Brazilian investment bank Banco BTG Pactual has decided to delay the launch of its new consumer banking platform by three to four months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Reuters has reported.

The bank, however, started piloting its debit and credit cards by offering them to a few select clients. The official launch is expected to take place later this year or by 2021.

Through its new consumer banking division, the bank aims to become the sixth-largest retail bank by client base in the country, the report added.

The decision to postpone the launch was made at the company’s earnings call, in which the bank said that the earnings missed forecasts as it was bracing from the impact of the virus.

Banco BTG Pactual CEO Roberto Sallouti said: “The outlook is very uncertain and requires caution. For this reason, we decided to preserve our solid capital and liquidity position.”

According to reports, the bank’s return on equity dropped to 14.5% and its capital ratio rose to 15% from 12.2%.

BTG’s revenues surged 2% to R$1.518bn ($257m) from last year and its loan book surged 8.9% from the previous quarter, reaching R$47.7bn ($8m).

The bank, however, registered a loss of R$18m ($2.7m) on its proprietary investments, due to global market turmoil and real estate declines.