Brazil's largest public bank, Banco do Brasil, yesterday announced net earnings of 1.9 billion reais (about US$800 million) in the third quarter of 2008, up 13.5 percent from the second quarter and 37 percent from the same period last year.

The bank's accumulated net earnings in the first nine months of2008 reached 5.9 billion reais (about US$2.5 billion), up 52.5 percent year-on-year.

The bank's loan portfolio reached 202.2 billion reais (about US$85billion) in the third quarter, up 6.4 percent from the previous quarter and 34.6 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

According to the bank, the good results are due to increased loans to individuals, which were up 5.9 percent from the second quarter and 45 percent year-on-year. Vehicle loans to individuals had the most significant growth, increasing 19 percent from the second quarter and 151 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

Banco do Brasil's efficiency ratio, which measures the relation between administrative costs and the bank's income, fell to 45 percent in the third quarter of 2008 from 51 percent in the same period last year, which means the bank needs less resources to cover operational costs.