Central Bank of Brazil

The Central Bank of Brazil (Portuguese: Banco Central do Brasil, pronounced [ˈbɐ̃ku sẽˈtɾaw du bɾaˈziw]) is Brazil's central bank, the bank is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in the purchasing power of the national currency. It was established on Thursday, 31 December 1964.

Central Bank of Brazil
Banco Central do Brasil

Headquarters
Headquarters	SBS, Quadra 03, Bloco B Brasília, Federal District
Coordinates	15°48′11″S 47°53′08″W
Established	31 December 1964 (60 years ago) (1964-12-31)
Ownership	100% independent[1]
President	Gabriel Galípolo
Central bank of	Brazil
Currency	Brazilian real BRL (ISO 4217)
Reserves	US$ 341.46 billion (May 2025)[2]
Interest rate target	15%[3]
Website	www.bcb.gov.br

Brazilian bonds had an Inverted yield curve starting in August 2014 as part of the 2014 Brazilian economic crisis

  10 year bond

  5 year bond

  1 year bond

The bank is not linked to any ministry, currently being autonomous. Like other central banks, the Brazilian central bank is the principal monetary authority of the country. It received this authority when it was founded by three different institutions: the Bureau of Currency and Credit (SUMOC), the Bank of Brazil (BB), and the National Treasury.

One of the main instruments of Brazil's monetary policy is the Banco Central do Brasil's overnight rate, called the SELIC rate.^[4] It is managed by Monetary Policy Committee (COPOM) of the bank.^[5]

The bank is active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a leading member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. It is also one of the original 17 regulatory institutions to make specific national commitments to financial inclusion under the Maya Declaration.^[6] during the 2011 Global Policy Forum in Mexico.

Since 25 February 2021, it is independent from the Federal Government.^[7]

Independence of the Central Bank

On 3 November 2020, the bill of the Independence of Central Bank passed the Senate, by 56 votes to 12.^[8][9]

And on 10 February 2021, in the Chamber of Deputies was approved by 339 votes in favor and 114 against without changes, going to President Jair Bolsonaro's sanction, generating the Federal Complementary Law No. 179 of 24 February 2021.^[10][11]

With the Federal Complementary Law No. 179 of 24 February 2021, it became autonomous, in addition to gaining a new organizational structure.^[12][13]

