Jun 6, 2013

• Disbursements increased 59% compared  to the first four months of 2012
• Growth was stimulated by industrial machinery and equipment

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) disbursed R$ 54.4 billion between January and April this year, an increase of 59% compared to the same period last year.

The increase covered all sectors supported by the Bank, especially industry, which accounted for 37% of total disbursements in the period (R$ 20.2 billion and up 113% over the same period last year). Infrastructure accounted for 27%.

The BNDES’ approvals for financing recorded the same behavior in all segments. Approvals totaled R$ 58.2 billion in the first four months of the year (up 64%).

Other disbursements that stood apart include micro, small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs), which received R$ 21.3 billion in the first four months of the year (increase of 53.5% compared to January-April 2012). With this, the MSMEs accounted for 39% of Bank’s total releases up to April.

The BNDES’ results in the first four months of the year reinforce the trend of increasing investment and growth in gross fixed-capital formation (FBCF), stimulated by more financing for machinery and equipment.

BNDES Finame line operations, which focus on acquiring capital assets, posted a total of R$ 23 billion between January and April, a rise of 77.5% compared to the same months in 2012. Items such as machine tools and metal working, fundamental to industrial investments, had significant releases increments, of 122% and 430%, respectively.

Trucks also saw high growth in disbursements, which reached  R$ 8.7 billion in January-April, an increase of 57.5% compared to the same months in 2012 — a year when sales of new vehicles were postponed due to the change of engines to the Euro 5 standard. Moreover, the truck market upsurge reflects cargo-handling of the good agricultural harvest this year and the country's infrastructure works.

The behavior of the demand for machinery and equipment is due to the BNDES’ Investment Maintenance Program (BNDES PSI), with very competitive interest rate, fixed at 3% per year in the first half of 2013 and 3.5% a year in the second half. The prior definition of the interest rates that will last throughout this year allows predictability, thus contributing to better investment planning.

The BNDES PSI disbursements reached R$ 28.5 billion in January-April this year, accomplishing almost 90,000 operations. In the last 12 months, up to April, PSI releases accumulated R$ 65.1 billion, an increase of 94% compared to the preceding 12 months.

Machinery and equipment as well as transport equipment were also featured in the BNDES consultations, with growth of 151% and 234%, respectively, in the first four months of the year, compared to the same period in 2012.

Total consultations at the Bank accumulated R$ 70 billion up to April, a decrease of 6%. The index, however, is strongly influenced by a Petrobras credit limit operation, totaling R$ 9.4 billion, which underwent consultation in early 2012.

In the infrastructure sector, the BNDES’ disbursements stood at R$ 14.6 billion in January-April last year, an increase of 9% if compared. The highest increases were registered in the highway and railway transportation segments.