Galípolo receives Vorcaro at the Central Bank to discuss the sale of Master to BRB

BRASILIA - The president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo , received the president of Banco Master , Daniel Vorcaro, and the CEO, Augusto Ferreira Lima, to discuss the process of selling this private financial institution to Banco de Brasília (BRB) .

The meeting took place on the morning of Saturday the 19th and was recorded in Galípolo's official agenda. Also in attendance were Ailton de Aquino Santos, the Central Bank's director of oversight, and Gilneu Francisco Astolfi, the institution's director of regulation.

The agreement to purchase a share of Master by BRB was approved by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) on June 17 , but is still under analysis by the Central Bank.

BRB, a bank linked to the Federal District government, announced an offer to purchase a significant stake in Banco Master on March 28.

The controversial deal was valued at approximately R$2 billion. The operation has been questioned and raised suspicions of political interference .

The acquired bank is medium-sized and has experienced exponential growth in recent years, but is generally viewed with reservations in the financial market.

A significant portion of the assets that guaranteed the solidity of Banco Master was made up of court orders (titles of legal disputes against governments), which are uncertain in terms of receipt.

One of the strategies used for growth was the offering of Bank Deposit Certificates (CDB) that paid investors rates well above competitors, up to 140% of the CDI (the Interbank Deposit Certificate, a reference rate in transactions between banks).

To sell the CDBs, the bank used the fact that they were guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC, a private institution maintained by contributions from all banks).

In an interview with Estadão , BRB president Paulo Henrique Costa denied that the purchase of part of Banco Master was the result of political interference in the financial institution. He said the analysis for the proposal was technical and aligned with the logic of expanding the district government bank.