in English...not rediscount...there is the discount rate and the prime rate..the discount rate is the overnight rate for loans from the Fed to banks and the prime rate is the rate banks charge their best customers..

Redesconto A taxa de redesconto é cobrada pelo Banco Central em seus empréstimos para os bancos comerciais. Muitas vezes os bancos comerciais necessitam de recursos de curto prazo para cobrir obrigações que, por falta de liquidez no período, não teriam como cumprir. A taxa de redesconto é um instrumento de política monetária do Banco Central. O aumento da taxa tem um impacto contracionista na economia, e uma diminuição tem um impacto expansionista.

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Note added at 28 mins (2005-09-07 20:14:44 GMT)
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Here is the explanation for how it works in the US, which is parallel to how it works in Brazil....the word redisconto here in English is discount...

The Discount Rate
The discount rate is the interest rate charged to commercial banks and other depository institutions on loans they receive from their regional Federal Reserve Bank's lending facility--the discount window. The Federal Reserve Banks offer three discount window programs to depository institutions: primary credit, secondary credit, and seasonal credit, each with its own interest rate. All discount window loans are fully secured.

Under the primary credit program, loans are extended for a very short term (usually overnight) to depository institutions in generally sound financial condition. Depository institutions that are not eligible for primary credit may apply for secondary credit to meet short-term liquidity needs or to resolve severe financial difficulties. Seasonal credit is extended to relatively small depository institutions that have recurring intra-year fluctuations in funding needs, such as banks in agricultural or seasonal resort communities.

The discount rate charged for primary credit (the primary credit rate) is set above the usual level of short-term market interest rates. (Because primary credit is the Federal Reserve's main discount window program, the Federal Reserve at times uses the term "discount rate" to mean the primary credit rate.) The discount rate on secondary credit is above the rate on primary credit. The discount rate for seasonal credit is an average of selected market rates. Discount rates are established by each Reserve Bank's board of directors, subject to the review and determination of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The discount rates for the three lending programs are the same across all Reserve Banks except on days around a change in the rate.

Further information on the discount window, including interest rates, is available from the Federal Reserve System's discount window web site. See also the articles in the Federal Reserve Bulletin for July 2002 (51 KB PDF) and November 1994 (75 KB PDF).

Minutes of Board of Governors discount rate meetings
July 18 through August 9, 2005, 2005 (30 KB PDF)
May 23 through June 30, 2005 (45 KB PDF)
April 4 through May 3, 2005 (60 KB PDF)
February 7 through March 22, 2005 (36 KB PDF)
January 3 to February 2, 2005 (36 KB PDF)
November 22 to December 14, 2004 (83 KB PDF)
October 12 to November 10, 2004 (83 KB PDF)
August 23 to September 21, 2004 (78 KB PDF)
July 19 to August 10, 2004 (82 KB PDF)
May 17 to June 30, 2004 (84 KB PDF)
March 29 to May 3, 2004 (68 KB PDF)
February 9 to March 15, 2004 (65 KB PDF)
December 15, 2003, through January 26, 2004 (68 KB PDF)
November 10 through December 8, 2003 (68 KB PDF)
September 29 to October 27, 2003 (71 KB PDF)
September 2 through September 15, 2003 (61 KB PDF)
July 7 through August 11, 2003 (67 KB PDF)
May 19 to June 25, 2003 (93 KB PDF)
March 31 to May 5, 2003 (88 KB PDF)
February 10 to March 17, 2003 (71 KB PDF)
January 6 to January 27, 2003 (54 KB PDF)
November 18 to December 9, 2002 (66 KB PDF)
October 7 to November 6, 2002 (75 KB PDF)
September 3 to September 23, 2002 (73 KB PDF)
July 22 to August 12, 2002 (21 KB PDF)
May 20 to June 24, 2002 (52 KB PDF)
April 1 to May 6, 2002 (52 KB PDF)
February 4 to March 18, 2002 (50 KB PDF)
December 17, 2001, to January 28, 2002 (52 KB PDF)
November 19 to December 11, 2001 (52 KB PDF)
October 15 to November 6, 2001 (53 KB PDF)
September 24 to October 2, 2001 (50 KB PDF)
May 21 to September 17, 2001 (69 KB PDF)


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Note added at 29 mins (2005-09-07 20:15:11 GMT)
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taxa de redesconto= discount rate

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Note added at 35 mins (2005-09-07 20:21:03 GMT)
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The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), created by Law no. ... discount rates (linked to development funds) and financial assistance for liquidity (meaning the ...
www.bcb.gov.br/?BCHISTORY - 36k - Cached - Similar pages


[PDF] Translation of the Open Letter sent by Banco Central do Brasil's ...File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Banco Central do Brazil's governor will publicly release through an open letter addressed ... 2004 and 2006, discount rates increased to 2.70% from 0.40%. ...
www.bcb.gov.br/?OL2003 - Sep 5, 2005 - Similar pages

That's enough reference for something that I know to be a fact.

cheers

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Note added at 1 hr 13 mins (2005-09-07 20:59:42 GMT)
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equivalentes à taxa de redisconto= means equal to the discount rate of the Banco central do Brasil