Presidents

Appointed by the Executive

No.	Portrait	President	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Appointed by
1		Dênio Chagas Nogueira (1920–1997)	12 April 1965 (1965-04-12)	21 March 1967 (1967-03-21)	1 year, 343 days	Castelo Branco
2		Rui Aguiar da Silva Leme (1925–1997)	31 March 1967 (1967-03-31)	12 February 1968 (1968-02-12)	318 days	Costa e Silva
–		Ary Burger (1921–2010) Acting	12 February 1968 (1968-02-12)	20 February 1968 (1968-02-20)	8 days	Costa e Silva
3		Ernane Galvêas (1922–2022)	20 February 1968 (1968-02-20)	15 March 1974 (1974-03-15)	6 years, 23 days	Costa e Silva
4		Paulo Hortêncio Pereira Lima (born 1930)	15 March 1974 (1974-03-15)	15 March 1979 (1979-03-15)	5 years, 0 days	Ernesto Geisel
5		Carlos Brandão (1928–2016)	15 March 1979 (1979-03-15)	17 August 1979 (1979-08-17)	155 days	João Figueiredo
6		Ernane Galvêas (1922–2022)	17 August 1979 (1979-08-17)	18 January 1980 (1980-01-18)	154 days	João Figueiredo
7		Carlos Geraldo Langoni (1944–2021)	18 January 1980 (1980-01-18)	5 September 1983 (1983-09-05)	3 years, 230 days	João Figueiredo
8		Affonso Celso Pastore (1939–2024)	5 September 1983 (1983-09-05)	15 March 1985 (1985-03-15)	1 year, 191 days	João Figueiredo
9		Antônio Carlos Lemgruber (1947–2011)	15 March 1985 (1985-03-15)	28 August 1985 (1985-08-28)	166 days	José Sarney
10		Fernando Carlos Bracher (1935–2019)	28 August 1985 (1985-08-28)	11 February 1987 (1987-02-11)	1 year, 167 days	José Sarney
11		Francisco Gros (1942–2010)	11 February 1987 (1987-02-11)	30 April 1987 (1987-04-30)	78 days	José Sarney
–		Lycio de Faria (born 1929) Acting	30 April 1987 (1987-04-30)	4 May 1987 (1987-05-04)	4 days	José Sarney
12		Fernando Milliet (born 1942)	4 May 1987 (1987-05-04)	9 March 1988 (1988-03-09)	310 days	José Sarney
13		Elmo de Araújo Camões (1927–2022)	9 March 1988 (1988-03-09)	22 June 1989 (1989-06-22)	1 year, 105 days	José Sarney
14		Wadico Waldir Bucchi (born 1951)	22 June 1989 (1989-06-22)	15 March 1990 (1990-03-15)	266 days	José Sarney
15		Ibrahim Eris (born 1944)	15 March 1990 (1990-03-15)	17 May 1991 (1991-05-17)	1 year, 63 days	Fernando Collor de Mello
16		Francisco Gros (1942–2010)	17 May 1991 (1991-05-17)	13 November 1992 (1992-11-13)	1 year, 180 days	Fernando Collor
17		Gustavo Loyola (born 1952)	13 November 1992 (1992-11-13)	29 March 1993 (1993-03-29)	136 days	Itamar Franco
18		Paulo César Ximenes (born 1943)	29 March 1993 (1993-03-29)	9 September 1993 (1993-09-09)	164 days	Itamar Franco
19		Pedro Malan (born 1943)	9 September 1993 (1993-09-09)	1 January 1995 (1995-01-01)	1 year, 114 days	Itamar Franco
–		Gustavo Franco (born 1956) Acting	1 January 1995 (1995-01-01)	11 January 1995 (1995-01-11)	10 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
20		Pérsio Arida (born 1952)	11 January 1995 (1995-01-11)	13 June 1995 (1995-06-13)	153 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
21		Gustavo Loyola (born 1952)	13 June 1995 (1995-06-13)	20 August 1997 (1997-08-20)	2 years, 68 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
22		Gustavo Franco (born 1956)	20 August 1997 (1997-08-20)	4 March 1999 (1999-03-04)	1 year, 196 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
23		Armínio Fraga (born 1957)	4 March 1999 (1999-03-04)	1 January 2003 (2003-01-01)	3 years, 303 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso
24		Henrique Meirelles (born 1945)	1 January 2003 (2003-01-01)	1 January 2011 (2011-01-01)	8 years, 0 days	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
25		Alexandre Tombini (born 1963)	1 January 2011 (2011-01-01)	9 June 2016 (2016-06-09)	5 years, 160 days	Dilma Rousseff
26		Ilan Goldfajn (born 1966)	9 June 2016 (2016-06-09)	27 February 2019 (2019-02-27)	2 years, 263 days	Michel Temer
27		Roberto Campos Neto (born 1969)	28 February 2019 (2019-02-28)	1 January 2021 (2021-01-01)	1 year, 308 days	Jair Bolsonaro

Under Autonomous Election

No.	Portrait	President	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Elected during
27		Roberto Campos Neto (born 1969)	1 January 2021 (2021-01-01)	31 December 2024 (2024-12-31)	3 years, 365 days	Jair Bolsonaro
28		Gabriel Galípolo (born 1982)	1 January 2025 (2025-01-01)	Incumbent	218 days	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

See also

• Banks portal

• Brazilian real
• Federal institutions of Brazil
• Payment system
• Real-time gross settlement
• List of central banks

Further reading

• Taylor, Matthew M. (2009). "Institutional Development through Policy-Making: A Case Study of the Brazilian Central Bank". World Politics. 61 (3): 487–515.