Caixa Econômica Federal

Is Caixa safe?

For a saver, yes, within the FGC limit. Caixa Econômica Federal is wholly owned by the federal government and has 160 million customers, more than any other Brazilian bank. Its CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 13.4% in June 2026, 5.4 points above the minimum, and its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary averaged 261% in the second quarter, the highest of Brazil's big banks. The FGC insures up to R$250,000 per person.

We score it 69/100, level with Banco do Brasil and four points below Itaú Unibanco. Caixa's CET1 and liquidity coverage ratios are higher than both. It loses points on how well it protects customers: a central bank fine for improper fees, a money laundering settlement, a court ruling over leaked data and a steady flow of fraud against people who receive social benefits through it.

A bank built on savings and mortgages

Caixa is unlike Brazil's other big banks. It holds 39.7% of all poupança savings, R$406 billion, and lends most of that out as home loans: its mortgage book passed R$1 trillion in June 2026, about two-thirds of Brazil's market. It also runs the FGTS workers' fund, pays Bolsa Família and other benefits, and operates the federal lotteries.

Mortgages are secured and default rarely (1.45% were 90 days late), which keeps the overall bad-loan ratio low. The weaker corners are smaller: 14% of commercial loans to companies and 21% of farm loans were more than 90 days late in June 2026, both up sharply in a year. Profits are modest for a Brazilian bank, R$7.4 billion in the first half of 2026, which means capital grows slowly.

State support has been real. The Treasury lent Caixa R$40.2 billion of hybrid capital in earlier years so it could expand lending, and Caixa began paying it back in 2019. That was a policy choice rather than a rescue of a failing bank, but it shows where Caixa's capital comes from when it needs more.

What the FGC covers at Caixa

Caixa pays into the Fundo Garantidor de Créditos like a private bank, and its customers get the same cover:

• R$250,000 per person per financial group, across all Caixa accounts and investments.
• Covered: current accounts, poupança, CDBs, LCIs, LCAs and similar Caixa-issued instruments.
• Not covered: investment funds, shares and pension plans.
• A cap of R$1 million per person across all banks, renewed every four years.

Many savers believe the government guarantees Caixa poupança. It does not, at least not by law. What state ownership does is make an outright failure very unlikely, which matters for anyone with more than R$250,000 there.

Fines, leaks and fraud

In May 2022 the Central Bank fined Caixa R$29.4 million for charging 13 kinds of fees it was not entitled to, one of the largest fines the regulator had imposed until then. An appeals board upheld it in February 2024, but the Central Bank's sanctions register now lists the penalty as suspended, without giving a reason. In November 2024 Caixa agreed to pay R$27 million to settle a case over late reports of suspicious transactions to Brazil's financial intelligence unitFinancial intelligence unitA national government agency that receives reports of suspicious transactions from banks and crypto firms and analyses them for money laundering.More in the glossary up to 2021. Its chief executive resigned in June 2022 after employees accused him of sexual harassment, and a former vice-president was dismissed in 2024 over harassment found by the government's internal audit body.

Customer data is the bigger worry. In September 2023 a federal judge in São Paulo ruled that Caixa, the federal government, Dataprev and the data protection authority were liable for the 2022 leak of data on about 4 million Auxílio Brasil recipients, which was used to sell them loans, and set compensation of R$15,000 per person. Caixa appealed, and we found no decision on the appeal. In 2024 the Central Bank reported that 644 Pix keys held at Caixa had been exposed. In 2026 the Federal Police said a gang had taken at least R$45 million from the accounts of Caixa customers, including FGTS withdrawals and emergency aid.

Against that, customers complain less: the Central Bank's complaints index for Caixa was 17.2 per million customers in the third quarter of 2026, a third of Bradesco's.

How to protect your money at Caixa

1. Keep FGC-covered balances under R$250,000 per person across all Caixa accounts.
2. Turn on every security option in the Caixa and Caixa Tem apps and never share an SMS code.
3. Treat calls or messages about FGTS releases or benefit payments as suspect, and check them in the official app instead.
4. Check Registrato at the Central Bank for loans in your name, especially if you receive a benefit.
5. Before investing, check that a product is a Caixa-issued CDB, LCI or LCA if you want FGC cover.

How we scored it

Liquidity (84) and deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary (78) are Caixa's strongest factors: a 261% LCRLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary, the largest savings base in Brazil and a state owner. Digital security (58) is the weakest, after the Auxílio Brasil data case and large-scale fraud against benefit accounts. Conduct (60) reflects the 2022 fee fine and the 2024 money laundering settlement.