The share of Brazilian industries that tried to take out or renew long-term credit and failed to get the funds rose from 33% in 2025 to 37.2% in 2026, according to Special Survey No. 107 by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the country's main industry lobby, released on Friday (9). The survey, covering February to July, heard 1,701 companies of small, medium and large size between August 3 and 12.
Interest rates remain the main barrier. Among companies that struggled to obtain short and medium-term credit (operations of up to five years), 76% cited rates as an obstacle; for long-term credit (above five years), the figure was 68.9%. In the previous edition of the survey, those shares were 80% and 71%, according to Veja magazine. Requirements for real collateral, such as property, came next: 33.4% of companies mentioned them for short and medium-term credit and 31.5% for long-term operations. Bureaucracy was cited by 13.6% for shorter operations, and an insufficient grace period by 18.9% for longer ones.
Working capital drives demand
Where the money goes stands out. Working capital was the main purpose of long-term credit for 28.7% of companies that sought, took out or renewed this kind of financing, ahead of purchases of machinery and equipment (23.6%) and construction and facilities (11.6%). In 2025, among large industries, 36% pointed to machinery as the main destination and 25% cited working capital; now the two are nearly tied, at 25% and 26.7%.
"Working capital is generally used to cover payroll, purchases of materials, inputs and other day-to-day company expenses. What stands out is when companies seek long-term credit for that purpose, because longer-maturity credit usually serves to finance investment," Maria Virgínia Colusso, a policy and industry analyst at CNI, told G1.
Half of the sector stayed out of the credit market. Between February and July, 54% of industries did not try to take out or renew long-term operations, and 49.9% did not seek short or medium-term credit. Frustration runs higher at smaller companies: among those that tried long-term financing, 48.2% of small firms came out empty-handed, along with 48.1% of medium-sized ones and 29.9% of large ones. Asked what would ease access to credit, 38.4% of companies pointed to lower tax and administrative costs as the main measure for short and medium-term operations.
The result shows a supply chain in which expensive money flows into day-to-day survival: instead of financing new machinery, part of long-term credit now covers wages and inputs, which limits capacity expansion. For producers, financing costs postpone investment and squeeze margins, above all at small and medium-sized industries, where nearly half of all requests fall through. For consumers, the effect tends to surface later, in fewer industrial jobs and in supply that grows less than it could.