One Brazilian banker agreed: "It's a gamble that the Brazilian business community has to take very seriously.

"When you're talking about 1,000 percent inflation, you're almost asking banks to write off the debt," one Brazilian banker said.

"Cardoso's vice presidential selection was very unfortunate," lamented a Brazilian banker who backs the Social Democrat.

"This is really the most capitalist form of capitalism," a Brazilian banker said.

Private, guarded condominiums where their children can play - "protected, comfortable jails," as John Arnstein, a Brazilian banker, put it.

Jorge Paulo Lemann (born August 26, 1939) is a Brazilian banker.

Brazilian bankers are particularly worried about a foreign acquisition of Banespa because of the institution's size.

Edmar Bacha, a Brazilian banker, has a new routine.

He is the son of Brazilian banker, politician and philanthropist Walter Moreira Salles.

Daniel Valente Dantas is a Brazilian banker and financier, founder of Opportunity Asset Management in 1994.