Brasilia - Immersed in the Banco Master scandal, BRB is also embroiled in a crisis of distrust from the market, which has been signaling behind the scenes legal uncertainty and a low appetite to participate in the capitalization plan of the public bank in Brasilia, which is now being challenged in court on several fronts, according to information obtained by NeoFeed .
The public bank of Brasília is facing a legal drama: less than 24 hours ago, a judge from the Court of Justice of the Federal District prohibited the Government of the Federal District (GDF) from using one of the nine properties used as collateral for the BRB's capitalization, an environmental protection area known as "Serrinha do Paranoá".
Prior to that, last week, the same Court suspended the law, approved by the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District and sanctioned by the governor, Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), which authorized BRB to use these properties as collateral to take out a loan of R$ 6.6 billion , as part of an attempt to recover capital.
Later, however, another judge lifted the suspension, but only until the Court rules on the merits of the lawsuit filed by former governors of the Federal District, such as federal deputy Rodrigo Rollemberg (PSB), who even filed a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission in Congress to investigate the Master case. This situation even led the bank to cancel an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled for March 17th to discuss the increase in the bank's share capital.
According to two sources within BRB's leadership, this entire scenario discourages potential investors approached by the state-owned bank's president, Nelson de Souza, who were seeking to save the bank. This includes private banks and even the Credit Guarantee Fund ( FGC ), which Souza had already contacted regarding a potential loan.
This situation also makes the publication of BRB's 2025 financial statements increasingly uncertain, as they were due by March 31st. And as of now, this is unlikely to happen. The bank hasn't published a financial statement in two quarters – the last available one is from the second quarter of last year.
The outcome depends both on the success of the capitalization plan and on a response from the liquidator of Banco Master, who has so far given no indication to BRB regarding the cash flow of the loan portfolios acquired from Daniel Vorcaro 's bank.
The public bank of Brasília filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to recover these funds held by the liquidator, but according to NeoFeed's investigation, the bank has not yet received a response, as the inquiry is confidential. The rapporteur for the case in the Supreme Court is Minister André Mendonça.
Contacted for comment, BRB did not respond to requests for information from the reporter.
Internally, the prevailing view at BRB is that, in addition to the difficulty of negotiating the sale of these properties or using them as collateral for a loan, the Central Bank is "unwilling" to make things easier for the public bank. The monetary authority has been signaling its strictness towards the financial institution and is not considering extending deadlines for compliance with the capitalization plan.
"If the solution plan is not fulfilled, the Central Bank has to liquidate the bank. If its Basel [index that establishes rules for the international financial system] falls below the regulatory level, without liquidity, it has to be liquidated," considers a source from BRB.
Liquidating BRB would be the most drastic measure, and for now, however, it is not yet being considered by the bank's management or by the Central Bank technicians who are monitoring the situation.
History of the financial hole
Following a failed attempt to acquire a stake in Master, BRB was targeted by Operation Compliance Zero, conducted by the Federal Police in November 2025, which revealed an alleged fraud scheme exceeding R$ 12 billion. At the time, the then-president of BRB, Paulo Henrique Costa, and the financial director, Dario Oswaldo Garcia Jr., were removed from their positions.
Since then, the new president, Nelson de Souza, has promoted several changes in the leadership of the state-owned bank. He has been trying to implement a capitalization plan for the institution, which was submitted to the Central Bank in early 2026 to prevent the Federal District government, which controls the bank, from making large contributions of public funds to cover the losses caused by the Master scandal.
The size of the deficit, which was previously estimated at R$ 6 billion, now exceeds R$ 8 billion, according to the president himself.
The climate of tension and the bank's declining reputation, however, are a cause for concern. There have already been departures from the Board of Directors, with names nominated by the Federal District government withdrawing their applications.
Even Edison Garcia, who heads the Companhia Energética de Brasília (CEB) and was nominated to be the possible future chairman of the board, has withdrawn from the position – Garcia had previously chaired the board.
In 2026 alone, BSLI4 stock is projected to fall by 43% on the B3 stock exchange, compared to a 16% increase in the Ibovespa index. BRB's market capitalization is R$ 2.1 billion.
