Circular No. 1528 — Establishes rules for opening, maintaining, and closing demand deposit accounts

CIRCULAR NO. 001528

We communicate that the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on 23.08.89, in view of the provisions of Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89, decided to establish the following rules for the opening, maintenance, and closure of demand deposit accounts.

1. It is mandatory to complete a proposal form that records:

a) depositor qualification:

I - natural persons:

• full name;

• parentage;

• nationality;

• date and place of birth;

• sex;

• marital status;

• spouse's name, if married;

• profession;

• identification document (type, number, date of issue, and issuing authority);

II - legal entities:

• corporate name;

• main activity;

• form and date of incorporation;

• documents that qualify and authorize individuals to operate the account, as defined for the qualification of natural persons;

b) the registration number in the Individual Taxpayer Registry (CPF) or in the General Taxpayer Registry (CGC), and in cases of exemption provided for in current legislation, the expression "EXEMPT" must be noted in the appropriate field;

c) complete address:

I - street;

II - neighborhood;

III - postal addressing code (CEP);

IV - city;

V - Federation unit;

VI - DDD code and telephone number;

d) date of account opening and respective number;

e) depositor's signature, the authenticity of which must be verified by a qualified employee, upon presentation of the identification document;

f) agreed conditions, including regarding the minimum average balance for account maintenance, for the provision of checkbooks, and for the collection of fees, expressly defined, for inactive accounts;

g) warning to the depositer that:

I - they must notify the bank, in writing, of any change of address or telephone number;

II - the provision of checkbooks depends on the absence of credit restrictions;

III - their name will be included in the Registry of Issuers of Bounced Checks (CCF), in the event of issuing a bounced check, in accordance with Article 10 of the regulation attached to Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89, and the account may be closed;

IV - if their name is included in the CCF, checks in their possession must be returned to the bank;

h) information that checks cleared, microfilmed, and not claimed within 60 (sixty) days may be destroyed;

i) the reference sources consulted;

j) dispatch authorizing the provision of the first checkbook.

2. In the case of an account held by a minor, in addition to their qualification, the person who assists or represents them must also be identified, in the manner of item 1, letter "a".

3. Deposit accounts may be opened without completing the proposal form referred to in item 1, provided they are intended for the credit of salaries, pensions, and allowances, without the delivery of a checkbook. The delivery of a checkbook will be conditioned upon the completion of the aforementioned proposal form.

4. The data contained in letters "a", "b", "c", and "d" of item 1 may be recorded on magnetic media, without prejudice to the maintenance of the proposal form where the procedure must be recorded.

5. The retention period for the proposal form is indefinite, except in cases of account closure for any reason, in which case it may be eliminated after 5 (five) years, microfilming being admitted.

6. The information referred to in letters "a" and "b" of item 1 must be obtained upon presentation of pertinent supporting documents, and the bank must confirm the account holder's address.

7. The opening of an account with an abbreviated name of the depositor is prohibited, unless it is held by a duly registered sole proprietorship. The depositor's name may be abbreviated in the magnetic records provided for in item 4, provided it is complete in the proposal form.

8. The bank must maintain a card with updated autographs of the account holder, and the proposal form may serve for this purpose.

9. For the purposes of the provisions of Article 2 of the regulation attached to Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89, the bank must assess the suitability of the depositor, recording in the proposal form the reference sources researched.

10. The checkbook may only be delivered upon receipt dated and signed by the depositor or bearer expressly authorized, who must be identified at the time of delivery.

11. When the provision of checkbooks is suspended, the banking establishment must take immediate measures to recover any checks in the account holder's possession.

12. To effect the closure of a demand deposit account, the establishment must:

a) issue a notice to the holder, requesting the withdrawal or regularization of the balance and the return of any checks in their possession;

b) note the occurrence in the account holder's proposal form or register it by magnetic means.

13. When refusing payment of a check, the bank must record:

a) the code corresponding to the reason for return on the back of the check, in a declaration dated and signed by an authorized employee;

b) the date of return, the reason, the value, and the check number in the proposal form, on microfilm or magnetic media, when the return is based on one of the reasons 11 to 14 provided for in Article 6 of the regulation attached to Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89.

14. The return of bounced checks must be communicated to the issuer, for which purpose the issuance of an account statement evidencing it is admitted.

15. The proof referred to in letter "c" of Article 19 of the regulation attached to Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89, is admitted through:

a) delivery of the check that gave rise to the occurrence; or

b) account statement (original or copy) showing the debit related to the check that gave rise to the occurrence; or

c) declaration by the payee, duly identified, giving discharge of the debt, with the indication of the number and value of the check, accompanied by Negative Certificates from the Notary Offices for Protest, in the name of the issuer.

16. The drawee establishment may not fail to examine and instruct the Check and Other Papers Clearing Service, within a maximum period of 15 (fifteen) days, counted from the date of delivery of the customer's request, to exclude the name of the account holder who proves payment of the check that gave rise to the occurrence, in the manner of the previous article, although it remains at its discretion to maintain or not the deposit account, in view of what is afforded to it by Article 4 of the regulation attached to Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89.

17. Even without having an updated list of the CCF, the drawee bank may instruct the exclusion of the account holder's name through mechanisms defined by the Check and Other Papers Clearing Service.

18. The documentation accepted by the bank as proof of payment of checks must be archived for a minimum period of 5 (five) years, for the purpose of supervision by the Central Bank of Brazil, microfilming of documents being admitted.

19. If the branch of the drawee establishment denies the request for exclusion of the occurrence from the CCF, it must formally communicate the decision to the account holder, clarifying at that time that any appeal may be submitted to the bank's higher administration.

20. In the event that the denial is maintained, the account holder may appeal to the Central Bank of Brazil.

21. In the case of a check issued by a holder of a joint account, only the name of the issuing holder must be included in the Registry of Issuers of Bounced Checks, adding the type of checking account.

22. In the case of accounts held by federal, state, and municipal agencies, only the names of the respective persons responsible for issuing the bounced check (attorneys-in-fact, directors, collectors, mayors) must be included in the CCF.

23. The obligation to endorse the depositor's autograph at the opening of a demand deposit account is abolished.

24. This Circular will enter into force together with Resolution No. 1,631, of 24.08.89.

Brasília-DF, August 24, 1989

Wadico Waldir Bucchi
Director