Banco do Brasil’s rural credit reaches US$49 billion in the first quarter of 2022

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s state-owned Banco do Brasil (BB) is the main financer of national agriculture and cattle-raising, accounting for more than 50% of rural credit in the financial system.

The volume of the bank’s agribusiness credit portfolio reached R$254.6 billion (US$49 billion) in the first quarter of 2022, a growth of 28% compared to the same period of the previous crop year.

BB’s president, Fausto de Andrade Ribeiro, spoke about this and other issues in an interview for the program Brasil em Pauta, aired Sunday, June 26, on TV Brasil.

“We expected a portfolio around R$250 billion by the end of the harvest; we have already exceeded this value: we are at R$254 billion in March and growing. The position by June will probably be a little higher than that. Compared to crop 21/22, the initial programming was R$145 billion, of which practically all of this amount has already been used in crop 21/22 by Banco do Brasil,” Ribeiro said.

As for crop 22/23, according to the president of BB, financing should increase.

“We have been talking with the federal government, especially in the Ministry of Agriculture and Economy. With the forecast of an increase in our harvest, at least 20% to 30%, we are talking about R$175 billion to R$190 billion that Banco do Brasil should use in the harvest 22/23,” he said.

“The scenario is very positive for rural workers; we need to ensure that this money arrives at the right time because the harvest doesn’t wait.”

MAINTAINING EMPLOYMENT

During the interview, Ribeiro also detailed the participation of Banco do Brasil in federal government measures to contain the effects of covid-19 on the economy.

According to the BB president, thousands of jobs were maintained in Brazil during the pandemic through the bank’s support to Brazilian micro and small enterprises under the National Program of Support to Micro and Small Enterprises (Pronampe).

“Pronampe is one of the Brazilian programs that has most encouraged the maintenance of employment. We usually say that our loans, which totaled more than R$15 billion, saved at least 3 million jobs in Brazil,” he highlighted.

The federal government created the program in 2020 to help micro and small entrepreneurs during the health crisis caused by covid-19.

Later, Pronampe became permanent to consolidate small businesses as agents of transformation and development of the national economy.

At Banco do Brasil, Pronampe operations can be contracted through BB Digital PJ or at any bank branch.

With information from Agência Brasil