Caixa renegotiates BRL 51 million in debt in 3 days of Desenrola Brasil

Caixa Econômica Federal informed that it has already renegotiated more than R$ 51 million in debts in the first three days of the Desenrola Brasil program. More than 22,000 customers were served by the public bank and 10,000 contracts were signed. There is still room to increase the number of renegotiations since Caixa informs that it has 13 million customers with debts.

According to the president of Caixa, Rita Serrano, access to the bank’s website on the internet rose from 69,000 daily accesses to more than 1 million “and the majority looking for information on the development”.

Rita Serrano added that the bank extended from 96 to 120 months the maximum period for the payment of the renegotiation installments, which gives ten years. “People will have two options. They can settle the debt with a 90% discount or they can pay it in 120 months”, explained the president, who visited a Caixa branch in Guará, administrative region of the Federal District (DF).

“We are opening all branches in the country an hour earlier and we even have a branch truck in Santos (SP) in a strategic location to serve customers. So there is an expectation of ours to have a large public to renegotiate debt”, he added.

The DF agency visited by the president of Caixa was still empty early this Friday morning (20). The indebted people with whom the report of the Brazil Agency spoke to said they need to get to know the program better before filing a renegotiation request. Domestic worker Nalva Frazão Muniz commented that the opportunity is good, but that she needs to study the proposal better. “I have a dirty name, I also need to clean it up”, she said.

Opportunity and risks

The program created by the federal government aims to renegotiate debts of people with negative names in an attempt to reactivate consumption in the country and stimulate the economy. Economist Arthur Wittenberg, from the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets (Ibmec), believes that the program brings opportunities for people and companies, since consumers can once again take out credit, stimulating the production of goods and services in Brazil.

“The increase in consumption can lead companies to expand their production to meet the growing demand and this business expansion can result in a greater need for labor, contributing to the generation of jobs in the country”, he explained.

Wittenberg pondered, however, that there is a risk of a new over-indebtedness of families, which “can put these people back in the same condition they are currently in”. Regarding the 120-month period offered by Caixa, the economist says that most debtors prefer to extend the debt, even paying more interest.

“Think of someone who has been on a tighter budget due to an unexpected expense or who has lost their job or even someone who cannot close their accounts in the short term. Will prefer this (longer term). In this case, the risk for people is going on too long and taking on other debts. In ten years, there may be several changes in people’s income”, he pondered.

Matter amended at 2:43 pm for correction. Differently from what was reported, in the first three days of the Desenrola Brasil program, more than R$ 51 million in debts were renegotiated and 10,000 contacts were closed.