Brazil’s largest private bank, Banco Bradesco SA (BBD), plans to launch an investment fund open only to foreign investors within the next 20 days, Jose Luiz Acar-Pedro, the bank’s executive vice president, told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday.
The move comes after tax restrictions for foreign funds were relaxed in the country in February.
Under the new rules, the treasury expects to bring more investors to Brazil’s domestic capital market and improve the nation’s debt profile. The new rules, announced in February, exempt foreigners from paying a 15% withholding tax on investments in local government bonds.
“We are in talks with our partners to launch the investment fund in the next 15 to 20 days,” said Acar-Pedro, who is also responsible for Bradesco’s investment bank subsidiary, called Banco Bradesco de Investimento, or BBI.
According to the executive, Bradesco is in talks with its foreign partners, Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBV) and Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo SA (BES.LB), to complete the operation.
Acar-Pedro did not disclose more details of the new fund, which will be managed by BBI.