Banks Spur World’s Biggest Decline for Ibovespa Amid Higher Tax
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A slump in Brazilian banks sent the Ibovespa to the biggest drop among the world’s major equity benchmarks after the government raised a tax on industry profits.
Banco do Brasil SA, Itau Unibanco Holding SA and Banco Bradesco SA have dropped at least 8.8 percent this week, the most among 40 stocks in the Bloomberg Americas Banks index. Lenders, brokerages and credit-card processors will pay a 20 percent tax on earnings, up from 15 percent, according to a presidential decree. The nation is also freezing 69.9 billion reais ($22.6 billion) in spending from this year’s budget, the Budget Ministry said in a statement distributed to reporters.