SAN FRANCISCO -- Bank of America said it had arranged a $100 million commercial paper program for Banco Bradesco, the largest privately owned bank in Brazil.
The program is Bradesco's first U.S. debt issuance, intended to diversify its investor base. It plans to use the funding for trade-financing purposes.
In the last two years, Bank of America has arranged nine U.S. commercial paper programs for Latin American corporations and financial institutions, totaling $940 million, or approximately 70%, of existing Latin American U.S. commercial paper programs.
The program is supported by a letter of credit issued by Barclays Bank. Bank of America syndicated the letter-of-credit facility among a group of seven international banks. BA Securities Inc. and Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd. are co-dealers.
