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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff confirmed the appointment of banker Joaquim Levy as the country’s new Finance Minister in an official statement Thursday.
In a statement read by a presidential spokesperson, Rousseff also confirmed that Central Bank Chief Alexandre Tombini who will remain in his post and former deputy finance minister Nelson Barbosa will become the country’s next Planning Minister. Valor Economico, Folha de S.Paulo and Estado de S.Paulo, three leading Brazilian publications all cited unnamed sources reporting Levy's probable appointment earlier this week.
Levy is the head of asset management for Brazil's second largest private bank Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA). Levy also previously served as Brazil's former treasury secretary between 2003 and 2006. Levy was trained in economy at the University of Chicago. Levy also worked as an International Monetary Fund researcher contributing to his intimate understanding of Brazil's economy.
Levy "is a fiscal conservative and that will surely create some tensions in the party," a senior ruling party lawmaker said on Friday, without confirming the appointment reports Reuters. "But (Rousseff's) message is clear as day; her government will turn toward orthodoxy to rescue the economy," the lawmaker expressed.
However, some analysts believe that Levy will advocated for greater transparency in public accounts and increasingly more credible multi-year fiscal targets in order to raise the government's overall savings. This is expected to also contribute to the bank's battle against inflation.
Current Finance Minister Guido Mantega is expected to leave office when Rousseff's second term officially begins on January 1.
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