Brazil Govt Oks BRL4 Bln Credit For States To Face Slowdown

Brazil Govt Oks BRL4 Bln Credit For States To Face Slowdown BRASILIA (Dow Jones)--Brazil's National Monetary Council in an extraordinary meeting late Friday approved 4 billion reals ($1.83 billion) in credit for state governments, the central bank said Monday. The loans, to be extended by the country's BNDES national development bank, will carry an interest charge of Brazil's TJLP long-term interest rate plus 3% annually. The TJLP interest rate is currently set at 6.25% annually. The loans come with a repayment period of eight years following a one-year grace period. According to the government, the loan funds must be used for investments and cannot be applied toward current spending. The extension of the loan funding for states comes following the approval of BRL1 billion in federal loans for cities last week. Brazil's states and cities have seen a decline in tax revenue over recent months following a deceleration of the country's economy. The National Monetary Council is Brazil's highest ranking economic decision-making body. -By Gerald Jeffris, Dow Jones Newswires; (5561) 3335-0832, gerald.jeffris@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=MnB3XRVmzONaVN%2BYqC6tLw%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.