Since 1964, Brazilian policy-makers have actively promoted financial market growth through a combination of more traditional interest rate liberalization schemes (indexing) and the creation of institutions which did not exist or restructuring those which did not function in an efficient way. This book traces the evolution of the Brazilian capital markets before and after the 1964-66 reforms and evaluates their role in economic growth and stability. The main conclusion of the study is that Brazil's experience with financial market development was a qualified success. Although the resulting strong financial market helped Brazil avoid the large capital flight experienced by its neighbors in the Southern Cone, the working relationships which developed over this period have become significant barriers to the achievement of economic growth and stability.

Capital market development in Brazil is a key policy issue going forward to foster savings, investment and absorptive capacity in a context of prospects for sizable capital flows in the medium term. During the last decade, Brazil has achieved substantial progress in capital market development. The menu of available financial instruments has been expanded, market infrastructure has been reformed and strengthened, and a diversified investor base has been built. Nonetheless, Brazil’s capital markets are still facing a number of challenges including prevalent short-term indexation, investors’ risk aversion to long-term fixed rate bonds, still low liquidity in the secondary market, and managing the role of BNDES. A shift to a lower yield curve environment should continue to gradually take place. But further progress will require continued policy effort to assure macro stability and financial sector reforms to promote the development of longer-term private finance.