São Paulo, January 15, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Loans by the Bank of Brazil (BB) to micro and small firms surpassed R$ 13.1 billion last year, 60% more than the financing conceded in 2002, when the loan portfolio represented R$ 8.2 billion. More than 220 thousand new company accounts were opened, a 24.61% increase over the previous year. In December, 2003, the bank's corporate client base totaled 1.2 million.

According to a forecast made by the BB's vice-president for Retail operations, Edson Machado Monteiro, between now and December, 2004, R$ 18.2 billion should be made available to micro and small firms, representing an increase of 40%. (DAS)