Government expects to receive BRL 37.4 billion from BNDES this year

The Ministry of Economy expects to receive BRL 37.4 billion in loan returns from the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) this year, according to government sources heard by the Sheet.

A first tranche of 13.3 billion awaits approval from the bank’s board, which could occur as early as this month. Another R$ 24.1 billion is in advanced negotiation, but the return is taken for granted by government technicians.

The arrangement for the transfer of funds takes place amid the BNDES’ resistance to maintaining the accelerated pace of returning contributions made by the National Treasury during PT governments and which were considered irregular by the TCU (Union Court of Auditors).

A good part of the resources has already returned to the government’s cash, but there is still a balance close to R$ 105 billion to be returned by the development bank.

as showed the Sheet in February, BNDES claims that it would have a loss of R$ 14 billion by accelerating payments and wants to adopt a more gradual schedule than initially agreed with the Ministry of Economy.

The disagreement between the portfolio and the bank has already motivated frustration in the amount returned by the bank in 2021. The government expected an advance transfer of R$ 100 billion, but the institution made a smaller payment, of R$ 63 billion.

The return of funds contributes to the economic team’s plans to speed up the reduction of public debt, which closed the year 2021 at 80.3% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), a level considered high for emerging countries like Brazil.

The forecast is that this indicator ends 2022 at 79.3% of GDP. However, if the return of R$ 37.4 billion is confirmed, the debt could decrease by another 0.26 percentage point, approximately.

The BNDES’ regular schedule of returns, which follows the maturity dates of financing contracts that used Treasury resources as a source, provides for a payment of R$ 11.3 billion. This is already in the debt reduction account for this year.

Therefore, the additional advance of R$ 26 billion would be responsible for the incremental decrease in the country’s indebtedness indicator.

For this year, the best efforts schedule —changed by the TCU— originally provided for a return of BRL 54.2 billion.

As the 2021 transfer was smaller, the Ministry of Economy initially expected a payment of around R$ 60 billion in 2022.

“We imagined that, at the end of the consultation [no TCU]we would have a little more empowerment [autoridade] to discuss, especially with the BNDES, so that it can return the funds it has a little more robustly,” said the special secretary for the Treasury and Budget, Esteves Colnago, at an event promoted by Credit Suisse on February 1.

“We are still discussing with the BNDES, but I think this number will not reach even close to R$ 100 billion, perhaps it will be around R$ 60 billion or so [para 2022]”, Colnago said at the time.

In practice, however, negotiations have been tougher. Since the beginning of the year, the development bank has shown its intention to return only R$30 billion.

Of this amount, R$ 13.3 billion had been left out of the calendar stipulated in the TCU, but had its inclusion ordered later by the cut of accounts and would already have to be transferred by BNDES to the Treasury. Another R$ 17 billion was part of the balance actually under negotiation.

In conversations with the bank, however, the Economy managed to raise the value to R$ 37.4 billion.

According to government technicians, the expectation is to receive the R$ 13.3 billion recently included by the TCU, plus R$ 13.5 billion in anticipation of operations, R$ 5.3 billion in contract amortization and R$ 5.3 billion in interest payment.

After the settlement of these amounts, there will still be a balance of approximately R$ 67 billion to be paid by BNDES to the government in the coming years.

Sought, the BNDES informed that “the schedule in a regime of firm commitment agreed foresees payment this year of R$ 17.2 billion”. The bank also recognized the need to transfer another R$ 13 billion later included by the TCU.

The institution did not answer, however, whether this will be the amount effectively returned to the Treasury in 2022.

From 2008 to 2014, the federal government capitalized the BNDES with contributions that exceeded R$ 400 billion, in historical values. The measure enabled what became known as the policy of national champions, which financed large companies during PT governments.

In early 2021, the TCU considered the transfers irregular, as they were made outside the Budget, and determined the negotiation of a timetable for returns.

According to the court of accounts, advance payments should be made subject to two conditions: preserving the legal security of the loan contracts granted (to avoid harm to borrowers) and observing the minimum capital requirements for a bank to maintain its financial health.

Initially, the BNDES agreed to the return and approved transfers of R$100 billion in 2021 and R$54.2 billion this year. At the time, the bank’s president, Gustavo Montezano, told the Poder360 portal that the decision obliged “to return the money as soon as possible”.

In December of last year, in monitoring the TCU’s implementation of the measures, the BNDES argued that the anticipations (called “best efforts schedule”) would impose financial losses on the bank.

The loss, according to the institution, would mean “improper transfer to BNDES of the burden arising from the economic policy of subsidies adopted by the federal government”. The request was the inclusion of a third clause: that returns do not result in financial losses.

The TCU accepted the bank’s arguments and determined a new negotiation with the Ministry of Economy, but the talks within the court are suspended because the government asked for reconsideration of the decision. The new trial does not yet have a date to take place.