2025-03-25 | RESOLUCIONES DE DIRECTORIO N° 028/2025

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Board Resolutions No. 028/2025

The Central Bank of Bolivia amends its International Reserves Administration Regulation to expand authorized investment instruments to include futures, forwards, and options, and to allow unallocated gold deposits. The resolution establishes strict credit rating thresholds for counterparties, requiring long-term ratings of at least A- (S&P/Fitch) or A3 (Moody’s) and short-term ratings of at least A-2 (S&P), F2 (Fitch), or P-2 (Moody’s). It introduces a new Chapter IV authorizing the Bank to contract credit and financing operations using reserves as collateral, subject to approval by the International Reserves Committee and rigorous eligibility criteria for financial and non-financial entities.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 028/2025

SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT – MODIFY THE REGULATION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF INTERNATIONAL RESERVES.

VIEWING:

  • The Political Constitution of the State (CPE) of February 7, 2009.
  • Law No. 1670 of October 31, 1995 of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) and its modifications.
  • Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023, which approves the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves and its modifications.
  • The Statute of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) approved by Board Resolution No. 095/2022 of October 6, 2022.
  • Report BCB-GOI-DCI-INF-2025-8 of February 28, 2025, issued by the International Operations Department (GOI).
  • Report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2025-68 of March 5, 2025, issued by the Legal Affairs Department (GAL).

CONSIDERING:

That Article 327 of the Political Constitution of the State establishes that the BCB is a public law institution, with legal personality and its own assets. Within the framework of the State's economic policy, it is the function of the BCB to maintain the stability of the internal purchasing power of the currency, to contribute to economic and social development.

That numeral 5, Paragraph I of Article 328 of the constitutional text provides that among the attributions of the BCB is the Administration of International Reserves.


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That Article 1 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the BCB is an institution of the State, of public law, of an autarkic nature, of indefinite duration, with its own legal personality and assets and with legal domicile in the city of La Paz. It is the sole monetary and exchange authority of the country, with administrative, technical, and financial competence and specialized normative faculties of general application.

That Article 14 of Law No. 1670 establishes that the BCB will ensure the strengthening of International Reserves so as to allow the normal functioning of Bolivia's international payments.

That Law No. 1670 in Article 15 provides that the BCB's International Reserves are constituted by one or more of the following assets in accordance with international order norms: a) Physical gold; b) Currencies deposited in the BCB itself or in financial institutions outside the country at the order of the BCB, which must be of first rank according to accepted international criteria; c) Any internationally recognized reserve asset; d) Bills of exchange and promissory notes in favor of the BCB, denominated in foreign currencies of general acceptance in international transactions and payable abroad; e) Public bonds and other negotiable instruments issued by foreign governments, entities, and international organizations or first-rank foreign financial institutions, duly qualified as eligible by the BCB Board of Directors; and f) Own contributions to international financial organizations when such contributions are internationally regarded as reserve assets.

That Paragraph III of Additional Provision Sixth of Law No. 1613 modifies Article 16 of Law No. 1670, providing that the BCB will administer and manage its International Reserves, being able to invest and deposit them in custody, as well as dispose of and pledge them, in the manner it considers most appropriate for the fulfillment of its object and functions and for their adequate safeguard and security. It may also purchase foreign exchange hedging instruments with the aim of reducing risks. In the case of gold reserves, these will also be governed by the specific law.

That Paragraph II of Additional Provision Sixth of Law No. 1613 modifies Article 18 of Law No. 1670, establishing that: “For the purpose of strengthening International Reserves and supporting the balance of payments, within the framework of its constitutional functions, the BCB is authorized to contract loans and resort to any other type of financing source with financial or non-financial entities, whether public or private, or with international organizations, without committing the resources of the General Treasury of the Nation, being able to constitute financial collateral with International Reserves. Likewise, the BCB may issue, place, acquire, and carry out other operations with securities in international markets with investors from the public or private sector.”

That Article 44 of Law No. 1670 establishes 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.

