Correios signs loan agreement worth 12 billion reais with five banks | Businesses

The approval of the Union has always been the premise of the entire operation and represents a commitment by the government to honor payments in the event of default by the public company. This makes the risk of loss for banks virtually zero.

With the signing of the contract, Correios will finally receive the loan funds. 10 billion BRL will be released this year and another 2 billion BRL by the end of January 2026. It is expected that the first tranche of resources will enter the company’s cash flow next Monday.

The loan proposal was presented by a group of five banks, formed by Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Bradesco, Itaú and Santander. The last three recently entered the negotiations, while Caixa returned to participate in the conversations after the Civil House entered the circuit for the institution to join the banking union.

Banco do Brasil, Caixa and Bradesco will each lend R$3 billion, while Itaú and Santander, R$1.5 billion each.

The cost of the operation amounted to 115% of the CDI (Interbank Deposit Certificate), within the limit of the 120% ceiling set by the National Treasury to grant the sovereign guarantee. A first proposal, made by another group of banks, was rejected due to the high cost, 136% of the CDI. According to the Treasury, the difference in rates could generate an additional cost of almost 5 billion reais for Correios over the life of the contract. The duration of the contract is 15 years, the first three of which are a grace period (initial period during which the company will not pay installments).

Initially, Correios’ request was for a credit of 20 billion reais, an amount deemed necessary to finance the company’s restructuring plan in 2025 and 2026. A first proposal, which fully corresponded to the value of 20 billion reais, was presented by Banco do Brasil, Citibank, BTG Pactual, ABC Brasil and Safra. However, the Treasury stopped contracting and refused to grant the sovereign guarantee because it considered the interest rate too high.

With the revision of the conditions and the reduction in value, the Ministry of Finance gave the green light to the operation, supported by a decree which paves the way for the granting of the sovereign guarantee.

The law allowed technicians to evaluate Correios’ request for approval, taking into account the income gain and expense reduction measures provided for in the restructuring plan, but which have not yet been implemented. This is different from the usual rite, in which the Ministry of Finance analyzes the current picture of the financial health of the entities or public companies – and by which the public company would not be able to certify the payment capacity necessary to obtain the guarantee.

This is the first time since the government of Dilma Rousseff (PT) that the Treasury has made an exception to grant a sovereign guarantee for a loan. Under the former president’s administration, windfall licenses allowed states already in dire financial conditions to take on debt, which then defaulted on their funding.

In another law, the CMN (National Monetary Council) approved a specific limit of 12 billion reais to contract credit operations through Correios. The board is responsible for regulating public sector credit limits. This measure was necessary because the space available for new loans was virtually exhausted and would be insufficient to absorb the transaction.

As the value of the contract is less than 20 billion reais, Correios will need new credits or financing from the Treasury in 2026, an election year, to be able to implement its restructuring plan.

The measures include the settlement of debts with suppliers and banks, a new PDV (voluntary dismissal program) to lay off 15 thousand employees in 2026 and 2027 and the reformulation of positions and salaries and the company’s health plan, among other initiatives.

At the same time, Correios is trying to conclude a new ACT (collective labor agreement) with employees, because the current one provides a series of benefits superior to those established by the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws). This condition is neither irregular nor illegal, but the company considers it incompatible with its current financial situation.

The public company proposed, within the framework of mediation at the TST (Higher Labor Court), to limit certain clauses considered to have a greater impact on expenses or productivity, but the category rejected the proposal and launched a national strike.