Brazilian banking association ABBC said April 12 that it obtainedan injunction against a decree that limited to five the number of financial institutionsauthorized to grant payroll loans to civil servants of the state of Pernambuco.       

The injunction was granted by Associate Judge Fernando EduardoFerreira, who considers that the decree, which came into effect on Feb. 1, affrontsfree competition rights and harms not only banks', but also borrowers' interests.

"The market dispute among the several institutions has beenextremely favorable so far to civil servants, who have benefited from the continuedreduction in interest rates and improved services, stimulated by competition,"the associate judge was quoted as saying in ABBC's news release.