Stênio Ribeiro
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - The National Treasury announced that it will redeem US$ 6.64 billion in Brazilian foreign debt instruments prior to their expiration date. The instruments are Brady bonds, named after the United States Secretary of the Treasury in 1989, Nicholas Brady, author of the plan including these bonds. The Brady Plan offered a way for the US government to back new bond issues by Latin American governments - Brazil and Mexico, for example - that had imposed a moratorium on foreign debt payments.

The Brazilian government plans to redeem the "Bradies" by April 15. According to Brazil's secretary of the Treasury, Joaquim Levy, the early redemption of the bonds will save the federal government US$ 365 million in interest expenses.

The funds that will be used to redeem the "Bradies" will be drawn from the country's international reserves - an account in dollars in the Central Bank used to cover foreign obligations. Brazil's reserves currently stand at US$ 57.609 billion, according to a note from the Ministry of Finance.

Translation: David Silberstein