2026-05-13 | RESOLUCIÓN DE DIRECTORIO N° 062/2026Added · Updated
The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bolivia amends the Legal Reserve Regulation for Financial Intermediation Entities by increasing the legal reserve rate in national currency and foreign currency financial value to 8.5% for cash holdings, while maintaining the 3.0% rate for title holdings. The resolution mandates that entities must constitute 100% of their legal reserve in cash for specific public liabilities and adjusts custody fund requirements to 80% for national currency reserves and 10% for foreign currency reserves, prohibiting the offsetting of deficiencies in foreign currency custody with excesses in other categories. These modifications enter into force during the current legal reserve requirement period.
That Law No. 1670 in its Article 1 provides that the BCB is the sole monetary and exchange authority of the country, with administrative, technical, and financial competence and specialized normative powers of general application. In its Article 3, it determines that the BCB will formulate general application policies in monetary, exchange, and payment system matters to fulfill its object.
That the aforementioned Law, in its Article 7, establishes that the BCB may establish legal reserves of mandatory compliance by Banks and Financial Intermediation Entities. Their composition, amount, method of calculation, characteristics, and remuneration shall be established by the Bank's Board of Directors, by an absolute majority of votes. The control and supervision of the legal reserve shall correspond to the current Authority for the Supervision of the Financial System (ASFI). In its Article 37, it determines that the BCB will be the depositary of the liquid reserves
//2. B.R. No. 62/2026 destined to cover the legal reserve and attend to the payment system and other operations with the BCB of the Financial Intermediation Entities subject to the authorization and control of ASFI.
That Law No. 1670, in its Article 44, provides that the highest authority of the BCB is its Board of Directors, which is responsible for defining its policies, specialized norms of general application, and internal rules; as well as establishing administrative, operational, and financial strategies of the Issuing Entity, approving their respective short and medium-term programs. In subsections a), i), and o) of its Article 54, it establishes that the Board of Directors has the authority to issue norms and adopt general decisions necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and powers assigned to it by Law; to fix and regulate the administration of the legal reserve to which banks and other financial entities must be subject, disposing of measures for its compliance; as well as to approve, modify, and interpret the Statute and Regulations of the BCB by two-thirds of the votes of all its members, without the need for an additional administrative act.
That Law No. 393 in paragraph I of its Article 426 provides that Financial Intermediation Entities must always have adequate liquidity levels to guarantee the continuity of their operations and the timely fulfillment of their obligations.
That the Legal Reserve Regulation for Financial Intermediation Entities in its Article 1 establishes that its object is to fix and regulate the administration of the legal reserve and resources resulting from its modification, in order to have instruments of monetary regulation and preservation of the stability of the financial system. In its Article 2, it provides that all Financial Intermediation Entities, authorized for operation by ASFI, are subject to the provisions of this Regulation.
That the Statute of the BCB, in its Articles 5 and 6, establishes that the BCB has normative competence and that the norms it issues will be approved by Resolution of its Board of Directors. In items 1), 7), and 30) of its Article 10, it determines that the Board of Directors has the authority to approve general decisions and issue norms necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and powers assigned to it by Law; to establish by absolute majority of votes, legal reserves of mandatory compliance by financial intermediation entities and approve their composition, amount, calculation, characteristics, forms of administration, custody, and remuneration, according to Regulation. Likewise, to approve, modify, and interpret the Regulations of the BCB by two-thirds of the votes of all its members.
//3. B.R. No. 62/2026
That through report BCB-APEC-SPMEE-INF-2026-1, APEC and GEF conclude that the proposal falls within the guidelines of the monetary policy approved by the BCB Board of Directors in the Monetary Program 2026.
That through report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2026-114, GAL concludes that from the analysis carried out and in attention to the antecedents sent by APEC and GEF, it is found that the approval of the modifications and incorporations to the Legal Reserve Regulation for Financial Intermediation Entities is legally viable as it does not violate the current legal framework, therefore, it corresponds to the BCB Board of Directors its approval in accordance with what is established in Article 54 subsections a), i), and o) of Law No. 1670 and Article 10 items 1), 7), and 30) of the BCB Statute.
Article 1.- Modify Article 6 of the Legal Reserve Regulation for Financial Intermediation Entities, as follows:
SAYS:
"Article 6. (Legal Reserve Rates). The legal reserve rates on the liabilities detailed in Article 4 of this Regulation are the following:
a) In NC and FCFV:
- Cash
- Five point five percent (5.5%) for cash reserve
- Titles
- Three percent (3.0%) for title reserve.
b) In FC and FVDOL:
- Cash
- Ten percent (10%) for cash reserve.
- Titles:
- Two point five percent (2.5%) for title reserve for DPF greater than 720 days; and three point five percent (3.5%) for the rest of liabilities."
//4. B.R. No. 62/2026
SHOULD SAY:
"Article 6. (Legal Reserve Rates). The legal reserve rates on the liabilities detailed in Article 4 of this Regulation are the following:
a) In NC and FCFV:
- Cash
- Eight point five percent (8.5%) for cash reserve
- Titles
- Three percent (3.0%) for title reserve.
b) In FC and FVDOL:
- Cash
- Ten percent (10%) for cash reserve.
- Titles
- Two point five percent (2.5%) for title reserve for DPF greater than 720 days; and three point five percent (3.5%) for the rest of liabilities.
FIEs shall constitute the Legal Reserve in Cash, equivalent to a rate of one hundred percent (100%), on the accounts included in 'Other Obligations with the public, with companies with state participation and with banks and financing entities', indicated in Article 4 of this Regulation."
Article 2.- Modify Article 16 of the Legal Reserve Regulation for Financial Intermediation Entities, as follows:
SAYS:
"Article 16 (Funds in Custody). Multiple Banks and the Public Bank may keep up to 40% of their Legal Reserve requirement in Cash in NC and FCFV in Funds in Custody in any location; the other FIEs may keep up to 60%. Any excess that FIEs maintain above the respective percentages will not be recognized for reserve purposes."
//5. B.R. No. 62/2026
SHOULD SAY:
"Article 16 (Funds in Custody). FIEs must maintain 80% of their Legal Reserve requirement in Cash in NC and FCFV in Funds in Custody in any location. Any excess that FIEs maintain above the respective percentage will not be recognized for reserve purposes.
FIEs must maintain 10% of their Legal Reserve requirement in Cash in FC and FVDOL in Funds in Custody in any location. Any excess that FIEs maintain above this percentage will not be recognized for reserve purposes. The global deficiency in Funds in Custody in FC and FVDOL cannot be offset with excesses of reserve in BCB accounts or reserve in titles."
Article 3.- The modifications to the Legal Reserve Regulation for Financial Intermediation Entities will enter into force in the current legal reserve requirement period.
Article 4.- The Presidency and the General Management are charged with the execution and compliance of this Resolution.
La Paz, May 12, 2026
David Iván Espinoza Torrico PRESIDENT a.i.
//6. B.R. No. 62/2026
Claudia Haydee Pacheco Ayala DIRECTOR a.i.
Dennise Sussan Martín Alarcón DIRECTOR a.i.
Walter Fernando Orellana Rocha DIRECTOR a.i.
Álvaro Alfonso Romero Villavicencio DIRECTOR a.i.
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