Brazil's biggest development bank has new president

President Michel Temer invited the head of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) Paulo Rabello Castro to take the reins of the National Economic and Social Development Bank, the BNDES, in place of economist Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, who resigned Friday (May 26) for personal reasons. Maria Silvia had been in office since May last year.

The decision was announced to President Michel Temer by Silvia herself at the Planalto presidential palace early in the afternoon. According to Temer's press office, the news caught him by surprise.

Paulo Rabello de Castro was born in Rio de Janeiro, and graduated in economy from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and in law from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), with a PhD in economy from the University of Chicago.

The BNDES is Brazil's biggest development bank. Its net profit totaled $1.96 billion in 2016—a growth of 3.1% from 2015's $1.9 billion. The bank supports and finances long-term investments in a number of sectors in the Brazilian economy, chiefly among them agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and trade and services, in addition to social investments in education, health care, family agriculture, etc.

Note

In a note, the president's press office thanked her for her work, describing the economist it as “honest, competent, and serious.” The presidency further stressed that Maria Silvia “de-politicized” the bank's ties with Brazilian companies.

“Her work honored the government and moralized a key sector in Brazil, de-politicizing the relations between the business sector and adopting professional and technical criteria for the selection of projects to benefit from loans originated from public funds. Her legacy will be a model to be followed throughout the public apparatus,” the note reads.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira