Fux says that Justice does not intend to force banks to help BRB

Fux conducted a mediation hearing this Thursday (13), which brought together the governor of the Federal District, Celina Leão, and the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan. Representatives from the AGU (Attorney General of the Union), the Central Bank, the FGC (Credit Guarantee Fund) and the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) also participated.

There was agreement for the DF government, the Treasury and private banks to continue debating alternatives for granting credit to BRB, although the federal government reinforced that the Union will not provide a guarantee for the operation.

“It is impossible to fix, by decision, this guarantee [intended to grant the loan]”, said Fux during the hearing. “Don’t even expect a decision from the Judiciary determining or guaranteeing, or pushing the horse to drink water, opening its mouth”, he added.

The metaphor was used in a context in which Fux said that the Supreme Court is, for now, trying to mediate a way out of the crisis, but cannot force a certain outcome.

The minister's speech was seen as a relief for the federal government and for the banks themselves, as there was concern that Fux, in a decision, would determine the granting of the guarantee for the loan.

The process seeks a way out to cover the hole in BRB resulting from fraudulent operations with Banco Master, owned by Daniel Vorcaro.

In February, the bank delivered a document to the Central Bank with preventive capital recovery actions. The measures should be implemented within 180 days, a deadline that has already passed, but they are not yet in force.

The DF government wants a loan from the FGC of up to R$6.6 billion and asked the Supreme Court to relax the rule that prevented the Union from guaranteeing the operation. Celina's management started the fundraising process because the controller does not have the necessary cash resources to make the contribution to the bank.

Last week, the DF asked Fux to order the FGC to complete the operation, complying with the agreed terms, such as the use of resources from the FPE (State and Federal District Participation Fund) and the FPM (Municipal Participation Fund) as counter-guarantee.

The Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, once again said that the problem caused at BRB is regional and defended that the solution involves strengthening the guarantees offered to banks, to provide more security to private institutions that can participate in a possible rescue operation.

According to Durigan, there is now concern among private banks regarding the possibility of accessing constitutional funds as a counter-guarantee if the local government does not honor payments.

The minister questioned whether, in the event of default, these counter-guarantees could, in fact, be accessed or whether there would be a risk of an injunction preventing their execution, as has already occurred in other cases.

Durigan also rejected the idea that the Union should simply offer its approval to resolve the situation. “Everyone wants the Union’s approval,” he stated, citing as an example farmers who seek federal guarantees to renegotiate debts.

For the minister, however, it would not be appropriate to “socialize responsibilities with Brazilian society as a whole” in a problem whose origins are in the Federal District and BRB.

The governor of the Federal District, Celina Leão, stated that BRB is a solid bank. According to her, the institution has been going through the current situation since November last year with sufficient liquidity to continue paying debts and obligations.

Celina said that a possible liquidation of the institution would cause systemic damage, as the bank concentrates resources from the retirement of DF employees, judicial deposits and deposits from account holders.

According to the governor, the loan under discussion would be granted to the government of the Federal District and, according to the FGC, approval from the National Treasury would be necessary to make the operation viable.

Celina stated that an operation worth R$6.6 billion would be enough to solve the BRB problem. The measure, according to her, would avoid the costs of a possible liquidation, which would also reach billions of reais.

The governor also stated that the parties had already reached an agreement, the terms of which were later improved, and that the DF government fulfilled all expected obligations.

The FGC, in turn, stated last week to the Supreme Court that it was not part of the agreement signed between the government of the Federal District and the Union and claimed not to have received documentation on BRB's finances to facilitate the loan of up to R$6.6 billion intended to help the institution.

BRB has been delaying the publication of its balance sheet, which prevents the assessment of the size of the hole caused by operations with Master.

Present at the hearing, the president of the FGC, Daniel Lima, stated that the fund did not require a guarantee from the Union to provide assistance to the BRB, contrary to what governor Celina Leão stated.

Lima highlighted that the FGC is not a financial institution and, therefore, does not carry out credit operations, but assistance operations. Therefore, he stated, it is necessary to have in-depth knowledge of the bank's situation before making any commitment.

According to the president of the fund, the audited financial statements for 2025 were expressly included among the documents necessary for the FGC's analysis. As the year progressed, other documents began to be required, following the practice adopted by the fund in its analyses.

He said he finds it “surprising” that these discussions have returned to the table, since the FGC, according to him, has maintained the same position since the first meeting.

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