Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econmico e Social (BNDES) turned 54 on June 20.

BNDES shelled out US$5.8bn to support Brazilian exports in 2005, says Armando Mariante, the bank’s vice-president.

Government-backed ECAs such as BNDES provide roughly US$60bn yearly in loans and loan guarantees to finance exports for projects throughout the world, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).