In Brief: Lenders to Brazil Seen Reassured by IMF Aid

Commercial banks will maintain their trade and interbank credit lines to Brazil after last week's $41.5 billion international financial aid package for the country, said William Rhodes, vice chairman of the Citibank unit of Citigroup.

Mr. Rhodes, who often is a spokesman for banks involved in country debt restructuring talks, added that he hoped investments in Brazil would get restarted as that country's economic reform program gets under way.

Mr. Rhodes' remarks came at a lunch in New York this week for financial institutions, including banks, investment banks, and mutual funds, that was attended by Pedro Malan, Brazil's finance minister, and by Stanley Fischer, International Monetary Fund deputy managing director.

The IMF organized an emergency backup facility for Brazil after a massive capital flight triggered fears that Brazil might experience financial chaos. Commercial banks, which have extended tens of billions of dollars worth of credit to Brazil, declined to contribute to the $41.5 billion emergency fund.

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