FGTS took a default of R$ 2 billion in a Caixa program created under Bolsonaro – 08/13/2023 – Market

The FGTS (Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de Serviço) took a default of more than R$ 2 billion after providing resources for a microcredit program by Caixa Econômica Federal created by then-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the midst of the electoral race.

The loan program that used workers’ money has a default rate of over 80% and also generated losses for Caixa. The bank lent BRL 3 billion and the unpaid amount corresponds to BRL 2.3 billion (a fifth of that number is a loss for Caixa, which represents BRL 460 million).

The institution offered, through the Caixa Tem application, loans of up to R$1,000 to individuals, including those with a dirty name, and up to R$3,000 to individual micro-entrepreneurs.

When contacted, the bank stated that “in June of this year, operations [do SIM Digital, programa de microcrédito] were suspended, avoiding new losses to workers (FGTS)”.

“In relation to defaulted contracts, Caixa informs that it continues to work to recover these resources, with the purpose of minimizing losses to the FGTS. In addition, Caixa’s presidency has determined the opening of an internal audit to determine the facts related to the microcredit operation guaranteed by the FGTS”, he informed.

The FGTS invested BRL 3 billion in the FGM (Microfinance Guarantee Fund) in the first quarter of 2022 and managed to recover around BRL 1 billion in July of this year. The remainder was lost.

The decision to contribute to the guarantee fund came in an MP (provisional measure) and did not go through the FGTS Board of Trustees, formed by representatives of the government, workers and employers’ institutions.

The FGM was capitalized by the FGTS to offer guarantees to banks that joined the Digital Microcredit Simplification Program for Entrepreneurs, known as SIM Digital.

The problem is that nobody guaranteed the resources contributed by the FGTS, since the law that created the program said that “the FGM will not have any type of guarantee or endorsement by the Union”.

SIM Digital was created and implemented by the Bolsonaro government months before the start of the election campaign. The program was open to any bank and the FGM guarantee, financed by the FGTS, served as security for them to join, but only Caixa was interested.

At the time, the public bank was headed by Pedro Guimarães, a close associate of Bolsonaro. To develop the program that offered loans, Guimarães made several trips with the aim of learning about the microcredit experience. He has traveled to countries such as Bangladesh, Colombia, Kenya, Mexico and Peru.

Three months after Caixa officially announced its adherence to the program, Guimarães left the bank’s presidency due to allegations of sexual harassment.

At that time, the FGM had already guaranteed BRL 1.7 billion in microcredit operations, according to data from the guarantee fund.

Daniella Marques was chosen for her place, who until then was at the Ministry of Economy as special secretary to former Minister Paulo Guedes.

Under his baton, Caixa continued with loans, but at a slower pace. At the end of October, the month of the elections, the FGM had guaranteed R$2.4 billion.

Faced with this problem, the FGTS decided, at a meeting of its Board of Trustees held on June 20 of this year, to redeem the quotas still remaining in the FGM and request an audit of operations by the TCU (Union Court of Accounts).

The program is investigated by Caixa’s internal audit, as well as the payroll of Auxílio Brasil.

The current president of the financial institution, Rita Serrano, said in May this year on Twitter that the two programs are “contestable” and were implemented “on the eve of the 2022 elections and with an excessive appeal to the vulnerable population’s indebtedness”.

“Upon assuming the presidency, I was faced with the challenges arising from the initiatives adopted by the previous management, especially the Consignado do Auxílio Brasil and Microfinance programs, implemented during the Bolsonaro government”, he continued.

She made a difference in the default of the two programs. In the case of the Auxílio Brasil payroll, “delinquency is still under control, as payments are deducted at source”, she said.