The president of the BNDES, Gustavo Montezano, said that in the three years he spent at the head of the institution, he learned that the bank should not be underestimated, because whenever this happened, the results were surprising. According to Montezano, the BNDES has to be seen as a multidimensional development hub for Brazil, where financial capital is important, but there is the ability to absorb and process information clearly, create and radiate innovation, there is no similar institution to do it like the BNDES.
“Don’t underestimate the BNDES. If the bank were a listed company, we would say in a market term, do not short [o termo vem da palavra short de origem no inglês, para designar operações de compra e venda de ativos no mercado de capitais] our action, because every time I or any person from the bank, employee, board member underestimated the bank, we made a mistake. The bank surprised and surprised upwards”, he pointed out during the opening of the BNDES Day meeting, promoted by the institution and the Ministry of Economy, at the bank’s headquarters, in downtown Rio.
The director of People and Culture at the BNDES, Rodrigo Aquino, recalled that, behind the bank’s achievements, there are those who work there and make an effort to guarantee the role of the BNDES. “Don’t shortchange the BNDES, because when you challenge the BNDES employee, he always responds well above expectations. We are here, we are a State institution and we have one of the most noble missions”, said the director, who is also a career employee at the institution.
Still at the opening, Montezano said he hoped that, at the end of the two days of BNDES Day, the institution will be a more open bank and focused on multidimensional development. “The main objective of our event is to make our BNDES increasingly open. The open BNDES translates much of what we see as a philosophy for a development bank”, he said, adding that the world will continue to change very fast and having a bank integrated with society creating innovations, opening up the market and working with partners is something essential for the institution and for Brazil.
According to the president, basing development solely on the financial dimension was useful for a certain time, but that is now behind us. “This BNDES has to be thinking about the number of people with sanitation connections, in the Brazilian population with access to broadband, adequately trained schools, HDI information [Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano] of municipalities in various corners of Brazil”, he pointed out.
Legacy
Without mentioning the values, the president said that the bank currently has “the largest concession portfolio on the planet in privatization”, with emphasis on environmental assets.
Montezano stated that the BNDES was once again among the 100 most valuable brands in Brazil and emphasized that the bank’s activities served all political spheres in the country. “From Amapá to Rio Grande do Sul, the bank has served and continues to serve all ideologies, all parties in an independent, neutral and technical manner, as a state bank like the BNDES must be”, he assured.
“We are very proud to leave this legacy for Brazil. A bank that six years ago was questioned reputationally, was questioned strategically and went through several managerial developments. What we see going forward is a BNDES fully capable of carrying out its role as a development bank in this world where the only certainty is ignorance and without neglecting the major challenges that the bank still has”, he concluded.
