Carolina Gonçalves
Translated by Amarílis Anchieta
President of the Brazilian Social Development Bank (BNDES), Luciano Coutinho, announced Thursday (Aug. 27) that some precautionary measures have been adopted due to findings of Operation Car Wash, which investigates irregularities in Petrobrás. In testimony before the Congressional Committee of Investigation (CPI), created by the Chamber of Deputies to investigate allegations about loans made by BNDES to companies and contractors, from 2003 to 2015.
He explained that the financing transactions carried out with these companies are being investigated case by case: "Within the law, we are revising the rating scales and the firms' economic and financial performance."
About the foreign trade operations financed by BNDES, Coutinho responded that demands are even greater to give financial guarantees to the bank. He further declared that BNDES does not make transfers abroad. "When you are supporting works abroad, there is no transfer of money.
The thing is, goods and services produced to be exported aren't audited step by step." Coutinho clarified that, as these goods and services are produced, BNDES in Brazil provides funds in real values for the exporter. "This export will oblige the importer to pay in long-term with a stronger currency," said Coutinho.
Cuba and Angola
The president of BNDES also pointed out that the bank is “deeply” committed to transparency and that all bank data from transactions conducted from 2002 to 2015 are available to any person. It includes financing transactions in export and in works abroad since 2002. He cited the disbursement of financing funds in 2012 to export goods and services of Brazilian firms to Cuba and Angola. "These transactions are not treated as confidential anymore. They were made public," he noted. Mentioning the funding of the Port of Mariel, in Cuba, he added: "There is no money of non-repayable fund in Cuba."
