Brasília, October 11, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Beginning on Friday (10), low- and medium-income people can count on another credit line to help them purchase construction materials. This new form of financing, created with resources from the FAT (Workers Assistance Fund) is already available at the Bank of Brazil and the Federal Savings Bank.

The Minister of Labor, Jaques Wagner, said that the intention is to generate employment and reduce the country's housing shortage, which currently exceeds 6 million dwellings. It is estimated that 40 thousand new jobs will be created in stores that sell construction materials, to say nothing of the new jobs that should arise in the construction sector itself.

For people who have accounts in the Bank of Brazil, the credit varies from R$ 100 to R$ 10 thousand and can be repaid in up to 24 months. The interest rate is 1.98% per month. (DAS)