Interest rates on loans in Brazil plunged in April, but the supply of debt slowed and the level of bad loans increased, underscoring concerns about the pace of economic recovery.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has pushed banks to bring down lending rates, arguing that they are too high and haven't reflected the central bank's own aggressive rate cuts of the key overnight lending rate, the Selic. Since last August, the Selic has fallen to 9%, from 12.5%.
The government has used its two main government-run institutions, Banco do Brasil SA (BDORY, BBAS3.BR) and Caixa Economica Federal, to turn up the heat on private-sector banks by lowering their interest rates. Nonetheless, the lower rates hasn't led to a significant pick-up in lending, and even the central bank said that a recovery in lending would be slow.
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