BNDES has traditionally had an important role in the Brazilian financial system, but its size has doubled in the post-Lehman period. BNDES has typically been a major source of long- term financing for industry and infrastructure. During the crisis, it played an important counter-cyclical role as private bank credit fell off sharply in 2009 during the height of the Lehman related global tensions. However, it has been accompanied by a doubling of the size of BNDES’ balance sheet from 7½ percent of GDP in 2007 to over 15 percent of GDP in 2011 (almost 10 percent financial system lending)
