BRASIL, BANCO DO

in full Banco do Brasil SA major Brazilian banking company, operating primarily in Brazil, with offices in several foreign countries. Headquarters are in Braslia. The bank was established in 1808 by the Portuguese regent Dom John (later John VI) after he and his court had fled to Brazil to escape the threat of a Napoleonic invasion. The bank served as the depository for the Portuguese court and then became the main bank of independent Brazil. Throughout the later 19th and the 20th centuries, Banco do Brasil played a major role in financing the development of Brazil's agriculture and commerce. The bank's Agricultural and Industrial Credit Division, founded in 1937, extended credit for development projects throughout the country, and its far-flung activities helped Banco do Brasil to eventually become one of the largest agricultural banks in the world. The bank has continued to diversify its activities, funding scientific research in medicine and agriculture, supporting small businesses and rural development projects, and, in 1987, introducing its first credit card.