BCB Resolution No. 45 — Methodology for Calculating the Real/U.S. Dollar Exchange Rate (Ptax) Published by the Central Bank of Brazil

Resolution No. 45

BCB RESOLUTION NO. 45, OF NOVEMBER 24, 2020

Provides for the methodology for calculating the real/U.S. dollar exchange rate published by the Central Bank of Brazil (Ptax).

The Collegiate Board of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on November 24, 2020, based on Art. 11, paragraph III, of Law No. 4,595, of December 31, 1964,

R E S O L V E S:

Art. 1 The buy and sell exchange rates for United States dollars published by the Central Bank of Brazil, known as Ptax rates, shall be calculated, in accordance with this Resolution, based on data obtained through consultations with institutions accredited to carry out foreign currency buy and sell operations with the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 2 The consultations with dealers referred to in Art. 1 shall be carried out by the International Reserves Department (Depin) automatically and electronically, on all business days, observing the following conditions:

I - four consultations per day, each lasting two minutes;

II - random selection of the start of each consultation within the following intervals:

a) 10:00 to 10:10 for the first consultation;

b) 11:00 to 11:10 for the second consultation;

c) 12:00 to 12:10 for the third consultation; and

d) 13:00 to 13:10 for the fourth consultation;

III - mandatory provision, by each dealer, of a buy quote and a sell quote for the real/U.S. dollar exchange rate in the spot interbank market, with D+2 settlement, that best represent market conditions at the precise moment the consultation begins; and

IV - irrevocability of the quotes provided by dealers, after the consultation period has ended.

§ 1 On business days with different operating hours in the foreign exchange interbank market, the definition of the number of consultations and the time of their execution shall be communicated to the dealers via prior notice from the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 2 Dealers must be qualified with the Central Bank of Brazil to access the electronic consultation system referred to in this article.

§ 3 If more than four buy quotes or more than four sell quotes fail to be provided in the same automatic consultation, Depin will seek to obtain the quotes from the omitted dealers by telephone or other means of communication, provided that confidentiality is ensured and they are subject to recording and audit.

§ 4 If the absence of more than four buy or sell quotes persists after the alternative request treated in § 3 of the caput, the consultation result shall be given by a quote obtained from the information systems of the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 3 The buy exchange rate and the sell exchange rate for the real/U.S. dollar for each consultation shall correspond, respectively, to the averages of the buy quotes and the sell quotes effectively provided by the dealers, excluding, in each case, the two highest and the two lowest.

§ 1 After each consultation, the buy and sell rates obtained in accordance with this article shall be validated against objective market parameters.

§ 2 In the impossibility of obtaining buy and sell rates in accordance with this article, the consultation result shall be replaced by a quote obtained through consultation with the information systems of the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 3 The consultation result shall be immediately published after the calculation and validation procedures.

§ 4 The parities of other currencies relative to the U.S. dollar shall be captured from data made available by information providers contracted by the Central Bank of Brazil at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, and 13:00.

Art. 4 The daily Ptax buy and sell rates shall correspond, respectively, to the arithmetic averages of the real/U.S. dollar buy and sell rates obtained in accordance with Art. 3, and shall be published by the Central Bank of Brazil together with the result of the last consultation of the day.

§ 1 The daily Ptax buy and sell rates, as well as the opening and interim bulletins, shall be published on the Ptax System (http://ptax.bcb.gov.br/ptax) and on the Central Bank of Brazil's internet page, with the option to publish on other communication channels considered relevant by the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 2 The parities of other currencies relative to the U.S. dollar contained in the bulletin that publishes the daily Ptax rates and in the "All Currencies" bulletin, published on the Central Bank of Brazil's internet page and corresponding to the "Accounting Quotes" bulletin of the Ptax System, shall be those captured at 13:00 from data made available by information providers contracted by the Central Bank of Brazil.

Art. 5 Dealers must provide, in each consultation, buy and sell quotes for the real/U.S. dollar that accurately represent the conditions of the foreign exchange interbank market at the start of the consultation.

Sole Paragraph. The Central Bank of Brazil will assess the consistency of the quotes offered by dealers, applying to them, if necessary, the measures provided for in the rules that govern the selection process for foreign exchange dealers.

Art. 6 The following are revoked:

I - Circular No. 3,506, of September 23, 2010;

II - Circular No. 3,537, of May 25, 2011; and

III - Circular No. 3,706, of June 2, 2014.

Art. 7 This Resolution enters into force on January 1, 2021.

Bruno Serra Fernandes
Monetary Policy Director