Mr Alexander added that the government, together with Germany and France, was putting additional funds into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, to aid work on establishing global agreements to prevent companies avoiding tax by moving profits from one country to another with a lower tax rate.

BBC: Tax not 'voluntary', Alexander tells firms

As for first quarter results, funds from operation (FFO) per share was 33 cents, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

FORBES: Extra Space Storage Sees Jump in Revenues

Importantly, hedge funds have evolved in recent decades as a natural result of long-term changes in the structure and operation of the financial markets.

FORBES: The Simple Truth about Hedge Funds

But this is easily overcome: often (as with the Caixa's operation of the national student-loans scheme) the banks are simply acting as distributors of government funds in return for a fee.

ECONOMIST: Brazilian banking