The government of the Federal District sued the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to force the federal president’s government to participate in the rescue of Banco de Brasília (BRB), hit by the Banco Master crisis. The request was filed on May 19th and is under judicial secrecy.
The strategy was in the plans of the DF and BRB leadership for more than a month, according to the report. Estadão.
The rapporteur is Minister Luiz Fux. As shown by Broadcast (Grupo Estado’s real-time news system), this Tuesday, the 26th, the governor of the Federal District, Celina Leão (PP), has a meeting with the magistrate and representatives of the Union in a type of conciliation hearing.
The previous day, Fux issued decisions for the Federal Attorney General’s Office and the Central Bank to comment.
The Federal District government ran out of cash to honor commitments and lost the payment capacity required by the Union to grant National Treasury approval for financial operations.
The DF is seeking a loan of R$6.6 billion from the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC) and wants the Union to be a guarantor for the operation. The objective is to inject money into BRB and cover the hole left by Master in the institution.
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The FGC resists granting financing without help from the Union and without the participation of other banks. At the end of April, Celina sent a letter to the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigran, asking the federal government to grant the guarantee on an exceptional basis, alleging risks for the Federal District and the banking system in the event of a BRB failure. She also requested a meeting with President Lula, but was not answered.
The Minister of Finance has said that the Federal District is not in the financial position to be bailed out by the Union. Durigan suggested that the district government offer the Federal District Constitutional Fund (FCDF) as a guarantee for the operation. The fund pays for the salaries of DF police officers and health and education employees, which is why there is resistance to giving up this transfer.
BRB did not publish the 2025 financial statement, which had a deadline for publication until March 31, and was sanctioned by the Central Bank. Informally, the bank and the DF government promised the Central Bank that they would deliver the balance sheet by next Friday, the 29th, along with the solution to cover Banco Master’s loss. If you can’t get the loan, plan B is to use an accounting solution with the securitization of the DF’s active debt.
Members of the BRB and the Federal District government argue, behind the scenes, that the DF is able to pay the loan, even with the “C” grade given by the National Treasury on payment capacity, which prevents the guarantee. Furthermore, they mention that the Union has already helped states with a worse situation, such as Rio de Janeiro, and state-owned companies that are completely in debt, such as Correios recently. Interlocutors also remember that, in 2009, the STF forced the Union to grant a guarantee for an international loan of R$190 million to the Federal District.
Among the four indicators considered by the National Treasury to assess the situation, the DF received a “red” rating in current savings, a criterion that analyzes current expenditure in relation to revenue. Debt, relative cash liquidity and fiscal quality ranking are in the “blue”. The government argues that it is making a fiscal adjustment to solve the budget.
The DF has accumulated a deficit of R$2.7 billion in its accounts over the last 27 months. The Secretary of Economy, Valdivino de Oliveira, told Estadão that the commitment is to correct the course and leave the cash with a surplus until August, making an effort to recover revenue and cutting expenses.
