Circular 10/2023 — Provisional Measures on Minimum Payment Amounts for Revolving Credit, Loans, or Financing Associated with Credit Cards Due to Severe Hydrometeorological Damage in the State of Guerrero

2 (Vespertina Edition) OFFICIAL GAZETTE Thursday, November 2, 2023 BANCO DE MÉXICO CIRCULAR 10/2023 addressed to Multiple Banking Institutions, Regulated Multiple-Object Financial Societies maintaining equity links with Credit Institutions, Unregulated Multiple-Object Financial Societies, Regulated Multiple-Object Financial Societies maintaining equity links with entities other than Credit Institutions, Popular Financial Societies with Operation Level IV, in terms of the Savings and Popular Credit Law, Community Financial Societies with Operation Level IV, in terms of the Savings and Popular Credit Law, Savings and Loan Cooperative Societies with Operation Level IV, in terms of the Savings and Popular Credit Law, financial entities acting as trustees in trusts that grant credit or financing to the public, and Development Banking Institutions, that issue credit cards, regarding provisional measures on minimum payment amounts applicable to revolving credit, loans, or financing associated with credit cards, as a consequence of the damages caused by hydrometeorological phenomena with severe impact in the State of Guerrero.

At the margin, a logo that says: Banco de México.- “2023, Year of Francisco Villa, the revolutionary of the people”.

CIRCULAR 10/2023
TO MULTIPLE BANKING INSTITUTIONS, REGULATED MULTIPLE-OBJECT FINANCIAL SOCIETIES MAINTAINING EQUITY LINKS WITH CREDIT INSTITUTIONS, UNREGULATED MULTIPLE-OBJECT FINANCIAL SOCIETIES, REGULATED MULTIPLE-OBJECT FINANCIAL SOCIETIES MAINTAINING EQUITY LINKS WITH ENTITIES OTHER THAN CREDIT INSTITUTIONS, POPULAR FINANCIAL SOCIETIES WITH OPERATION LEVEL IV, IN TERMS OF THE SAVINGS AND POPULAR CREDIT LAW, COMMUNITY FINANCIAL SOCIETIES WITH OPERATION LEVEL IV, IN TERMS OF THE SAVINGS AND POPULAR CREDIT LAW, SAVINGS AND LOAN COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES WITH OPERATION LEVEL IV, IN TERMS OF THE SAVINGS AND POPULAR CREDIT LAW, FINANCIAL ENTITIES ACTING AS TRUSTEES IN TRUSTS THAT GRANT CREDIT OR FINANCING TO THE PUBLIC, AND DEVELOPMENT BANKING INSTITUTIONS, THAT ISSUE CREDIT CARDS:

SUBJECT: PROVISIONAL MEASURES ON MINIMUM PAYMENT AMOUNTS APPLICABLE TO REVOLVING CREDIT, LOANS, OR FINANCING ASSOCIATED WITH CREDIT CARDS, AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DAMAGES CAUSED BY HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA WITH SEVERE IMPACT IN THE STATE OF GUERRERO.

The Banco de México, with the purpose of continuing to promote the sound development of the financial system, protect the interests of the public, and foster the proper functioning of payment systems, as well as to provide legal certainty to financial entities subject to the Credit Card Rules and the Provisions for the Determination of Minimum Payment for Credit Cards (hereinafter, jointly, the Card Provisions), issued by this Central Bank through Circulars 34/2010 and 13/2011, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on November 12, 2010, and June 3, 2011, respectively, as they have been modified by subsequent resolutions (hereinafter, for the purposes of this Circular, the Financial Entities), as a consequence of the damages caused by hydrometeorological phenomena with severe impact in the state of Guerrero and in attention to the Agreement establishing an Emergency Situation, issued by the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection on October 26, 2023, through Press Bulletin number BDE-007-2023, as an exception to what is established by the Card Provisions, has resolved the following:

The minimum payment amounts that Financial Entities, in compliance with what is provided in article 18 Bis 7 of the Law for Transparency and Ordering of Financial Services, are obligated to charge regarding revolving credit, loans, or financing associated with cards, shall be those that, in accordance with the calculation provided in the Card Provisions, correspond to the payment periods applicable from the month of October 2023 onwards. Consequently, Financial Entities will not be obligated to collect the corresponding minimum payment amounts calculated in accordance with the Card Provisions, for payment periods between October 1, 2023, and April 30, 2024, when they so determine and agree with the respective clients.

