The two largest private banks in Brazil reacted harshly to the letter from Americanas’ main partners. Itaú Unibanco says that the attempt to attribute to the banks “responsibility for the retailer’s accounting management is a frivolous one. Bradesco, on the other hand, says that the partners try to “distract attention from the central problem, that is, the lack of consistency in numbers” at Americanas.
On Sunday (22), the group known as 3G released a letter about the accounting scandal at the company. Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Herrmann Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira signed the text in which they claim that, like the banks that do business with Americanas, the group failed to perceive the accounting problem at the retailer.
This Tuesday (24), Itaú Unibanco released a note in which it recalls that “the preparation and approval of financial statements that reflect the company’s reality are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the company’s management” and that this work has “no influence of the banks or other creditors”.
The largest private bank in Brazil also says that it has always adopted the best market practices in its relationship with Americanas and operations with the company have always been reported in the Central Bank system. “Thus, the attempt to attribute to the banks any responsibility for the company’s irregular accounting practices is frivolous”, quotes the text.
Competitor Bradesco also decided to respond. “The accounting governance of companies is an exclusive and non-transferable assignment of their management, including the Board of Directors”, quotes the text.
“We do not agree with allegations that seek to create narratives to attribute to the banks any responsibility for the company’s irregular accounting practices”, completes the text. For Bradesco, the positioning of the partners seems to try to “distract attention from the central problem, that is, the lack of consistency in the numbers of the financial statements and the responsibilities of its directors regarding this fact.”
Americanas was sought by the CNN for a position on the manifestation of the banks. The text will be updated with the retailer’s response.
Source: CNN Brasil
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