The privatisation of IRB

Geoffrey Conlin, senior associate, and Elizabeth Leonhardt, consultantHolman Fenwick Willan

The discussion about the privatisation of the Instituto de Resseguros do Brasil (IRB) has been ongoing for more than a decade. As part of the national programme for privatisation, there were two auction attempts in 1999 and 2000, both of which were ultimately frustrated. The 1999 auction was cancelled because there was no consensus on the rules for the functioning of the insurance market immediately after the proposed privatisation of the reinsurer. The 2000 attempt was suspended after the Supreme Court accepted a direct request for the unconstitutionality of the auction.