World’s Best SME Bank 2026: BTG Pactual Empresas

BTG Pactual Empresas retains its ranking as the world’s best bank for small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). Its tremendous growth in the SME sector justifies this ranking.

SME lending has increased 28% year over year, with lending to this sector totaling R$28.3 billion (about $5.2 billion). SME loans now account for roughly 12% of the bank’s total credit book. And more than 30,000 SMEs opened new accounts with the bank in the first quarter of 2025 alone. Its NPL ratio is just 0.66%.

BTG Pactual offers a laundry list of general and sector-specific products for Brazilian SMEs. Consider its work in the agricultural arena. The bank reports that Brazil’s agricultural sector remains a vital pillar of the national economy. Accounting for approximately 25% of the country’s GDP, it is a key driver of productivity, employment and foreign trade. In addition to traditional banking services, BTG Pactual offers farmers flexible financing for essential products, such as fertilizers and seeds, as well as machinery financing and infrastructure loans for silos, warehouses, and logistics depots. Additional SME services include a B2B advisory network and an SME Insights portal, providing news and insights on entrepreneurship, management, and innovation.

Digital advances have done much to both attract new SME clients and retain existing ones. BTG Pactual’s digital capabilities in the field of same-day lending is one example: 96% of approved SME customers working with the bank’s digital lending platform have funds dispersed in less than 10 minutes.