By Rogerio Jelmayer 
 

SAO PAULO--Banco Santander Brasil SA (SANB11.BR), the Brazilian unit of Spanish bank Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC), saw an increase of 14.4% in its net profit in the first quarter, due to the combination of a rise in loans and reduction of its provisions charges.

The bank posted a net profit of 1.63 billion reais ($563 million), up from BRL1.43 billion in the year-ago period.

Santander's loan portfolio expanded 15.3% to BRL258 billion in the period. The bank's credit expansion was led by an increase in loans for big companies, which reached BRL110 billion, up 39.5% from the same period of 2014.

Even with the increase in loans, the bank was able to reduce its provisions charges in the period as its default rate declined.

The bank's provisions charges dropped around 14% to BRL2.56 billion. Its default rate reached 3% in the first quarter, down from 3.8% in the prior year period.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com

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