Interest rates in credit to citizens down to 7.21% in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's interest rates in credit operations for citizens fell to 7.21 percent in July, from 7.26 percent in June, the National Association of Finance, Management and According Executives (Anefac) said Wednesday.

It was the sixth consecutive decrease in the interest rates, and the lowest rates registered since December 2007, Anefac stated.

Different kinds of interest rates in credit to citizens registered a slight decrease in July. The rate charged by the stores fell from 6.06 to 6.04 percent, while the banks' personal loan rate fell from 5.3 to 5.26 percent, and the financing institutions' personal loan rate fell from 11.17 to 11.09 percent.

In the first seven months of 2009, the interest rates in credit to citizens have accumulated a 0.38 percentage point fall.

According to Anefac, the interest rates are expected to drop even more in the upcoming months.

The interest rates have almost returned to the levels before the global financial crisis. It was attributed to the return of the country's credit levels to normalcy and to the increase in consumers' confidence, as well as to the reduction in Brazil's annual basic interest rate Selic, economists say.

The interest rate charged in corporate loans also fell, as the average rate decreased from 4.12 percent in June to 4.06 percent in July, the lowest rate since December 2007 as well.

The average interest rate charged in overdraft protection programs fell from 7.54 to 7.44 percent, the lowest rate since the beginning of Anefac's measurements in 1995.

The interest rate charged by credit card companies was the only one not experiencing any modifications, remaining at 10.56 percent in July, the highest rate in nine years.