More Banks Join Syndicate Credit Facility to Brazil Power Sector

Another five commercial lenders agreed to join a syndicate of banks that will extend an additional 6.58 billion reais ($2.9 billion) in emergency credit to Brazilian electricity distributors as drought causes power rates to soar, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The new banks include JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Credit Suisse Group AG, banco do Estado de Rio Grande do Sul SA, and state bank Banco do Brasilia, the ministry said in a statement.

Banks originally participating in the loan syndication included Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA (BBDO), Banco Santander Brasil SA, Grupo BTG Pactual SA, Citigroup Inc and state-run lenders BNDES, Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Econômica Federal.

(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by James Dalgleish)