Tarciana Medeiros

Tarciana Medeiros became CEO of Banco do Brasil in January 2023, making history as the first woman to lead Latin America's oldest bank, founded in 1808. BB is Brazil's largest bank by total assets and the country's dominant agricultural lender, holding approximately 60% of Brazil's agricultural credit market. The bank is controlled by the Brazilian federal government, which holds a majority stake, making CEO appointments politically significant. BB's agricultural franchise is its defining competitive advantage. Brazil is one of the world's largest agricultural producers and exporters (soybeans, corn, coffee, beef, sugar), and BB finances the entire agricultural value chain from smallholder farmers to large agribusiness corporations. This franchise generates stable, high-quality credit with historically low default rates. BB also operates significant retail, corporate, and investment banking businesses. Medeiros' key decisions involve managing BB's loan growth in a high-interest-rate Brazilian environment, agricultural credit strategy, digital banking transformation, credit quality management (particularly in the consumer and corporate segments), and navigating the political dynamics inherent in leading a state-controlled bank.