02Macro, politics & other
BRMacro, politics & otherPrivate banking & wealth managementPrivate Market
Ibovespa crashes 13.9% and the real loses 8.2% on the first trading day after Lula's re-election; bank stocks plunge
The Ibovespa closed Monday at 176,608 points, down 13.88%, after B3 triggered its first circuit breaker since March 2020 with a 10% fall at the open. The commercial dollar closed at R$5.403 (+8.21%) after touching about R$5.60 intraday, and DI futures from 2029 onwards rose about 2.5–2.7 percentage points to around 15.2%. Banks led the losses: Banco do Brasil −29.3%, Bradesco −21.7%, Itaú −13.7% and B3 −36.3% at the close, with BTG Pactual down as much as about 37% intraday; exporters Suzano (+10.1%), Embraer (+8.9%), WEG (+4.2%) and Vale (+4.0%) were among only eight gainers.
Why it matters for LIDE membersThis is the actual repricing of Brazilian assets after Sunday's futures signal, and it resets BRL portfolio values, hedging costs, private-bank franchise values and the case for offshore diversification.
BRMacro, politics & otherTaxes & wealth planning
Finance Minister Durigan pledges to change the law or Constitution this year to pursue the centre of the fiscal target
As markets sold off on Monday, Finance Minister Dario Durigan said the government will change the law, or the Constitution if needed, to formally pursue the centre of the fiscal target, possibly within the two months left in 2026. He named parliamentary amendments, 'super-salaries' and special pensions as areas to review to make room for Lula's social, health and education promises. No new target figures were given.
Why it matters for LIDE membersIt is the first concrete fiscal signal of the fourth term; its credibility will decide whether Monday's sell-off reverses and shapes the risk of further taxes on high earners.
BRMacro, politics & other
Treasury buys back R$7.1bn of fixed-rate bonds and cancels this week's fixed-rate and inflation-linked auctions
To calm the jump in long rates, the National Treasury bought back about R$7.1bn of NTN-F bonds on Monday, when the January 2031 DI contract was up about 182bp at 14.46%. It cancelled Tuesday's NTN-B auction and Thursday's LTN/NTN-F auction, but kept Tuesday's Selic-linked LFT sale, and said it will keep monitoring the market.
Why it matters for LIDE membersOfficial intervention shows how stressed Brazil's debt market is; members holding Brazilian fixed income or BRL financing should watch funding conditions into the 3–4 Nov Copom.
BRMacro, politics & otherPartly analysis – Brasil de Fato; vote count not checked against TSE data
TSE president confirms the result; legal experts see Flávio Bolsonaro's annulment bid as very unlikely to succeed
TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques officially confirmed the result, expressed 'absolute confidence' in the process and said the two-hour voting extension caused no significant distortion, while criticising the lack of an express rule for it. Under Art. 224 of the Electoral Code a new election requires nullities affecting more than half of the votes; Brasil de Fato reports only 35,521 votes were cast between 17:00 and 19:00, against Lula's margin of 4.43 million. As of Monday, no formal filing of the announced challenge had been confirmed.
Why it matters for LIDE membersLegal risk to the result looks low, so the political tail risk behind part of Monday's sell-off should fade.
05Private banking & wealth management
CHPrivate banking & wealth managementMacro, politics & other
Ermotti makes UBS's case to the National Council committee; a 75% capital compromise gains ground, decision only in November
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti was heard on Monday by the National Council's Economic Affairs Committee (WAK-N) on the 'Lex UBS', alongside Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, SNB President Martin Schlegel and FINMA Chair Marlene Amstad. On CET1 backing of foreign subsidiaries, the Federal Council wants 100%, the Council of States voted 90%, a 75% compromise pushed by FDP National Councillor Portmann may be tabled, and UBS supports 50% CET1 plus up to 50% AT1; the committee is not expected to decide before November. UBS reports Q3 on 28 Oct, with its own consensus at US$2.71bn net profit (+9.1%), and its shares are about 14% below early September at around CHF 38.50.
Why it matters for LIDE membersThe final capital number will shape UBS's competitiveness and footprint as Switzerland's dominant wealth manager, including for its Brazil and LatAm private-banking business.
06Private Market
BRPrivate MarketPrivate banking & wealth managementUnconfirmed report – Bloomberg (unnamed sources)
Lula's win stalls about US$6bn of Brazilian share sales; IPOs and M&A pushed back
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reports that about US$6bn of share sales lined up on expectations of a Bolsonaro win is now on hold. Follow-ons considered by Equatorial, EcoRodovias, Compass, Guararapes and Taesa may not come before mid-2027, the 2027 IPO plans of Banco Votorantim and Aegea have been upended, and talks involving Azzas 2154 over a sale of Farm are being reconsidered.
