The new directors of the Central Bank take office until December 2027 Economy

The new directors of the Central Bank, Paolo Piketty and Rodrigo Teixeira, assumed their duties on Tuesday (2), with a mandate until December 31, 2027. The ceremony concluded at the bank's headquarters in Brasilia.

Paolo Piccetti holds the role of International Affairs and Enterprise Risk Management. Rodrigo Teixeira will be Director of Relations, Citizenship and Conduct Supervision.

According to information from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, where he teaches, Piketty holds a master's degree in economics from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois in the US.

Teixeira, in turn, is a professional employee of the Central Bank. He was Deputy Secretary of Planning, Budget and Administration of the São Paulo City Council during the Fernando Haddad administration and has served as Deputy Secretary of the Civic House since January 2023.

The BC Board of Directors consists of a chair and eight directors. Roberto Campos Neto currently holds the presidency, with a term until the end of 2024.

Since 2021, when the Central Bank gained administrative independence defined by law, the directors and president have a fixed term – that is, they can only be changed after the end of the term.

To date, President Lula has appointed four of the bank's eight directors. In addition to Piketty and Teixeira, former Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Gabriel Galipolo, and British Columbia Professional Officer, Ailton Aquino, were appointed by the current government.

See the image below for BC's line-up until the end of 2023 – Piketty will replace Fernanda Guardado, and Rodrigo Teixeira will fill the vacancy left by Mauricio Moura.

The main responsibility of central bank managers is to control inflation. In Brazil, there is a system of goals that BC must strive to achieve. The economy's base interest rate, SELIC, is the main instrument used by the institution.

Throughout 2023, Lula repeatedly criticized maintaining the Selec exchange rate at a high level, which has implications for economic activity. The beginning of the interest rate cutting cycle only began in August.

Today, the Selec rate stands at 11.75% per annum, with signs of a further cut at the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) – made up of the president and board of the Bank of British Columbia. The meeting is scheduled to be held on January 30 and 31.