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The article reports on the condition of the financial community in Brazil. It reveals that the country's public institutions and private businesses have owed an estimated 87 billion U.S. dollars to foreign creditors, and 67 billion U.S. dollars of it to banks. It also notes that the country's largest private creditor, Citibank Corp., has already 5 billion U.S. dollars at risk which is an enormous sum that is 15 percent greater than the bank's shareholder equity.

At another mid-size lender, Sao Paulo-based Banco Pan, jointly owned by BTG Pactual and Caixa, seized assets rose 23 percent from last year to 339.8 million reais, or 10 percent of shareholders' equity. Mid-size lender Banco Votorantim SA was the only bank to show a drop, with total collateral seized from delinquent borrowers down 3.5 percent at the end of the first quarter from the same period last year. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents information on the plans of Brazilian oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) to raise 174 billion dollars. The company's chief finance officer (CFO) Almir Barbassa stated that the government is planning to sell up to five billion barrels of oil reserves in exchange for extra shares in the company. It is stated that the minority shareholders will be invited to subscribe to new equity in the proposed share offering.

This section presents statistical information on the financial performance of Latin America's biggest banks. It is suggested that Brazilian institutions dominate the ranks of Latin America's largest banks by shareholder equity. The ranking compiled by Fitch IBCA is based on the latest full-year figures, 1998, and is converted into dollars at last year's exchange rate. It therefore provides a snapshot of the sector just before Brazil's January 1999 devaluation. Some of the banks listed are Banco Fininvest, Banco Crefisul, Banco del Caribe, Banco del Buenos Aires, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Banco de Ia Pampa, Banco de Costa Rica, Primer Banco de Ahorros (Pribanco), Banco 1784, Banco Comercial, Banco Velox, Caja de Ahorros, Banco Coop de Credito & Desarollo Social, Banco Liberal, Banco Sul America, CorpBanca, Banco Union, Banco del Centro, Banco Ford, Banco Agricola Comercial, Banco Caracas, Banco do Estado da Bahia (Barieb), Banco Mercantil Argentino, Banco Volkswagen, among others.

This article presents the top 50 banks in the international capital market ranked by shareholders' equity growth in local currency. Stupendous rates of inflation in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico give this table a Latin American flavor. It says something unpleasant about the cruzado that Banco do Estado de Sao Paulo can be ranked top by growth in local currency and 210th by growth in dollar terms. There is a dearth of well-known American names and a retreat by the Japanese trust banks. Other high rankers include a number of Austrians, which had to meet stringent domestic capital adequacy laws in 1987 and a number of Spanish savings banks.