Brasília, June 25, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The secretary of the Treasury, Joaquim Levy, affirmed that the government's priority at this moment is on the country's low income population and, for this reason, incentives for lower interest rates should be given to institutions that provide credit to poorer families. Levy added that large resources are unnecessary to benefit the poorest part of the population. "We may be talking about millions of families, not millions in resources."

At a public hearing, Tuesday (24), before the Financial Inspection and Control Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Levy informed that the country's total foreign debt currently amounts to US$ 215 billion, with a 6.5 year payoff period and an average cost of 8.5%. The cost of Brazil's foreign debt titles is 10.5%.

Levy informed that the government has withdrawn US$ 20 billion of the US$ 30 billion made available through the agreement signed with the World Bank (IMF) last year. "Therefore, there are still US$10 billion that can be withdrawn by the end of the year," the secretary said. without giving any indication of the government's intentions to renew the loan or not. The cost of funds borrowed from the IMF comes to 4.5-5% per year. "This rate is little bit higher than what is charged by the United States Treasury," the secretary said. (DAS)