That subsections a), c), and o) of Article 54 of Law No. 1670 indicate the following attributions of the Board of Directors: Issue norms and adopt general decisions that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and faculties assigned to it by the Law; carry out follow-up on the execution of monetary, exchange, credit, financial intermediation, and International Reserves administration policies and regulations; and 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 any additional administrative act.

That numeral 1) of Article 5 and Article 6 of the BCB Statute provide that the BCB has normative competence to issue specialized norms in the fields assigned to it by the Law, and that norms must be approved by Board Resolution.

That numerals 1), 6), and 30) of Article 10 of the BCB Statute establish that the Board of Directors of the Issuing Entity has the attributions to approve general decisions and issue norms that are necessary for the BCB to fulfill the functions, competencies, and faculties assigned to it by the Law; approve the policy and norms for the administration of International Reserves as well as carry out follow-up on their execution; and 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.


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That Paragraph I of Article 24 and Article 26 of the aforementioned Statute stipulate that Resolutions and decisions of the Board of Directors are adopted by a simple majority of votes of the members present in a meeting, except in cases where Law No. 1670 or the Statute require qualified majorities, and that the Board of Directors pronounces itself on matters within its competence through Resolutions, which may also be done through decisions that will be expressly recorded in the Minutes. Likewise, every draft Board Resolution will be motivated and justified by a technical report from the Department or Departments to which the matter subject to the Resolution corresponds, and by a report from the GAL. Since these reports must be sent to the Board of Directors by the General Management with its recommendation.

That the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves approved by Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023, and its modifications, aims to establish the guidelines and general norms for the administration, evaluation, and control of the BCB's International Reserves.

That report BCB-GOI-DCI-INF-2025-8 issued by the GOI concludes that the expansion of authorized counterparties for time deposit transactions and the incorporation of those that allow operations with "unallocated" gold deposits, along with the diversification of banking counterparties for investments, are key strategies to strengthen the management of International Reserves. These measures seek to optimize returns and improve the risk-return profile of investment portfolios, guaranteeing the security and liquidity of reserves for the fulfillment of international payments. Likewise, the implementation of eligibility criteria based on solid credit risk ratings in the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves ensures that investments are made with high-quality issuers, contributing to the stability and profitability of reserves. On the other hand, it is necessary to incorporate a Chapter, within the framework of Law No. 1613 which modifies Article 18 of Law No. 1670, that regulates the BCB's financing operations, as it is necessary to improve its capacity to access liquidity in financial markets and strengthen the management of International Reserves. To guarantee security in these operations, it is fundamental to establish rigorous eligibility criteria for counterparties, requiring long-term credit rating equal to or greater than A- (S&P),


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A- (Fitch) or A3 (Moody’s), and short-term greater than or equal to A-2 (S&P), F2 (Fitch), and P-2 (Moody’s), and incorporate eligibility criteria for non-financial entities. Finally, it is necessary to generalize the types of futures, forwards, and options contracts, therefore it recommends to the BCB Board of Directors the approval of the modification to the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves.

That report BCB-GAL-SANO-DLBCI-INF-2025-68 from the GAL concludes that the GOI's proposal to modify the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves will provide greater options both with counterparties and with operations in the exercise of the administration of International Reserves; likewise, it provides guidelines that the International Reserves Committee and the Board of Directors must consider when approving credit operations, all of this framed within the modifications made by Law No. 1613 to Articles 16 and 18 of Law No. 1670, being that its content is framed within the guidelines of Law No. 1178 and Basic Norms of the Public Credit System. For all the above, it corresponds to the BCB Board of Directors to consider its approval, since there is no legal obstacle to this effect.

THEREFORE,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF BOLIVIA

RESOLVES:

Article 1.- Modify Paragraph II of Article 18 (Investment and Hedging Instruments) of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves approved by Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023, and its modifications, with the following text:

“(...) II. The authorized investment and hedging instruments are:

  • Overnight Deposits
  • Commercial Paper
  • Certificates of Deposit
  • Time Deposits

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  • Bills
  • Notes
  • Bonds
  • Strips
  • Medium Term Notes
  • Floating Rate Notes
  • Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)
  • Futures, forwards, and options contracts.”

