Key Facts

—The rescue. Brasília’s government signed a law on June 24 authorising a 6.6-billion-real, about 1.2-billion-dollar, loan to save its state bank.

—The cause. The bank, known as BRB, was crippled by buying fake loan portfolios from the collapsed Banco Master.

—The lender. The money comes from the banking industry’s own deposit-guarantee fund, not from taxpayers.

—The spread. A judicial watchdog gave five state courts ten days to account for 30 billion reais parked at the bank.