Sistema OCB proposes expanded credit program for Brazil’s Amazon region

The Sistema OCB met with the Superintendência do Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (Sudam) in Brasília, where executive president Tania Zanella presented a set of proposals for the 2027 Annual Programming of the Constitutional Financing Fund for the North (FNO). The proposals aim to increase the reach of credit to remote municipalities, ensure equitable conditions between credit cooperatives and other financial institutions, and adjust monitoring to an annual basis that reflects the region’s seasonal cycles.

Zanella highlighted that cooperative credit coverage in northern municipalities rose from 25.6% to 42.2% between 2019 and 2025, and that cooperatives now serve 5.6% of the population. Nationally, credit cooperatives operate in 3,287 municipalities, including exclusive presence in 1,072 cities. The meeting underscored the sector’s role in promoting financial inclusion and sustainable development in the Amazon Legal region.