Bradesco sees Brazil loan defaults down by year-end

SAO PAULO, April 23 (Reuters) - Banco Bradesco , Brazil's second-largest private-sector bank, expects loan delinquencies to remain stable this quarter before falling in the second half, Chief Financial Officer Luiz Carlos Angelotti said on Monday.

Loans in arrears for more than 90 days, the industry's benchmark gauge for credit delinquencies, rose to 4.1 percent of Bradesco's total loans at the end of March, the highest in two years, the bank said in a statement earlier on Monday. This so-called default ratio was 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter and 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011.