Brazil Will Avoid ‘Profound Recession,’ Bradesco’s Cappi Says

By Telma Marotto
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s economy will keep expanding and avoid a “profound recession” because of domestic demand, said Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi, chief executive officer of Banco Bradesco SA.
“Brazil is able to grow and its local market is its safeguard to get through this crisis,” Cappi said late yesterday after shareholders approved him as the new head of Brazil’s second-largest non-government bank by assets. “We are not in a profound recession.”
Cappi, 57, who replaces Marcio Artur Laurelli Cypriano, takes over at Bradesco as Brazil’s economic growth slows and competition intensifies. Government-controlled Banco do Brasil SA boosted assets through acquisitions in recent months and Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA combined with Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros SA to form Itau Unibanco Banco Multiplo SA, the largest financial institution in Latin America.
Osasco-based Bradesco has no plans to acquire rivals, said Cappi, who has worked 39 years at Bradesco, most recently as head of the insurance and pension fund unit.
“There’s no need right now,” he said. “And the opportunities are very reduced at this point.”
Brazil’s economy shrank 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, the most on record, the government reported yesterday. Gross domestic product expanded 1.3 percent from the year-ago period.