The cost of the BRL 12 billion loan to Correios represents 115% of the CDI, below the Treasury ceiling | Brazil

The information was anticipated by Folha and confirmed by Value. Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Bradesco, Itaú and Santander will participate in the operation. Caixa’s contribution was important to allow a rate within the limit set by the Treasury. The last three banks only entered the last round of negotiations, after being excluded from the initial proposals, when the rate exceeded the ceiling set by the Treasury, close to 136% of the CDI, which led the body to refuse the granting of the Union guarantee.

As shown in Valuethe loan will be structured with a duration of 15 years and a grace period of three years. The objective is to transmit by Monday to the National Treasury Secretariat the request for a Union guarantee to make the financing viable. Correios racked up a loss of 6 billion reais in the year to September.

The value of the loan was less than the 20 billion reais initially requested by the company to restore its cash flow and honor its immediate commitments. The public company, however, had already admitted the possibility of carrying out more than one round of financing, given the high costs presented by financial institutions.

Negotiations lasted several weeks. In the first round, when Correios asked for 20 billion reais, five banks – Banco do Brasil, Citibank, BTG Pactual, ABC Brasil and Safra – offered a rate of 136% of the CDI, above the ceiling set by the National Treasury.

Given this level, the public company admitted the possibility of dividing the financing into several operations. In other words, although the formal offer remained at 20 billion reais, Correios recognized that it could carry out more than one loan round due to the high cost presented by financial institutions.

The Correios board of directors even authorized the granting of the loan under these conditions, with a rate close to 136% of the CDI, but the National Treasury refused to grant a Union guarantee for the operation, even without a formal request from the public company.

The discussion on the Union guarantee has become central in the negotiations. In operations of this type, the guarantee functions as insurance: if the public company does not honor the payments, the Treasury assumes the obligation.

Given the position of the Treasury, government technicians have begun to defend the possibility of a direct contribution from the Union, at least to help the public company honor its commitments later this year, including personnel expenses and payment of debts with suppliers and financial institutions.

This alternative, however, came up against the lack of space in the budget expenditure ceiling. As a result, the loan once again emerged as a solution and the Caixa Econômica Federal began to participate in the negotiations with the aim of making the rate viable within the limit of 120% of the CDI.

In exchange for the Union guarantee, Correios prepared a restructuring plan in which he claims that the operation remains financially viable based on the adjustments planned for the company. The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, has reiterated on different occasions that the credit operation guaranteed by the federal government is conditional on the approval of this plan.

The plan includes the expansion of new business models, the search for new sources of income and the control of expenses, with emphasis on a program of voluntary layoffs (PDV) that foresees the departure of 15,000 employees, 10,000 in 2026 and 5,000 in 2027. The estimate is an annual saving of R$ 1.4 billion starting in 2027, with a return on investment in approximately nine months.

While the Correios were negotiating with the banks, the federal government was preparing to accelerate the issuance of regulations to make the Union guarantee for the Correios loan viable. This week, for example, the Executive issued a decree that authorizes public companies that identify a risk of dependence on the National Treasury in the current year or in the following three years to present a restructuring plan.

According to the decree, this restructuring plan must explain any investment needs, detail adjustment measures and demonstrate the economic and financial viability of the company. The decree also determines that any operation guaranteed by the Union is provided for in this plan and proves that it will be paid. This information can be used to assess the public company’s ability to pay, an indicator that measures the financial health of the company.