Brazil seeks to help Europe via IMF

Brazil will propose that it and other large emerging market countries make billions of dollars in new funds available to the International Monetary Fund as a way to help ease the crisis in the euro zone, an official said on Monday.Finance Minister Guido Mantega will make the proposal at a meeting of the BRICS group later this week in Washington, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The BRICS bloc of large emerging markets also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa.Giving more funds to the IMF looks like one of the more attractive options available for us to help Europe, the official said.Brazil could make up to $10 billion of its own money available to help Europe through various channels, including the IMF or by making bond purchases, the official said.Brazils contribution by itself would almost certainly be too small to make a major difference in Europes growing debt crisis. Yet a coordinated effort that includes China and Russia, in particular, could have greater impact at a time when investors are looking to large, growing emerging markets with high foreign reserves as a potential source of help.Consensus toward such a concerted rescue effort appeared to be growing on Monday. Russias Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told reporters that countries that hold substantial reserves may assist in bailing out the euro zones debt-ridden states on certain conditions.BRICS countries are already buying European debt through the European Financial Stability Facility, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported Monday.Mantega had previously proposed that BRICS countries engage in coordinated purchases of European bonds, but that idea met with resistance from other members of the group who were wary of buying risky assets or doubted they had enough financial firepower to help.The IMF could provide a safer vehicle for a coordinated effort, the official said.