Names to head Brazil public banks disclosed

President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro’s economic staff has unveiled the names to head the country’s two main public banks—Banco do Brasil and Caixa Econômica Federal—and the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), according to a source in Bolsonaro’s transition team. 

Named for the Banco do Brasil was Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) Professor Rubem de Freitas Novaes, PhD in Economy from the University of Chicago, the same institute from which Paulo Guedes obtained his doctorate degree. Novaes has also served as director of Brazil’s National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES).

The Caixa Econômica Federal will be headed by economist Pedro Guimarães. He is the director of investment bank Brasil Plural and boasts vast experience in the financial sector.

IPEA, in turn, will be led by Carlos Von Doellinger, economist from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He is a member of Bolsonaro’s government transition team.