(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Andre Esteves, the chairman of Banco BTG Pactual SA, said he’s worried about the lack of debate over the ballooning US deficit and what he sees as the excessive printing of money.
The Brazilian banker compared investor concern about his own country’s fiscal situation, which has been whipsawing financial markets, with relative quiet around the situation at the US Federal Reserve. He also said the Fed is over-communicating, which introduces more volatility into the market.
“The challenge in US for me is related to public deficit and the debate about that — or, in better words, the lack of debate about that in the public campaign,” Esteves said during an interview at Bloomberg New Economy at B20 in Sao Paulo. The “reality is, even if you are the owner of the printer, there is a limit to print.”
Esteves also said that he’s not concerned about a potential return by Donald Trump to the US presidency and is less “gloomy” than others on the current state of geopolitics.
“When you think about a Trump election, I think Trump has been tough but responsible,” Esteves said. “Sometimes when you have confusion in the saloon, it’s not necessarily bad. Someone arriving with unpredictable behavior can bring more predictable behavior of everybody else.”
As for Brazil, Esteves said he sees continuity at the central bank amid a transition and praised a tax-reform plan moving through Congress, but said he’d like the government to spend less to be able to adopt a looser monetary policy.
While the fiscal situation is being discussed daily by newspapers, politicians and investors, there’s been no similar talk in the US, he said.
“The difference is that we don’t own a printer and need to be more rigorous,” Esteves said.
New Economy at B20 is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.
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