Brazilian micro credit bank Banco Popular do Brasil (BPB) has reached 1.2 million clients after one year of operation, parent federal bank Banco do Brasil (BB) announced.
BPB president Ivan GuimarŠ³es said that during the first year of operation the bank issued a total of BRL 29m (US$11.2m) in micro loans.
BPB's distribution system is entirely based on partnerships with retailers and drug stores chains and it counted 5,900 points of sales at the end of the 12-month period.
BB launched BPB in February last year to offer basic banking products to Brazil's many millions of poor people who do not have access to the formal financial system. The bank broke the one-million client mark when it closed the books for 2004.
BB is Brazil's largest bank in terms of overall market share.
Source: BN Americas
