The financial market was taken by surprise last Saturday (7) after Alexsandro Broedel allegedly acted for his own benefit in hiring technical opinions. The bank spoke of a “serious conflict of interest” in minutes of an extraordinary general meeting published over the weekend.
According to the financial institution, Broedel had “acted in violation of internal policies and applicable legislation and regulations”. Itaú () claims, in a process filed with the São Paulo Court, that the executive approved the hiring of opinions totaling R$ 13.255 million in the last five years for a company in which Eliseu Martins and his son, Eric Martins, are partners.
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Eliseu is a partner of the former Itaú executive in the company Broedel Consultores, created in 1998 and whose last registration update, in 2005, demonstrates the partnership.
Both share a position as professors at the Faculty of Economics, Administration and Accounting at the University of São Paulo (FEA-USP) and succeeded each other as directors of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).
Who is Eliseu Martins
Martins, a respected veteran in academia for publications in the area of accounting, became director of FEA between 1998 and 2002. He graduated from USP in 1972 — seven years later, he was already a full professor at the University and, in 2008, he became a senior professor.
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According to academic research aggregator Google Scholar, his book “Cost Accounting” was cited more than 4 thousand times in scientific articles.
In public or government institutions, Martins has held the position of Director of Supervision at the Central Bank between 1990 and 1991. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Banco do Brasil from 1996 to 2001, in addition to contributions to class representation.
Director of the CVM for two periods, from 1985 to 1988 and then from October 2008 to December 2009, Martins passed the chair in his second stint precisely to Alexsandro Broedel Lopes, after appointment by President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.
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“There are several consultancy support materials that were made without formality, something that I now regret, given the bad faith interpretation given by the bank. I work with approximately six other colleagues and we are even allowed to only give our opinion verbally or via opinion” on the case involving Itaú.
“Thus, there are opinions that do not generate an opinion and do not appear in any document. But these are services effectively provided, like all the services I provided for Itaú”, he continues.
“Perhaps influenced by the loss of such a brilliant professional, they are, on the bench, completely incorrectly interpreting what actually happened. And, in addition to involving me to achieve it, they also commit the absurdity of involving my children, who have nothing to do with the facts that the bank reports and misinterprets”, said the executive. “There are no aforementioned possible processes yet, but I will obviously clarify and prove what I say”, he adds.
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Who is Alexsandro Broedel
Broedel completed his degree in Accounting Sciences at FEA in 1997. In 2001, the executive already had a doctorate from the faculty. Later, in 2012, he graduated in law from the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo (FDUSP). Today, he is a full professor in the Accounting Sciences course and a guest lecturer in Law.
Along with Martins, Broedel published articles in magazines and books. In 2005, they published together “Accounting theory: a new approach”.
In addition to managing the CVM, Broedel was also a member of the advisory board of the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC) from 2021 to July 2024. At Itaú, he was for 12 years, as chief accountant, financial controller, executive director of finance, head of investor relations and, from 2021, chief financial officer — or CFO.
According to Broedel, Itaú’s allegations are “unfounded and meaningless”. In a note, the executive, hired as global head of Santander, assures that “he has always conducted himself ethically and transparently in all activities throughout his 12 years at the bank”.
Still according to Broedel, his behavior was never “challenged by Itaú, which has a rigorous and comprehensive control and compliance structure, typical of a financial group of its size and importance in the Brazilian economy”.
