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About to start a second term at the head of the New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS Bank, former President Dilma Rousseff left a trail of backward goals, reports of bullying, layoffs and criticism for mismanagement at the institution since taking over in April 2023.
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Documents obtained by the report show that the NDB is late in meeting the vast majority of its goals and has employee turnover (15.5%) three times higher than the average in multilateral development banks (5%), according to the bank’s independent evaluation report. Since Dilma took over, at least 46% of Brazilian employees (14) have left the bank. Internal evaluations point out that “limitations on delegating authority” contribute to “delays in decision making and low implementation efficiency”.
The situation in the bank was described as dysfunctional and paralysis by employees heard by the report.
The criticisms were corroborated in the vote of Prasanna Salian, director of India, at a meeting of the Board of Directors about the medium -term review of the bank’s general strategy last year. “The bank is late in meeting most of its strategic goals for the five-year period (2022-2026),” says Salian, director of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance of India, in the document obtained by the report.
According to Salian, only 20%of the bank’s credit concession target was reached, and the NDB is far short of non -sovereign operations objectives (10.7%, given the 30%target). Only one project (4%) was co -financed (goal was 20%).
“Management should make immediate efforts to improve bank execution and reduce delay [no cumprimento das metas] In the coming years, ”said Salian in a written vote. “In general, there is an urgent need to prioritize activities, use limited resources carefully, have effective planning rigorous efforts for execution and efficient coordination.”
Sought, the NDB advisory said it would not comment on the vote. “The votes of NDB members are not public information and should not be disclosed,” the advisory said.
The report spoke with six employees and former employees of the Brazilian bank and government who work directly with Dilma. For fear of reprisals, they asked not to be identified. Everyone said the bank is paralyzed and that the level of bullying is very high.
According to several reports, Dilma often screams with employees in scolding that can be heard on other floors of the institution. She would call the staff “dumb” and “dumb”, “ignorant”, besides saying says “you do not pay anything”, “you are no fucking” and “you will never get another job again,” “you write with your feet.”
She would have told a Chinese employee that he needed to “wash behind the ears.”
Another frequent report is that she refuses to take time off, especially to employees who work directly with the president, and that workers are forced to days from 6am to 9pm every day of the week. Two employees reported having sought psychological assistance.
The 2023 Bank annual report has not been published to date or 2024. The other reports, for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 are available on the bank’s website.
The NDB Independent Evaluation Office report, signed by Director-General Ashwani K. Muthoo, on May 20, 2024, presents a dark portrait.
“The bank’s loan volume fell short of what was foreseen in the general strategy for 2017-2021 and slowed further by 2022 and 2023,” the document says. “There is room to improve organizational culture, management processes and people to increase the bank’s efficiency to be able to meet his mandate.”
In addition to management problems, internal reports point out that the political situation, with Russia’s presence in the bank, increased the cost of funding and reduced competitiveness.
It also says that “high turnover” affects the ability of the bank to function.
The reports also point to paralysis in the bank expansion. Under Marcos Troyjo, they joined the Egyptian institution, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh. In Dilma management, no new member.
“In short, the NDB has not yet been able to completely established itself as an impact -focused development bank as determined in its foundation letter.”
Another report by the independent office, also obtained by Folha, states that “the absence of an agile and consistent decision making process also compromises the bank’s response and overall efficiency. Without substantial changes in its processes and procedures, the bank will continue to face serious obstacles to fulfill its mandate. ”
Sought, Dilma’s Chief of Staff, Marco Túlio Mendonça, who is a direct advisor to the president, did not answer Whatsapp’s message with questions and did not answer a call.
Sought, the NDB press office said the goals are for five years, not for a year. “It is not appropriate to conclude that the NDB has not achieved the goals, because the strategic cycle is still underway,” said the advisory. Reports from the bank’s independent evaluation office and the vote of the board’s director point out that the compliance with the goals is very late.
The advisory also states that the first half of the 2022-2026 strategic cycle, from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024, was also divided between the administration of Troyjo and Dilma. “When President Dilma arrived in March 2023, the bank faced a serious liquidity crisis. He had spent 15 months without a dollar emission. ”
The bank reported that when Dilma assumed, funding disbursements were “temporarily suspended over liquidity concerns.” But it states that, in the management of the Brazilian, the bank as a whole had “significant growth” and that the balance in late 2024 shows “strong recovery and expansion”.
The advisory stated that the only year the turnover was high, 15%, was 2023. According to the bank, in 2024, this percentage normalized by 5%. Since the annual reports of the 2023 and 2024 bank were not published, it is not possible to check. The report of Folha requested official documents with numbers of exits of employees, but did not receive.
In the case of Brazilian employees, the advisory stated that in 2022/2023, the turnover rate was 43%. But, according to the bank, in 2024, this number fell to 16%.
“NDB has not seen any drop in productivity or efficiency in relation to turnover rates.”
Regarding bullying reports, the bank’s advisory replied: “The NDB will not comment on the allegations regarding bullying, as there are no cases of bullying in the Bank’s Compliance Department and investigations related to the president.”
The advisory also stated that the bank’s opening hours are from 9am to 5:15 pm, no bank employee is required to start working at 6am and all bank employees have normal and regulated clearances. The report maintains that Brazilian bank and government officials who worked directly with the president reported the excessive workload and lack of time off, and many resigned.
Regarding the fact that no country has entered the new member of the Bank during Dilma management, the advisory said that “NDB expands its adhesion under the approval of its council of governors and board of directors.”
