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In the world · Entrepreneurship · 1 September 2026

Record delinquency: 9.2 million companies in default

In July 2026, 9.2 million Brazilian companies had debts in default, totaling R$ 238.6 billion, according to Serasa. Almost all are small.

bairogonzalez.com team, drawing on Bairo's story · Published

Delinquency among Brazilian companies hit a new record in July 2026: 9.2 million CNPJs (company registration numbers) had debts flagged as delinquent, totaling R$ 238.6 billion, according to the Serasa Experian indicator released on September 1. Micro and small businesses made up 8.7 million of that total and accounted for R$ 206 billion of the debt.

What happened

Serasa Experian's monthly indicator tracks companies with overdue bills recorded in its credit registry. In June 2026, the number had already passed 9.1 million, with R$ 232.9 billion in debt, the highest in the series that began in 2016, as CNN Brasil reported. In July, it rose again:

  • 9.2 million delinquent companies;
  • 67.2 million debts flagged as delinquent, an average of 7.3 per company;
  • R$ 25,983.88 in average debt per CNPJ;
  • 8.7 million delinquent micro and small businesses, with R$ 206 billion in debt;
  • 75.7% of the debts are owed to creditors outside the financial system, such as suppliers and utility bills.

By sector, services accounted for 55.8% of delinquent companies, followed by commerce (32.1%) and industry (8%). São Paulo led, with more than 3.1 million CNPJs in default.

Camila Abdelmalack, chief economist at Serasa Experian, attributed the situation to interest rates: the market continues to price in high rates for a prolonged period, and that weighs on financing costs and on companies' ability to roll over their debts.

Why it matters

The record speaks mainly about small businesses. Almost 95% of the delinquent companies are micro or small, and most of the debt is not owed to banks: it is owed to the supplier, the electricity bill, the rent. It is everyday debt, which shows up when cash runs short for a few weeks in a row.

A company in default has a harder time getting credit, buying on installment terms and taking part in public tenders. This creates a cycle: without credit, cash gets tight; with cash tight, more bills fall behind. Even with the Central Bank cutting the Selic rate since March 2026, the improvement had not yet reached small businesses at the counter.

In Bairo's view

For Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez, behind each of these 9.2 million CNPJs there is a person who goes to bed unable to sleep. He knows that weight: he says he lost everything more than once and that, in one of those falls, fifty people were depending on him.

In his reading, debt does not define the person who carries it. Every no is the ground of a yes, and the no from the cash register is one of the most useful, because it comes with a to-do list inside: renegotiate, cut, sell what is sitting idle, ask for help before the snowball grows. The Seventh Attempt Method proposes a 13-week cash flow and a red line written with a cool head, the point at which you stop, change course or ask for help. It promises neither money nor a quick way out; it organizes the decision. If the weight is too much, Brazil's CVV (Centro de Valorização da Vida) answers free of charge, 24 hours a day, at 188. Bairo's story is in The founder.

Where this meets the ecosystem

CEASA Bank, an agribusiness financial platform founded by Bairo, starts from an observation about those who work at the wholesale supply centers: many people move money every day and, even so, have no history a credit analyst recognizes. The proposal is for every recorded sale to become financial history that belongs to the person who did the work, operating on the infrastructure of an authorized institution.

CLAIN, an orchestrator of AI agents, proposes to help small business owners organize debts, put together a payment plan and prepare to negotiate, with the decision always made by a person.

Sources

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