The Brazilian Development Bank

This chapter discusses the role played by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) based upon a survey of its costs and benefits reported in the literature. It provides some theoretical background for the creation and the existence of development banks, using this background to support a brief discussion about the long-term context that marked the bank’s evolution as well as the contemporary issues concerning its role in the Brazilian economy. The author argues that a national development bank such as the BNDES contributes to increasing capital formation, as it provides credit at more favorable conditions to selected projects. However, the author also argues that the presence of the BNDES loans forces the Central Bank to raise interest rates to a level that otherwise would be lower.