The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) announced today (12) that the bank’s net profit in the first quarter of this year was R$12.9 billion, representing a 32% growth compared to the same period in 2021. Disbursements, from January to March this year, were R$ 14.8 billion, which means 31% more than the first quarter of last year.
According to information released by the BNDES, the bank’s performance was influenced by the reclassification of JBS (R$ 5.8 billion), revenue from dividends from Petrobras (R$ 3 billion), net result from the sale of shares (R$ 1.3 billion ) and positive equity in the earnings of R$0.8 billion. On the business structuring side, the first three months of the year were marked by the holding of auctions for Codesa, Iguaçu National Park and the PPPs [parcerias público-privada] of public lighting in Caruaru and Jaboatão dos Guararapes.
The assets of the BNDES system totaled BRL 749.7 billion on March 31, 2022, 1.7% more than on the same date last year. The loan and onlending portfolio, net of provisions, totaled R$433.7 billion. Delinquency with more than 90 days remained low, at 0.21%. Shareholders’ equity reached R$142.4 billion on March 31, 2022, representing an increase of 12.1% compared to the same period last year.
Petrobras
The president of BNDES, Gustavo Montezano, spoke about a possible privatization of Petrobras. THE privatization of the company was announced by the new Minister of Mines and Energy, Adolfo Sachsida, and by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes. The modeling of the privatization of state-owned companies necessarily passes through the BNDES.
According to the bank’s president, if the government follows through with the decision to privatize Petrobras, it is not possible to establish a deadline for this to occur. “I prefer not to give a timing, it varies by operation. Just as an example, what happened at Eletrobras, we were mandated in February 2021. A year and a half has passed. Petrobras is another asset, also complex. Skipping any date estimates, I think would be a little flippant,” he said.
Montezano said that if the Ministry of Mines and Energy chooses to privatize a company, such as Petrobras, the Partnership and Investment Program hires BNDES to carry out this study. “BNDES, with its technical staff, hires consultants and advisors and carries out economic, regulatory and legal analyzes of what would be the best solution, the best response, to meet this ministry’s desire. Any privatization is a delicate operation, with many impacts for society. It has to be discussed on a political level as well,” he explained.
