Daily expenses and accommodations fall; Banco do Brasil says it has increased its fundraising abroad by 63%
The expenses of the BB (Banco do Brasil) with international air tickets grew 47.3% in 2023, under the government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). They went from R$ 3.13 million in 2022 to R$ 4.61 million in 2023, in values adjusted for inflation. The data is public and is in the Transparency Portal of the state-owned company. The bank said it increased its fundraising abroad by 63% last year.
Expenses on international air travel in 2023 totaled the highest value in the historical series available on the platform, which has data since 2019. In the first half of 2024, they totaled R$18.66 billion, or 44.2% of what was spent in 2024.
The next trip by Banco do Brasil executives will be on September 20 to New York, to the UN (United Nations) headquarters. In addition to BB CEO Tarciana Medeiros, other executives from the state-owned company will be present. The event will also feature 16-year-old skateboarder Rayssa Leal, who was a bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
President Lula made a global call for the event, the Future Summit, in New York. The Pact for the Futurea document with action measures that must be adopted by the countries that attended the event.
Considering both international and domestic flights, Banco do Brasil spent R$42.2 million on airfares in 2023. The amount represents an increase of 35.7% compared to the same period last year.
The data shows that there was greater growth in international travel than in domestic flights. The senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI), president of the PP, criticized on Wednesday (11.Sep.2024) the number of international flights by the state bank in recent years. “While the government is hatching new plans to extract more money from Brazilians through taxes, see the destinations where the board of directors of Banco do Brasil is spending money on first-class travel for themselves and dozens of advisors”, said in publication made in Threads.
The senator used information from the international travels of two vice-presidents of Banco do Brasil: Francisco Augusto Lassalvia (Wholesale) and Marisa Reghini Ferreira (Digital Business and Technology). The data is available in the Official Gazette of the Union.
Read below the travels of the authorities published by the senator:
Data from Banco do Brasil shows that international tickets in 2023 cost from R$117.14, from London to Marrakech, to R$85,015, with a route passing through São Paulo, Doha (Qatar), Tokyo (Japan) and Seoul (South Korea).
Last year, there were 308 records of travel requests that could contain more than one airline ticket. Of this total, there were 239 for “fair/event”, 36 to “training” and 33 for “expatriation/repatriation”.
WHAT BB SAYS
Banco do Brasil said it increased its balance of funds raised abroad by 63% to operate in credit for Brazilian customers in Brazil.
“Last year alone, a sum of more than R$9.1 billion was traded, reaching a total of R$23.3 billion. It is worth noting that the profit of the Bank’s own external network grew 87% when comparing the first half of 2024 with the first half of 2023”the note said.
The state-owned company stated that the agendas abroad are related to “business or institutional objectives of the company, with clients, investors, banks and multilateral bodies, as well as partners from the financial and technology sectors”. Read the full statement here (PDF – 30 kB).
One of the reasons for the trips is fundraising meetings for investment in ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) fronts. BB stated that it gives “transparency of information” on external agendas, complying with legislation and regulations.
Banco do Brasil has branches in Paraguay, Germany, the Cayman Islands, England, the United States, Japan and China, as well as other structures in Argentina, Austria and Portugal. Executives also travel to places where investment fairs or training sessions are held.
NATIONAL TRAVEL
Spending on tickets in Brazilian territory at Banco do Brasil has increased 34.4% from 2022 to 2023. They increased from R$27.9 billion to R$37.5 million, in values adjusted for inflation.
DAILY RATES AND ACCOMMODATION
Despite the increase in spending on airfare, daily rates and accommodations had a lower cost to Banco do Brasil in 2023. It fell 7.3% compared to 2022. It totaled R$2.43 million last year compared to R$2.63 million in 2022.
UNION TRAVELS
THE Poder360 showed in August that the Union spent R$ 1.47 billion in the first half of the year with daily allowances and air tickets. The value represents a growth of 9.1% compared to the same period in 2023. It was also the highest real value since the first half of 2014. Unlike the Union, Banco do Brasil’s expenses with air tickets are not paid for by public coffers.
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