Article 2.- Modify Paragraph III of Article 23 (Credit Risk) of the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves approved by Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023, and its modifications, with the following text:

“(...) III. The long-term issuer credit risk rating with which International Reserves investments are made must be equal to or greater than A- (S&P), A- (Fitch), or A3 (Moody’s) and short-term equal to or greater than A-2 (S&P), F2 (Fitch), or P-2 (Moody’s).”

Article 3.- Approve the incorporation of Chapter IV (Financing Operations Backed by International Reserves) to the Regulation for the Administration of International Reserves approved by Board Resolution No. 071/2023 of May 9, 2023, and its modifications, whose text is described below:

"Chapter IV Financing Operations Backed by International Reserves

Article 27.- (Financing Operations with International Reserves Collateral).

For the purpose of strengthening International Reserves and supporting the Balance of Payments, the BCB may contract loans and/or carry out financing operations with entities


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financial or non-financial, whether public or private, or with international organizations, being able to constitute deposits in custody, hedging instruments, as well as dispose of and pledge International Reserves.

Article 28.- (Approval Instance).

The approval of loans and/or financing operations linked to International Reserves must be submitted to the International Reserves Committee (CRI), who will make its recommendations to the BCB Board of Directors for approval.

Article 29.- (Eligible Counterparties).

The following entities are considered eligible counterparties:

  1. International Organizations: Bank for International Settlements (BIS), World Bank (WB), Latin American Bank of Foreign Trade (BLADEX), and Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR).

  2. International financial entities: Public or private international financial entities that meet the following requirements: a) The country where the financing operations are carried out and the country of the headquarters of the institutions with which such operations are carried out or through which such intermediation is carried out, must have a long-term sovereign credit risk rating equal to or greater than AA- (S&P), AA- (Fitch), or Aa3 (Moody’s). b) The long-term credit risk rating of the eligible counterparty must be equal to or greater than A- (S&P), A- (Fitch), or A3 (Moody’s) and short-term greater than or equal to A-2 (S&P), F2 (Fitch), and P-2 (Moody’s).


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c) Financing operations must be carried out with counterparties that are duly authorized and/or regulated by a competent entity in their jurisdictions or country of origin.

  1. Financial entities and other non-financial entities: Public or private international financial and non-financial entities that do not meet the requirements of point 2 described above, prior to compliance with the following requirements: a) The country where the financing operations are carried out and the country of the headquarters of the institutions with which such operations are carried out or through which such intermediation is carried out, must have a long-term sovereign credit risk rating equal to or greater than AA- (S&P), AA- (Fitch), or Aa3 (Moody’s). b) The eligible counterparty must prove that it is duly authorized and/or regulated by a competent entity in its jurisdiction or country of origin. c) Submission of audited Financial Statements by an international audit firm for the last two (2) fiscal years. d) Have a minimum track record of five (5) years of uninterrupted activity in its sector, maintaining active operations on the date of operation, for which it must present supporting documentation. e) Not be registered in International Sanctions Lists, such as those of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the European Union (EU), or other international organizations.

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f) The country where the financing operations are carried out and the country of the headquarters of the institutions with which such operations are carried out or through which such intermediation is carried out, must not be a High-Risk jurisdiction (black list) classified by the FATF.

Article 30.- (Prohibitions).

Financing operations with non-financial entities and/or public or private financial entities classified as “Offshore” or that are registered in international sanctions lists are prohibited.”

Article 4.- This Resolution will enter into force from its publication.

Article 5.- The Presidency and General Management are charged with the compliance of this Resolution.

La Paz, March 6, 2025

SIGNED. ROGER EDWIN ROJAS ULO, Gumersindo Héctor Pino Guzmán, Miguel Angel Marañon Urquidi, Victor Gonzalo Calisaya Gomez.

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