Additionally, Financial Entities will not be obligated to collect the corresponding minimum payment amounts calculated in accordance with the Card Provisions, for payment periods between October 2023 and April 2024, regarding those revolving credit, loans, or financing associated with cards that fall under cases where the following conditions are met:

a) The referred credits, loans, and financing are subject to programs that remain in effect for periods not exceeding April 30, 2024, established by the Financial Entities themselves to promote the viability of payment of such revolving credit, loans, or financing associated with cards, and

b) Under the auspices of the referred programs in the preceding subsection, the borrowers or debtors have agreed with the respective Financial Entities to refrain from making the payment of the corresponding minimum payment amount for consecutive periods ending between October 2023 and April 2024.

For the purposes of the foregoing, borrowers must have their domicile in municipalities declared as disaster zones by the Secretariat of the Interior, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, and that were classified accountingly as credit portfolio with stage 1 or stage 2 credit risk as of October 24, 2023.

Financial Entities will be obligated to collect the minimum payment amounts established in the Card Provisions starting from May 2024 or, in case the schemes referred to in the same paragraph conclude before that month, the obligation to collect will become enforceable starting from the immediate next collection period after that in which the respective program concludes.

Financial Entities that implement schemes applicable to revolving credit, loans, or financing associated with cards that, in turn, include exceptions to the collection of the minimum payment amount in accordance with what is established in this Circular, must make known to their cardholders the terms and conditions of such schemes, starting from the date of their implementation, through their respective websites accessible to the general public, as well as through their telephone service centers.

Additionally, Financial Entities must make the aforementioned information known in the account statements of the respective revolving credit, loans, or financing subject to this Circular, which they issue, no later than the second billing period following the date on which they implemented the respective payment benefit scheme. As an exception to the foregoing, Financial Entities, instead of including the aforementioned information in the account statements, must specify in such account statements that this information is available on the publicly accessible website specified therein.

4 (Vespertina Edition) OFFICIAL GAZETTE Thursday, November 2, 2023

Furthermore, with respect to cardholders who have agreed to adhere to the referred schemes, Financial Entities must make known to them the terms and conditions under which such cardholders will have to make the corresponding payments, once the term of the respective scheme by which the collection of the minimum payment is exempted has elapsed. For these purposes, Financial Entities must make the referred terms and conditions known on the websites or computer applications through which they allow the respective cardholders to consult their account statements and transactions made with the corresponding cards, as well as through their telephone service centers. Additionally, Financial Entities must include the information referred to in this paragraph in the account statement they issue, no later than the second billing period following the date on which the respective cardholder adhered to the payment benefit scheme or, instead of including such information in such account statements, Financial Entities must specify that this information is available on the website and computer applications specified therein.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, Financial Entities may use means other than those indicated in the preceding paragraphs, in order to make such terms and conditions known to their cardholders, provided that they are used in addition to the referred communication channels and not in substitution of them.

Financial Entities may not charge, during the period referred to in this Circular, to those cardholders who have agreed to adhere to the referred schemes, fees for non-compliance with the previously referred minimum payments or moratory interest related to such non-compliance.

The foregoing shall proceed without prejudice to the other obligations and conditions that Financial Entities must observe in accordance with applicable provisions and other provisional measures established by competent financial authorities, including those corresponding to special accounting criteria related to the same credits, loans, and financing referred to in this Circular, issued by the National Banking and Securities Commission.

This resolution is issued based on articles 28, paragraphs sixth and seventh, of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, 24 and 26, of the Banco de México Law, 4, 4 Bis, 18 Bis 7 and 22, of the Law for Transparency and Ordering of Financial Services, 1, 4, first paragraph, 8, paragraphs fourth and eighth, 10, first paragraph, 17, fraction I, and 25 Bis 1, fraction IV, of the Internal Regulations of the Banco de México, which grant it the authority to issue provisions through the Directorate of Central Bank Provisions and the Directorate of Regulation and Supervision, respectively, as well as Second, fractions I and X of the Agreement on the Affiliation of the Administrative Units of the Banco de México.

TRANSITORY
SINGLE.- This Circular shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation.

Mexico City, November 1, 2023.- BANCO DE MÉXICO: Director of Central Bank Provisions, María Teresa Muñoz Arámburu.- Signature.- Director of Regulation and Supervision, Viviana Garza Salazar.- Signature.

For any inquiries regarding the content of this Circular, the Banco de México places itself at your disposal through the Directorate of Central Bank Authorizations and Sanctions at telephone (55) 5237-2000 extension 3200.

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OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE FEDERATION
ALEJANDRO LÓPEZ GONZÁLEZ, Deputy General Director Río Amazonas No. 62, Col. Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06500, Mexico City, Secretariat of the Interior Tel. 55 5093-3200, where you can access our service menu Electronic address: www.dof.gob.mx This edition consists of 4 pages