BNDES head resigns amid Brazil turmoil

The president of Brazil's development bank BNDES, Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, resigned on Friday, citing personal reasons.

Marques, who assumed the post in June 2016, replacing Luciano Coutinho, was suffering pressure from the business community, as under her tenure the bank assumed a more conservative approach regarding loans

New loans issued by BNDES decreased 15% in January-April, the most recent period available, to 21.4bn reais (US$6.56bn).

Bank director Ricardo Ramos will step in as interim president, BNDES said.

The resignation came amid a turbulent political environment, as President Michel Temer is fighting for his political survival since the release of a recorded conversation between him and the chairman of meatpacker JBS, Joesley Batista. In the audio tape, the executive admits paying monthly bribes to buy the silence of Eduardo Cunha, the former head of the lower house of congress who was arrested last year in the Lava Jato case.

The development bank is also part of the political turmoil, after years of huge loans to big companies with close ties with political elites, such as JBS and construction conglomerate Odebrecht, that have been involved in major corruption cases.