Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social may not be able to achieve its disbursement goal of 70 billion Brazilian reais for 2019 following a weak first half that saw loan consultations fall 49%, Reuters reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Disbursements by the Brazilian state-owned development bank declined 9% year over year during the first half of 2019 to reach 25 billion reais.
According to one of the sources, it will be "impossible" for the state-owned lender to make 70 billion reais in loan disbursements, whereas the second source considers it "challenging" but not impossible.
The later half of 2019 is expected to be more active than the first, driven by loans granted to the infrastructure sector for various logistics and electricity projects, one of the sources reportedly said. BNDES did not comment on the matter.
The lender, under new CEO Gustavo Montezano, plans to divest nearly 100 billion reais in listed assets, in an attempt to repay the 126 billion reais it owes to the government by the end of 2019.
As of July 31, US$1 was equivalent to 3.76 Brazilian reais.
