The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) spent US$ 14.8 billion in loans last year. According to a statement released January 13 by the bank, there was an increase of 14% in relation to 2003, when spendings added up to US$ 13 billion.
According to the BNDES, the most significant increases were registered in resource liberation for the agribusiness and cattle breeding and infrastructure sectors.
For agribusiness and cattle breeding, credits increased 51% and reached US$ 2.6 billion. Infrastructure projects received US$ 5.6 billion, or 52% more than in 2003.
Financings for exports reached US$ 3.8 billion, or 10.3 billion reais on current exchange values. The result, however, was 4% inferior to the value registered in 2003.
According to the BNDES, 32% of the financings went to micro, small and medium sized companies, adding up to a total of US$ 4.6 billion, which represents an increase of 25% over 2003.
Anba