Brazil’s bank failures could hurt 150 U.S. banks.

Finance Minister Dilson Funaro said the Brazilian government will not guarantee repayment of the $455 million borrowed from U.S. and European banks by three failed Brazilian institutions. The lending banks were not identified. Foreign bankers said default on the loans could jeopardize Brazil’s efforts to renegotiate its $103-billion foreign debt. Meanwhile, Banco do Brazil, the nation’s largest private bank, said it had acquired the U.S. operations of two of the failed banks, Comind and Banco Auxiliar.