Brazil · Economy
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The Real Plan introduced a new currency and ended Brazil's hyperinflation in the mid-1990s.1 Concentration in Brazil's financial system has been declining, according to the Banco Central do Brasil.2 By December 2022, 71.5 million Brazilians who had made no electronic credit transfer in the preceding year were using Pix.3 BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) disbursed BRL 133.7bn (about USD 24.9bn) in 2024.4 Small and medium-sized enterprises received 48% of those disbursements.4 Brazil's sovereign sustainable bond program includes annual reporting on the allocation and impact of the projects it finances.5 Brazil's aligned labeled-debt issuance rose from USD 10.7bn in 2023 to USD 12bn in 2024.6
The Real Plan introduced a new currency within a broad economic stabilization program, bringing an end to Brazil's hyperinflation in the mid-1990s.1 Financial-system modernization in Brazil introduced monetary correction, created the Central Bank of Brazil, and separated commercial banks from non-bank financial institutions.7 The Real Plan also sped up the opening of Brazil's economy to foreign trade, its privatization program, and the closure of state banks.8
The Banco Central do Brasil reports: "The downward trend in the National Financial System concentration persists."2 The central bank measures that concentration using the CR4, calculated by adding together the shares held by the four biggest financial institutions within each market.9 Household debt reached 48.2% in November 2024, up 0.1 percentage points, in the central bank's 12-month series.10
The World Bank's Global Findex 2025 flags two central financial-inclusion trends: greater use of digital financial services, and a gap between men and women in who holds an account.11 Pix had reached 71.5 million Brazilians by December 2022 who had not made an electronic credit transfer in the preceding year but were using Pix.3 Brazil's central bank identifies Pix as an innovation that transformed the country's payments system.12
The Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES, National Bank for Economic and Social Development) disbursed BRL 133.7bn (about USD 24.9bn) in 2024, almost 17% more than in 2023.4 Small and medium-sized enterprises received 48% of those disbursements, across 98% of the bank's operations.4
Brazil's sustainable-debt framework recognizes use-of-proceeds bonds, a category that includes green, social, and sustainable bonds.13 Brazil's sovereign sustainable bond program includes annual reporting on how proceeds are allocated and on the impact of the projects and activities they finance, until all proceeds are allocated.5 The National Treasury published the first allocation and impact report for Brazil's sovereign sustainable bond on 8 November 2024.14
Brazil's principal framework for investment funds is CVM Resolution 175, issued by the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), which governs fund formation, operation, information disclosure, and service provision.15 Under CVM guidance, a fund that integrates environmental, social, or governance factors but does not seek to generate environmental, social, or governance benefits may not use related sustainable-finance terms, such as "green," in its regulations or class description.16 Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services describes impact investment as "mobilizing public or private capital for impact businesses" (translated from the Portuguese).17 The government's National Strategy for Business and Impact Investing defines an impact business as a project intended to produce socio-environmental impact and a positive financial result sustainably.17
A survey by the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) found that investors focused on Brazil put most of their assets under management into food and agriculture, along with health and energy.18 The 2023 ANDE Latin America survey also found that investors targeting Brazil held combined assets under management of USD 1.96bn.19 Brazil's aligned labeled-debt issuance rose from USD 10.7bn in 2023 to USD 12bn in 2024, the Climate Bonds Initiative reports.6