Why it matters for LIDE membersLess public-market supply leaves more room for private capital and foreign strategic buyers using a weaker real, a core deal-flow theme for members.
BRPrivate MarketTaxes & wealth planning
Infrastructure investors fear higher required returns and threats to tax-free debentures under Lula 4
Incentivised infrastructure debentures raised a record R$178bn in 2025, but bankers fear the government could end their income-tax exemption or raise IOF by decree. On 26 Oct EcoRodovias fell 60.5%, Motiva 27% and Sabesp 21%; the 2027 concession agenda still includes up to 11 highway and 4 railway auctions, but executives expect investors to demand higher returns.
Why it matters for LIDE membersBrazilian infrastructure is a key entry point for Swiss pension, insurance and family-office capital, and both its risk premium and its tax treatment are being repriced.
CHPrivate Market
Basel biotech Windward Bio files for a Nasdaq IPO
Windward Bio, a Basel clinical-stage company launched in January 2025, filed on 26 Oct to list on the Nasdaq Global Market. It has raised US$365m from OrbiMed, Novo Holdings, SR One, Omega Funds, Blue Owl and RTW, and proceeds would fund late-stage trials of WIN378 in asthma and COPD plus WIN027; offering size and ticker are not yet disclosed.
Why it matters for LIDE membersSwiss life-science start-ups keep using US listings as their exit route, relevant to members with venture and biotech allocations.
BRPrivate MarketFintech
Patria adds R$20m to consortium fintech Klubi
Patria Investments' Fund III, through its Patria High Growth platform (over US$500m under management), invested more than R$20m in online-consortium fintech Klubi, taking Patria's total since 2021 above R$60m. Klubi's portfolio has grown from about R$100m in 2022 to over R$2bn, with more than 100,000 active clients and headcount steady at about 130.
Why it matters for LIDE membersA local GP adding to a portfolio fintech on crash day shows domestic VC still deploying in Brazilian credit niches despite the macro shock.
07Crypto & digital assets
BRCrypto & digital assetsFintech
Binance files for a Brazilian crypto licence four days before the BCB deadline
Binance has applied to the Banco Central for an SPSAV (virtual-asset service provider) licence and will run two entities: Binance Brasil (formerly Sim;paul) for fiat balances and a new B Brasil for crypto. Brazil CEO Thiago Sarandy plans Pix payments, boletos, FX and international transfers, plus derivatives once the CVM allows them, and called the 270-day adaptation period too short. Exame lists OKX, Bybit, Brasil Bitcoin and Transfero among filers; BitNotícias forecasts at least 50 filings this week, a figure not confirmed by the BCB.
Why it matters for LIDE membersThe world's largest exchange is positioning itself as a full financial platform in Brazil, raising competition for banks and brokers ahead of the 30 Oct cut-off and the 6 Nov banking restrictions.
BRCrypto & digital assets
Dollar stablecoins jump against the real after the election result
On Monday morning USDT and USDC were quoted at up to R$5.54 on Brazilian exchanges and banks, after dollar futures reached R$5.56 overnight, about 10% above Friday's close. Receita Federal data show Brazilians moved R$283.1bn in crypto in H1 2026 (+21.3% year on year), with stablecoins about 80% of the volume; bitcoin was roughly flat near US$80,300.
Why it matters for LIDE membersStablecoins have become Brazil's de facto retail dollar hedge, which matters for capital-flow, FX and compliance planning by members with BRL exposure.
CHCrypto & digital assetsFintech
Crypto Finance and Google Cloud complete a pilot of tokenised Swiss-franc bank deposits
Zurich-based Crypto Finance Group (part of Deutsche Börse) acted as currency operator in a pilot of tokenised CHF commercial-bank money on Google Cloud Universal Ledger. Two Swiss banks issued deposit tokens with conservative limits and used deferred, threshold-based netting to save liquidity; integration took under three months, no volumes were published and some back-end steps were still manual.
Why it matters for LIDE membersIt is another concrete step towards programmable CHF settlement, a model Swiss private banks and Brazilian institutions could use for cross-border flows.
BRCrypto & digital assetsOpinion piece – Finsiders Brasil
Lawyers warn crypto executives of criminal exposure if firms keep operating without filing after 30 Oct
Law 14.478/2022 treats crypto service providers as financial institutions for criminal-law purposes, so executives who knowingly keep operating without filing could face Art. 16 of Law 7.492/1986 (operating a financial institution without authorisation). An opinion piece in Finsiders notes liability is not automatic, since intent must be shown; non-filers have 30 days to wind down, and Res. BCB 589 restricts banks from dealing with unauthorised providers from 6 Nov.
