The president of the BNDES, Luciano Coutinho, and the presidents of the development banks in China, Russia, India and South Africa, all countries that comprise the so-called BRICS bloc, signed two accords today that pave the way to intensifying economic relations between these emerging powers.

On March 12, the BNDES and the Banco Internacional Del Perú S.A.A. (Interbank) signed a financing contract for Brazilian exports of machinery and equipment to Peru. Funding will be made through the support modality called BNDES Exim Automatic, under the BNDES’ Exim Post-Shipment line.

The board of directors of the BNDES approved R$ 389 million in financing for the construction of five wind farms in Brazil’s Northeast. The funds will also finance the respective associated Transmission Systems. The farms, four in Rio Grande do Norte and one in Bahia, will have an installed capacity of 138 MW and will be controlled by both Meoenergia and Iberdrola Renováveis do Brasil.

The BNDES posted a net profit of R$ 9 billion in 2011. Gross earnings (before taxes and administrative costs) were influenced by the good performance of the credit and variable-income portfolios, which contributed 94% to profit. The treasury portfolio also had a positive impact, accounting for 6% of the Bank’s result in the year.