Pedro Guimarães, president of Caixa Econômica Federal, has revealed that the government intends to privatise five subsidiaries of the Brazilian bank.
Lotteries and digital payments would also be privatised in early 2021, while the decision involving Caixa Seguradora is expected in October 2020.
In an interview with local media Metrópoles, the Caixa president said that they’re not planning to privatise the bank, even if President Jair Bolsonaro wishes to do so. The intention is to sell subsidiaries, but not the core business.
Guimarães said that, depending on the result of the initial public offering (IPO), they could consider a complete privatisation in the future.
In response to his statements, the National Federation of Personnel Associations of Caixa Econômica Federal (Fenae) started an online campaign against the privatisation, and said: “If they mess with Caixa, they mess with Brazil.”
Employees are looking to draw attention to this issue by highlighting the importance of the public bank and the interests of the government.
“They’re not interested in improving the quality of life of the Brazilian population,” said Fenae President Sérgio Takemoto. “We want to show people the importance of keeping Caixa 100% public, to give continuity to social programs, which are essential for the low-income population.”
Economy Minister Paulo Guedes recently said that the government is interested in the privatisation: “[At Caixa], we can raise $5.5bn, $7.5bn or $9.5bn in an IPO.”
In an interview with CNN Brazil, the minister said that there is “great hidden value” in state-owned companies, and that the bank has already started a privatisation process.
