BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday picked Carlos Antonio Vieira Fernandes to replace Rita Serrano as CEO of state-run lender Caixa Economica Federal.
Serrano had been appointed by Lula earlier this year. Her replacement, Fernandes, is a former worker at the bank and former director of the Caixa employees’ pension fund, Funcef.
“During her time in office, Serrano carried out an important mission to recover the management and internal culture of Caixa, valuing its staff and resuming the bank’s role in various social policies, while at the same time increasing its efficiency and profitability,” the presidential palace said in a statement.
The CEO appointment comes after months of negotiations with a powerful bloc of lawmakers called “centrao.” Fernandes was recommended to Lula by Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira on behalf of the bloc, in exchange for more support in Congress.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by Leslie Adler)
