Banco Master

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Banco Master
TypeUnlisted public company
IndustryFinancial services
FoundedSão Paulo, Brazil 1970 (1970)
Defunct18 November 2025 (2025-11-18)
FateLiquidated
Headquarters
São Paulo, Brazil
,
Brazil
Key people
Number of employees
515 (2025)[1]
Websitewww.bancomaster.com.br

Banco Master was a Brazilian financial institution based in São Paulo which also served as an investment brokerage firm. It is in the process of being liquidated as ordered by the Central Bank of Brazil.[2] The bank was founded in 1970 as Banco Máxima, but the name and direction of the company were changed in 2018 in the midst of reforms.[3][4][5][6]

On 18 November 2025, the bank was ordered by federal authorities to be extrajudicially liquidated, with the owner, Daniel Vorcaro, being arrested for money laundering as a result of the Banco Master scandal.[2][7]

Financial Ratings

In October 2022, Banco Master received a Long Term Issuer Default Rating in Foreign Currency, a Local ‘B’, and a “B” Viability Rating from Fitch Ratings.[8]

In October 2024, after publishing its earnings for the first semester of the year, Fitch Ratings raised its national rating for the bank from BBB to A- and maintained its B+ rating on the global ranking, with the company describing the bank as “stable”.[9] At the end of the first semester of 2025, Banco Master had liquid assets of 4.2 billion Brazilian real after reaching 500 million in gross profits in the first 6 months of that year.[10][11]

History

Banco Máxima

In 1974, the company was founded as Máxima Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários. The bank obtained permission from the Central Bank of Brazil to operate as a financial institution in 1990, which gave rise to Banco Máxima. Around ten years after, the bank began credit operations, expanding its portfolio to primarily include mortgage loans.[12][13] Later on in 2016, however, Banco Máxima was close to insolvency after defaulting on their inventory of mortgage loans.[3][5][14]

Banco Master

From 2018 to 2021, the bank went through wholesale reforms in its layout and operational structure, with a capitalization of 400 million Brazilian real. The bank went on to be called Banco Master.[14][4][5] Vorcaro, the president of the bank at the time, and the other new associates implemented a series of reforms to get Banco Master out of its delicate financial situation that they found the bank in. As they assumed control of the bank, they established a new strategy for the business; The steps for the new strategy included a diversification of their portfolio, with less real estate financing contracts and the addition of other sources of income such as payday loans, personal credit, finance services, insurance, and investment banks.[3][15][16][17][18]

Will Bank

On 22 February 2024, Banco Master announced that they would be buying a majority stake of Will Bank, a digital bank with more than 6 million customers, mainly in the Northeast region of Brazil. The agreement, the value of which has not been revealed, enabled Banco Master to expand its customer base to 10.5 million people throughout the country.[19]

Will Bank had 756 employees as of 2024,[20] and had as its target audience working class consumers without a bank account in other institutions. The institution had profits of 2.8 billion real in 2023. In 2021, it received a cash infusion of 250 million real from private equity firms XP and Atmos. With the transaction, Atmos and its founders left the business. Chu Kong, one of the people who initially created the idea of Will Bank and who was an associate of XP, continued to be an advisor for the bank.[21]

In October 2024, Will Bank announced their partnership with football player Vinicius Júnior, who plays for both the Brazilian national team and Real Madrid, as their new ambassador.[22]

Oncoclínicas

On 22 May 2024, Banco Master built a financial operation with funds from investment firms Quíron and Tessália to undersign a billion reais for the new initiatives of Oncoclínicas, a health network specializing in cancer treatments. With this, the funds anchored by Banco Master went on to hold 12% of Oncoclínicas, for which the increase in capital was complimented by another 500 million real by CEO and founder Bruno Lemos Ferrari. This elevated the total capital of the company to 1.5 billion real.[23][24]

Ferrari's contribution to Oncoclínicas was also structured by Banco Master. With the operation, its equity stake rose from 5% to 11%. Goldman Sachs also held 36% of the company. The rest of the actions were flattened by the market. Oncoclínicas informed that the new resources would help them to reinforce its capital structure and for it to maintain its growth strategy in Brazil.[25][26]

Liquidation of Banco Master and Will Bank

On 18 November 2025, the Central Bank of Brazil ordered the liquidation of Banco Master. This is often ordered by the Central Bank due to the financial situation of an institution being unrecoverable.

