Brazilian state bank's revenue increases in 2006

Brazil's state-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal (CEF) said Monday that its net revenue rose to 2.39 billion reais (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, up 15.4 percent from the previous year.

The main factor contributing to the rise in revenues was the total volume offered in credit lines last year, which amounted to 45.7 billion reais (21.9 billion U.S. dollars), up 23 percent from the previous year, said the CEF.

The bank said the increase registered in credit lines was due to a fall in risk rates for the loans, as 66 percent of the borrowers were regarded as of extremely low risk according to the criteria of Brazil's Central Bank.

The supply of services generated a gross revenue of 5.6 billion reais (2.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, up nearly 10 percent from the previous year, the CEF added.

The CEF holds the monopoly of the operation of all federal lotteries in Brazil. It relies on a network of more than 17,000 agencies throughout the country, of which about 9,000 are authorized lottery spots that also provide banking services, such as payments and deposits.

Source: Xinhua