Brazil Eases Reserve Requirements to Inject $20.2 Billion

Brazil’s central bank is making available an estimated 45 billion reais ($20.2 billion) with measures including reduced reserve requirements as it looks to boost economic activity.

The bank will allow as much as 50 percent of deposit requirements, or 30 billion reais, to be used on new loans and the acquisition of loan portfolios, according to a statement on its website today. The monetary authority also changed the risk calculation for payroll and auto loans, releasing another 15 billion reais, Sergio Odilon, central bank’s head of financial regulation, told reporters in Brasilia today.