BB registers net profits of US$467mn in H1

Federally owned Banco do Brasil (BB), posted net profits of 1.4bn reais (US$467mn) in the first half of the year, a 31.7% climb over the same period last year, BB said in a statement. Earnings per share came to 1.94 reais in 1Q04 compared to 1.47 reais in the same year-ago period, allowing a distribution of some 450mn reais to stockholders. Credit issued by the bank grew 14.5bn reais, reaching 83.1bn reais. The bank's ROE during the period was at 23.9%, while assets reached 227bn reais and total deposits came to 153bn reais. The client base grew to 20.1 million, of which 18.8 million were personal customers and 1.3 million were firms. BB is Brazil's largest bank in terms of assets and clients.