BC authorized Master’s emptying three months before liquidation

Three months before the liquidation of Banco Master, announced last week, the Central Bank approved a corporate restructuring that resulted in an emptying of Daniel Vorcaro’s bank. The corporate restructuring was approved on August 11 and sealed the departure of partner Augusto Lima, a banker linked to the PT party in Bahia. The authorization occurred at a time when BRB was still trying to convince the Central Bank to approve the Master’s bailout operation, with the support of Union Brasil’s president, Antonio Rueda, and PP’s president, Ciro Nogueira. Internally, the corporate restructuring for Lima’s departure was approved by Master in June. Lima, who owned 30% of Master, ended up with Banco Voiter (formerly Indusval) and Intercap Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Imobiliários. In July, Voiter approved a name change to Pleno. Lima, like Vorcaro and other bank executives, was arrested in Operation Compliance Zero, which investigates fraud in the R$12 billion consigned loan portfolios sold to BRB. Lima took with him one of the most profitable assets in Master’s consigned loan portfolio, the exclusivity contract for 30% of Bahia’s public servants’ consignable margin until 2033. With the authorization of the restructuring, Voiter avoided the intervention that led to Master’s extrajudicial liquidation. The other partner, Maurício Quadrado, who also owned 30% of Master, was not as lucky. The partners had approved an exit strategy for Quadrado, who would keep another asset, Letsbank, along with two group managers (MAM and Macam). However, the operation was not approved by the Central Bank, and Letsbank and the other assets entered extrajudicial liquidation. The other bank in the conglomerate, Will Bank, which Master had been trying to sell, entered a special temporary administration regime. The bank has almost R$10 billion in CBDs in the market and could still be sold, but the assets will be allocated to creditors. The managing partners had their assets frozen. Geared towards low-income individuals, Will Bank had an even more aggressive remuneration policy. It even paid out 160% of CDI and up to 230% of CDI in a promotion on Black Friday last year. The promotion became the subject of influencer videos on YouTube.