NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 3, 2002--Standard&Poor's today lowered its long-term local and foreign currency credit ratings on two sovereign-supported institutions, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) and Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A. (BNB), reflecting the downgrade of its ratings on the Federative Republic of Brazil. For BNDES: The long-term local currency credit rating was lowered to double-'B' from double-'B'-plus; the long-term foreign currency credit rating was lowered to single-'B'-plus from double-'B'-minus. The outlook on the ratings remains negative. For BNB: The long-term local currency credit rating was lowered to double-'B' from double-'B'-plus; the long-term foreign currency credit rating was lowered to single-'B'-plus from double-'B'-minus. The single-'B' short-term local and foreign currency credit ratings
