Lula eyes Galipolo among joint nominations for Brazil central bank, sources say

investing.com 15/08/2024 - 20:25 PM

Lula’s Nominations for Central Bank Board

By Marcela Ayres and Bernardo Caram

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is considering submitting all four of his upcoming nominations for the board of the central bank at once, including Gabriel Galipolo for the bank’s presidency, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The nominations are anticipated in the coming weeks, as stated by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad. If approved by the Senate, Lula’s selections will take office in 2025, allowing the leftist president to appoint seven members on the central bank’s nine-member interest rate-setting committee, known as Copom.

The presidential palace did not respond to a request for comment, and both the Finance Ministry and the central bank declined to provide comments.

Galipolo, currently the central bank’s monetary policy director, is widely regarded as a strong candidate to succeed governor Roberto Campos Neto, whose term concludes in December, according to several sources who requested anonymity for confidential discussions.

Fernando Honorato, chief economist at Banco Bradesco, is also being considered for Galipolo’s current role due to his good relations with the Finance Ministry and other government officials, as reported by three sources. Other candidates remain in contention, according to one source.

Bradesco stated it was “unaware of the matter.”

Another source mentioned that Marcelo Kayath, a partner at QMS Capital and former managing director at Credit Suisse in Brazil, had been approached for the position but declined.

Kayath did not comment on the situation.

Two sources indicated that Gilneu Vivan, the current head of the financial system regulatory department, is being considered for the director of regulation position, currently held by Otavio Damaso.

The same two sources noted that Juliana Mozachi, head of the conduct supervision department, is a strong candidate for the director of institutional relations role, taking over from Carolina Barros. Her appointment would ensure at least one woman on the rate-setting board, as pointed out by one source.

Traditionally, the directors of regulation and institutional relations are career central bank officials, unlike the monetary policy director, who manages the foreign exchange desk and often comes from a background in financial markets.




Comments (0)

    Greed and Fear Index

    Note: The data is for reference only.

    index illustration

    Greed

    63