By Brazil Stock Guide – Aloizio Mercadante called the Banco Master case “the biggest financial crime in Brazil’s history” during the Esfera Forum in Guarujá, delivering one of the sharpest institutional criticisms of the event and calling for a deep review of Brazil’s financial oversight system.
“What happened at Banco Master is the biggest financial crime in the country’s history. This is not a minor issue,” said the president of BNDES, Brazil’s national development bank. His remarks came during a discussion about control failures, banking supervision and the growth of less transparent financial structures.
Mercadante said Brazil’s Central Bank bore direct responsibility for the episode, arguing that authorizations granted under previous administrations allowed Banco Master to expand within the financial system. He also said the current leadership of the Central Bank had taken action, but only after the damage had already been done.
According to Mercadante, the cost of the case ultimately falls on the financial system itself. He cited potential impacts on Brazil’s deposit insurance fund, public banks and pension institutions, saying large financial players end up absorbing part of the losses through the way the system is structured.
The BNDES chief also broadened his criticism to parts of the fintech industry. In his view, the rapid expansion of some firms took place without adequate supervision, creating room for money laundering, hidden beneficial owners and transactions operating below the radar of regulators.
Mercadante defended a restructuring of both the Central Bank and CVM, Brazil’s securities regulator, with stronger career tracks, better pay and greater technical capacity. “We have to empower the Central Bank and the CVM,” he said. Without more robust supervision, he argued, Brazil will remain exposed to financial pyramids, poorly assessed funds and structures that only become visible once losses have already materialized.
The tone was one of institutional urgency. Mercadante said the financial system must be part of the solution because it also pays the price when supervision fails. His core message was direct: the Banco Master case, in his view, cannot be treated as an isolated episode, but as a test of Brazil’s ability to regulate, supervise and protect its own financial market.
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