The volume of loans granted and the total stock of credit grew in the country in April, despite the already advanced cycle of monetary tightening to contain inflation, data from the Central Bank presented this Wednesday (27) show, although interest rates interest charged by financial institutions have risen.
The total stock of credit in Brazil rose 0.8% in April over March, to R$4.816 trillion. The amount corresponds to 53.7% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), slightly below the 53.9% observed in March, but above the 52.6% of April 2021.
In the month, there was a growth of 3.8% in average concessions, to R$ 24.2 billion, accumulating a high of 22.8% in 12 months.
Breaking down by type of borrower, the credit balance to individuals rose 1.8% in the month and 25.6% in 12 months. For companies, growth was lower, 1.0% in April and 16.8% in 12 months.
The head of the Central Bank’s Statistics Department, Fernando Rocha, assessed that the expansion of credit is a reflection of the resumption of economic activity after the cooling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent reduction in unemployment.
In the month, delinquency in the segment of free resources stood at 3.5%, compared to 3.4% in March — it was at 2.9% in April 2021. According to Rocha, this rate is rising, but is still considered low.
MORE EXPENSIVE CREDIT
According to data from the autarchy, the average interest rate charged by banks maintained its high rhythm, following the increases in the Selic by the BC, and rose 1.0 percentage point in April over the previous month, to 27.7% per year. year — in April 2021, it was at 20.4%.
When considering only free credit, in which rates are freely agreed between banks and borrowers, interest rates rose 0.7 point, to 38.1%. In earmarked resources, which meet the parameters established by the government, there was an increase of 1.1 points, to 11.1%.
Interest charged on the revolving credit card rose 4.9 percentage points in the month, reaching 364% per year. In the overdraft, the rate also increased by 4.9 points, going to 132.7% per year.
There was also a rise in the spread, the difference between the cost of raising funds by banks and the amount charged for releasing the financing. The increase was 0.6 in the total average (to 17.6 percentage points), 0.6 in non-earmarked resources (26.4 points) and 0.3 in earmarked resources (3.6 points).
The presentation of data for April was originally supposed to take place at the end of May, but the disclosures by the BC are still delayed even after the end of the strike by the agency’s servers. March data was also updated on Wednesday.
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