This paper has two objectives. First, it seeks to summarize the main theses contained in the literature on the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and its historical role in the financing of Brazil's economic development. Secondly, the paper seeks to analyze Brazil's perspectives for long-term financing and what the future role of BNDES will be in this scenario. Recent financial innovations took long-term financing off the balance sheets of banks and moved it to the asset portfolios of the wealth manager funds. The key assumption is that the current pattern of long-term financing in Brazil will change in the coming years, and it will become more similar to that which is already being practiced in other countries, albiet in its own way. This result will require a change in the behavior of the main players in this market, and particularly in the way in which BNDES performs. Such a perspective is likely to change the course of related academic debate, which today is far too ideologically polarized.
Brazilian Development Bank; Finance; Financial innovation
