TCU will investigate whether Banco do Brasil harms opposition states in loans

The TCU (Union Court of Auditors) opened an investigation to verify whether Banco do Brasil is harming states opposed to the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) in granting loans.

The investigation was initiated after a report by the leaf reveal that the bank has had operations with the states of Alagoas and Bahia.

The representation was made by the deputy attorney general of the Public Ministry at the TCU, Lucas Rocha Furtado. The process was opened this Tuesday (1) and is under the rapporteurship of Minister Aroldo Cedraz.

as showed the Leaf, the government of Alagoas appealed to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to obtain the resources after Banco do Brasil abandoned negotiations for a loan of R$ 770 million without further justification.

The state is governed by Renan Filho (MDB). His father is Senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL), who was rapporteur for the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) responsible for investigating errors and emissions by the federal government in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The governor also disputes political prominence in the state with the current president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), an ally of the Planalto Palace.

Bahia, headed by Rui Costa (PT), also faces problems in contracting an operation worth R$228 million with the bank. Behind the scenes, there is a charge for “isonomic treatment” between the states.

Banco do Brasil denies political interference in the granting of loans and claims that it follows “technical criteria”.

“All the contracting of operations for the public sector strictly follows the legal requirements of the regulatory bodies, the credit evaluation and the business interests of BB”, said the bank.

THE leaf found, however, that the Vice President of Government of Banco do Brasil, Antônio Barreto, expressed the institution’s inclination to make operations viable for those who have a “good relationship” with the current government. The signal was given at a meeting with members of the Executive at the end of 2021.

Barreto, who took office in May of last year, has already worked in key positions on the Esplanada dos Ministérios: he was executive secretary of the Ministry of Citizenship and also worked in areas of the Civil House during the period in which these portfolios were headed by Onyx Lonrenzoni. .

Previously, Barreto was an advisor to Gilberto Kassab, current president of the PSD, when he was Minister of Science and Technology in the Michel Temer (MDB) government. The executive was contacted through BB’s advisory, but did not respond to questions in the report.

In his representation, Furtado cites the risk of “undue interference” by the Union on a mixed capital company such as Banco do Brasil, which “must act in accordance with the provisions of the State-owned Companies Law and its statutes”.

Among the legal provisions mentioned by the sub-attorney are those that punish the controlling shareholder (in this case, the Federal Government) for abuse of power and the requirements of transparency, competitiveness, compliance and equity in transactions carried out by public companies.

“It is reasonable to assume that, in addition to the necessary rigor in assessing the risks of any loan, there is equity in the relationship with the various ‘clients’ of the institution, in this case, the states and municipalities”, says Furtado.

For the deputy attorney, if the irregularities were confirmed, the conduct of the managers would represent not only non-compliance with the State-Owned Companies Law, but also an affront to the constitutional principle of impersonality in public administration.

According to him, the discriminatory policy in the granting of loans “would be incurring a flagrant deviation from the public purpose”.

“Thus, if the reported information is confirmed, the conduct of the public manager in question is extremely serious, with the potential to apply the sanctions applicable in the scope of external control to this irregular conduct”, says Furtado.

With the reception of the representation, the TCU will investigate “eventual illegalities and offense to the constitutional principle of impersonality”, as well as verify “vulnerabilities in the governance of the Union in relation to Banco do Brasil”.

The investigation is under the responsibility of Secex Finanças (Secretariat for External Control of the National Financial System) of the court.

The TCU already had an ongoing investigation into the Alagoas operation, after being provoked by the state government.

However, the lawsuit filed this Tuesday, based on the report by leaf, is broader and will analyze the performance of the bank as a whole. The tendency is for this new front to be the focus of work for auditors.

In 2021, BB granted R$5.3 billion in credits to states. Two-thirds of this amount went to allied governments or parties that have supporters of the current federal administration in their ranks.

Among the parties benefited are PP, which integrates the base of the government, in addition to PSD, MDB and PSDB, which declare themselves independent, but have parliamentarians who support Bolsonaro in votes in Congress.

Some of the acronyms even have deputies who act as deputy leaders of the government in the Chamber, such as Joaquim Passarinho (PSD-PA) and Lucio Mosquini (MDB-RO).

Until December last year, the MDB –although it houses the governor of Alagoas– also held the leadership of the government in the Senate, with Fernando Bezerra (PE).

One of the operations also benefited Amazonas, ruled by Wilson Lima (PSC), an ally of Bolsonaro.

The only two operations that irrigated states governed by the PT benefited Ceará, by Camilo Santana, and Piauí, by Wellington Dias. Credits totaled R$ 1.7 billion.

According to government sources, although the contracts were signed, there were complaints about the fact that BB contemplates opposition states.