserve, any proposal looks good because the alternative is paying a bill late. That power to say "no, thanks" is worth more than any one-off discount.

What to prepare before asking for credit

With demand for credit rising and the balance of unrestricted credit practically flat, a well-prepared request tends to have a better chance than an improvised one. The data doesn't say how banks decide, so we can't promise approval. But you can eliminate avoidable reasons for rejection.

The checklist before going to the bank

• Up-to-date accounting. Current trial balances and statements for the last few months, with no pending items.
• Separate accounts. Company account distinct from the personal account, with no mixed spending.
• Regular taxes and obligations. No open debts that could stall the analysis.
• Cash flow forecast. A simple projection of the next 6 to 12 months, with a normal scenario and a bad scenario.
• Clear purpose. Know what the money is for, how much you need, and how long it takes to pay back.
• Realistic amount and term. The installment must fit in cash even in a weak month, not just in a good one.
• Two or three proposals. Compare the CET, not just the rate.

Why the cash forecast weighs so much

A forecast doesn't need to be sophisticated. A spreadsheet with expected inflows and outflows, month by month, already answers the most important question: does the installment fit? If the answer is only "yes" in the optimistic scenario, the request is too big or the term is too short.

Besides helping with the bank's analysis, the forecast protects you from taking on a debt that looks manageable today and becomes a burden in two months.

Common mistakes by people who take credit at a time like this

Some mistakes repeat. It's worth checking whether any of them is on your radar:

• Choosing by the smallest installment. A small installment over a long term can cost more in total.
• Comparing only the rate. Fees and insurance change the CET and, therefore, the real cost.
• Financing a long expense with short money. The installment comes due before the return arrives.
• Advancing receivables as a habit. What was an exception becomes a hidden fixed cost.
• Mixing CPF and CNPJ. Using a personal card or limit to cover the company usually costs more, as the 61.7% a year on household credit shows.
• Waiting for the rate to fall further. Planning around lower interest makes the plan fragile.
• Hiding the problem. The sooner you go to the bank or your accountant, the more options exist.

The costliest mistake: putting off the conversation

If we had to pick one mistake among all of them, it would be this one. Overdue debt grows and closes doors, and the Serasa Experian numbers show that default is common among small companies. Approaching the creditor before you fall behind, with your numbers in hand, usually opens more paths than waiting for the problem to show up in your account.

Quick questions

Does cheaper credit mean it got easier to get?

Not necessarily. The average rate fell to 24.2% a year, but the balance of unrestricted business credit declined 0.6% in the month and rose only 0.5% over 12 months, while the search for credit grew 10.4% over the same period, according to Serasa Experian. Lower price and greater access are separate things.

Is business default rising?

In the Central Bank data, business default stayed stable at 3.3%. Serasa Experian, meanwhile, reports 9.2 million defaulting CNPJs in July, 95% of them micro and small. These are different surveys, from different sources, and they can't be compared directly.

Is it worth waiting for interest to fall further before asking for credit?

It depends on the urgency and the purpose. The Selic fell from 14% to 13.75% in September, but the Copom minutes say that unanchored expectations require restrictive interest rates for longer. If the plan only works with lower interest, it's fragile. Do the math with today's cost.

What is the CET and why look at it?

The CET (Custo Efetivo Total, or total effective cost) brings together interest, fees, insurance, and other charges into a single percentage. Two proposals with the same rate can have different CETs. That's why, when comparing loans, ask for the CET in writing and compare it, not just the advertised rate.

Is advancing receivables a good way out?

It can be, as a one-off solution. The discount comes out of your own revenue and, if it becomes a monthly habit, it turns into a hidden fixed cost. Before advancing, calculate how much revenue you're giving up and whether the problem isn't a mismatch between the terms you pay and the terms you get paid.

Why did the credit balance fall if the rate dropped?

The data doesn't explain. The report attributes the drop in the balance to working capital and receivables discounting, but it doesn't give the balances of those categories or the causes. It could be less supply, less demand, more debt repayment, or a combination. There's no basis in the sources to state a reason.

Where Diglion comes in

Diglion helps small and medium-sized companies build the information base that credit requires: financial organization with separate accounts, a cash flow dashboard with a forecast for the coming months, and control of receivables and debts with CET and terms in one place. With those numbers in order, the business owner decides whether to take credit, how much, and in which category, and arrives at the bank or the renegotiation with arguments, instead of depending on luck.

Sources consulted

• Mercado&Consumo, Household interest rises in August and default reaches 6%, retrieved 2026-09-29.
• CNN Brasil, Default hits new record in August, according to Central Bank, retrieved 2026-09-29.
• Serasa Experian, Default reached 9 million companies in July and debts totaled R$ 238 billion, retrieved 2026-09-29.
• Serasa Experian, Companies' search for credit grew 10% over the 12 months through July, retrieved 2026-09-29.
• Soubrasilia, Copom minutes of September 22, retrieved 2026-09-29.