Milei government says it seeks “Lula model” for bank privatization

Argentina’s Interior Minister, Guillermo Francos, said this Friday (April 26, 2024) that the government intends to use “Lula model” for the privatization of Banco de la Nación, the Argentine state bank. The Argentine federal administration intends to list 49% of the financial institution’s shares on the stock exchange, just as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) did in 2010 with Banco do Brasil. The information is from La Nation.

“President Lula, in Brazil, led Banco do Brasil to be capitalized on the New York Stock Exchange. The bank is listed outside the country and has impressive capital. It is the largest bank in that country”said the minister, highlighting the ideological differences between the governments.

The new Bus Law written by the government, however, does not contemplate the possibility of privatizing part of the banking institution. According to Franco, several sectors of Argentine politics defend the maintenance of the country’s state-owned companies.

Thus, criticizing Argentine politicians, the minister stated that the country is in a “old concept of not allowing joint work of private and public capital“.

Francos also said that, if part of Banco de la Nación is privatized, transactions at the institution will become more transparent and efficient.

“This whole thing that today is done a little hidden: who is given the credit, every now and then we hear a scandal, which was given to a company that went bankrupt. All of this, when a company is listed on the stock exchange, is absolutely controlled and transparent”he declared.