On 21 January 2026, the Central Bank also ordered Will Bank's liquidation.[27]

See also

References

  1. Liquidação do Master deve afetar 515 trabalhadores e 12 milhões de clientes, Correio Braziliense, 18 November 2025, retrieved 4 April 2026
  2. "Banco Central decreta liquidação extrajudicial do Banco Master". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 18 November 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  3. Bianca Alvarenga (18 December 2022). "Após repaginar o Máxima, banqueiro revoluciona a Le Lis e a Dudalina". Metrópoles. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  4. Álvaro Campos e Fernando Torres. "Banco Máxima revê foco e passa a se chamar Master". Valor Econômico. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  5. Flávia Furlan (19 December 2019). "Banco Máxima dá sinais de virada em meio à troca de controle". Valor Econômico. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  6. "Banco Master". XP Investimentos. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  7. "Daniel Vorcaro, dono do Banco Master, é preso pela Polícia Federal". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 18 November 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  8. "Fitch Atribui IDRs 'B' ao Banco Master; Perspectiva Estável". Fitch Ratings. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  9. Redação (5 October 2024). "Fitch Ratings eleva nota do Banco Master". Monitor Mercantil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  10. Araujo, Paula Eduarda (5 September 2024). "Banco Master antecipa meta de patrimônio líquido e mira varejo". BPMoney (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  11. "Banco Master projeta R$ 5 bilhões de patrimônio líquido em 2024 e antecipa projeções - Bahia Notícias". www.bahianoticias.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). 5 September 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  12. Banco Master (ed.). "Sobre nós". Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  13. Felipe Pacheco (26 October 2015). UOL/Bloomberg (ed.). "Pequeno, Banco Máxima quer avançar em crédito imobiliário em meio a crise econômica". Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  14. Flach, Natália (2 August 2021). "Após mudança societária e aporte de R$ 400 mi, Banco Máxima agora é Banco Master". CNN Brasil Business. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  15. Álvaro Campos (4 April 2022). Valor Econômico (ed.). "Banco Master avança em crédito e dobra lucro". Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  16. Cláudio Gradilone (30 July 2021). Revista Exame (ed.). "Crédito, seguros, investimentos…". Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  17. Nuno Vinha (31 December 2021). Jornal Económico (ed.). "Brasileiros do Banco Master acordam compra do BNI Europa". Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  18. SAPO, ed. (31 December 2021). "Brasileiros do Banco Master fecham acordo para compra do BNI Europa". Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  19. "Master compra o Will Bank, levando tecnologia e carteira de clientes". Brazil Journal (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 February 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  20. "Sindicato dos Bancários cobra proteção aos funcionários do Banco Master". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 November 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  21. InfoMoney, Equipe (23 February 2024). "Banco Master compra participação majoritária no Will Bank". InfoMoney (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  22. Mensagem, Meio & (28 October 2024). "Vinicius Jr. é escolhido como novo embaixador do will bank". Meio e Mensagem - Marketing, Mídia e Comunicação (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  23. Sambrana, Carlos (23 May 2024). "Oncoclínicas levanta R$ 1,5 bilhão. Banco Master monta posição de 12%". NeoFeed (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  24. "Oncoclínicas aprova aumento de capital de R$1,5 bilhão". Valor Econômico (in Brazilian Portuguese). 24 May 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  25. Pinto, Lucinda (22 May 2024). "Oncoclínicas aprova aumento de capital de R$ 1,5 bilhão". InvestNews. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  26. "Oncoclínicas levanta R$ 1,5 bi a R$ 13/ação; Master ancora; Goldman continua". Brazil Journal (in Brazilian Portuguese). 22 May 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  27. "BC decreta liquidação do Will Bank, do grupo Master". Folha de S.Paulo. Uol. 21 January 2026. Retrieved 4 April 2026.