Why it matters for LIDE membersBoard members and investors in Brazilian crypto firms carry personal exposure and should have filing decisions documented this week.
08AI & Infrastructure
BRAI & InfrastructurePrivate MarketPrivate banking & wealth management
Itaú buys AI start-up NeoSpace for R$2.9bn
Itaú Unibanco agreed on 26 Oct to buy 100% of NeoSpace for R$2.925bn, part at closing and the rest over five years, subject to CADE and Central Bank approval. Founded in late 2023 by the creators of Zup, NeoSpace builds 'Large Data Models' trained on a company's own data; Itaú took a 15% stake in a US$18m round in January 2025, and the start-up was reportedly seeking up to US$250m at a US$1.25bn valuation when the bank decided to buy. Its roughly 80 researchers will stay independent but work only for Itaú once current client contracts end.
Why it matters for LIDE membersA large Brazilian venture exit signed on a crash day shows incumbent banks paying up to build proprietary AI, a signal for AI founders, VC investors and bankers benchmarking peers.
BRAI & InfrastructurePrivate Market
Brazil's data-centre builders push ahead, but expect Redata relief only in 2027
Elea Data Centers expects the Redata tax regime to affect its business only from 2027, once regulations and the list of covered equipment are set, and is planning a water-free 1–5 MW site in Belém. Solar association Absolar wants data centres to absorb curtailed power after 17.2% of potential solar and wind generation was cut in Q1 2026. The Tech Capital reports construction continues after Lula's re-election, but higher borrowing costs, equipment-tax uncertainty and grid limits make financing harder.
Why it matters for LIDE membersInvestors in Brazilian digital infrastructure should plan for tax relief only in 2027 and treat power and curtailment as both the binding constraint and the opportunity.
CHAI & Infrastructure
88% of Swiss software firms use AI to write code, and AI budgets are set to grow by two-thirds
The Swiss Software Industry Survey 2026, run by the University of Bern for Swico, finds over 88% of software firms use AI in development, but only 11.8% use multi-agent orchestration. Average AI spending was CHF 119,000 in 2025 and is forecast at about CHF 199,000 in 2026 and over CHF 234,000 in 2027; the average EBIT margin rose from 6.4% to 7.2%, while revenue is expected to dip 0.26% in 2026.
Why it matters for LIDE membersIt gives members a hard benchmark for AI adoption and spending in Swiss tech, useful when comparing Brazilian peers or assessing Swiss IT partners.
CHAI & Infrastructure
ELCA takes a majority stake in Lucerne data-ecosystem firm Beyond Civic
Swiss IT group ELCA has acquired a majority stake in Beyond Civic, a Lucerne company founded in 2022 whose TrustSphere software runs governed, AI-ready data ecosystems for public and private organisations. Price and stake size were not disclosed; Beyond Civic stays independent under its founders, with Stefan Metzger as CEO.
Why it matters for LIDE membersSwiss IT groups are consolidating the trusted-data layer underneath AI adoption, a niche relevant to banks and public bodies in both countries.
10University spin-offs & innovation labs
CHUniversity spin-offs & innovation labsAI & Infrastructure
EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2026: UZH spin-off CUTISS and sovereign-AI cloud PHOENIQS among the winners
EY Switzerland named its 2026 winners at the Kongresshaus Zürich. Daniela Marino of CUTISS, a 2017 spin-off of the University of Zurich and the University Children's Hospital whose personalised skin therapy denovoSkin is in late-stage clinical development, won 'Scale-up Leaders'; Thomas Taroni of PHOENIQS (Schwyz), an AI and cloud provider focused on data sovereignty, won 'Visionary Entrepreneurs', and Pascal Bourquard Jr of BIWI won the family-business category.
Why it matters for LIDE membersTwo winners showcase Swiss strengths LIDE can present to Brazilian members: university-to-market biotech and sovereign AI and cloud infrastructure.
BRUniversity spin-offs & innovation labsAI & Infrastructure
USP's InCor validates an AI model that spots the most dangerous heart attacks on ECGs
A deep-learning model trained on 540,372 ECGs from Uppsala, Sweden, was validated at USP's InCor on 401 patients with catheterisation-confirmed diagnoses, also using UFMG data. It detects occlusion myocardial infarction and locates the blocked artery, with about 96% accuracy in classic ST-elevation cases and 82% correct detection where the ECG showed no clear changes; the results are in Nature Communications, and clinical use would need Anvisa approval.
Why it matters for LIDE membersIt is commercialisable Brazilian university health-AI with a European partner, the research-to-market link Swiss medtech and pharma investors look for.