CMN Resolution No. 4072 — Amends and Consolidates Rules on the Installation of Branches of Financial Institutions in Brazil

The Central Bank of Brazil, pursuant to Article 9 of Law No. 4,595 of December 31, 1964, makes public that the National Monetary Council, in a session held on April 26, 2012, based on the provisions of Article 4, item VIII, of the aforementioned Law, Law No. 4,728 of July 14, 1965, Article 6 of Decree-Law No. 759 of August 12, 1969, Law No. 6,099 of September 12, 1974, Law No. 10,194 of February 14, 2001, and Complementary Law No. 130 of April 17, 2009,

R E S O L V E S:

Article 1. Financial institutions and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil may install the following dependencies, observing the provisions of this Resolution:

I - Branch;

II - Service Post (SP);

III - Electronic Service Post (ESP); and

IV - Decentralized Administrative Unit (DAU).

Article 2. The installation of the dependencies mentioned in items I to III of Article 1 is conditioned upon compliance with the minimum capital requirements and other operational limits established in the current regulation.

Article 3. A branch is a dependency intended for serving clients and the general public in the exercise of the institution's activities, and may not be mobile or transient.

Article 4. In the case of multiple banks with commercial portfolios, commercial banks, and savings banks:

I - branches must provide face-to-face service, as well as cash counters intended for serving clients and the general public; and

II - deposit accounts and other operations contracted with clients must be linked to the branch that maintains the contractual relationship on behalf of the institution.

Sole Paragraph. In situations where two or more branches of the same institution operate in the same physical space, face-to-face service and cash counters may be shared among them.

Article 5. A Service Post is a dependency, subordinate to a branch or to the institution's headquarters, intended for serving the public in the exercise of one or more of its activities, and may be fixed or mobile.

§ 1. A mobile SP is considered one installed in a motor vehicle, vessel, or trailer, intended for serving one or more localities.

§ 2. An SP, when installed in the premises of a public administration body or entity or a private company, may provide services of exclusive interest to the respective body or entity and its employees or to the respective company and its employees and administrators.

§ 3. The installation of an SP intended to offer convenience services to the institution's clients, as well as to promote products and services, without performing operations or providing financial services, is permitted.

Article 6. The institutions referred to in Article 1 must inform, in their SPs, in a location and format visible to the public:

I - the services offered at the SP;

II - the location of the nearest dependency, for the purpose of providing services potentially not available at that SP; and

III - the location of the subordinate branch or headquarters, as applicable.

Article 7. An Electronic Service Post is a dependency consisting of one or more self-service terminals, subordinate to a branch or to the institution's headquarters, intended for providing services electronically, and may be fixed or mobile, permanent or transient.

Article 8. A Decentralized Administrative Unit is a dependency intended for executing the institution's administrative activities, with public service prohibited.

Article 9. The institutions referred to in Article 1 may maintain, in municipalities where they have a fixed branch or SP, personnel from their staff in commercial establishments for the purpose of contracting consumer financing operations and the respective collection.

Article 10. The installation of a branch depends on prior authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil.

Article 11. The installation of an SP, ESP, and DAU must be reported to the Central Bank of Brazil.

Article 12. Changes to the address or list of services provided, as well as the closure of branch and SP activities, must be communicated with a minimum advance notice of 30 (thirty) days, through a notice posted in a location of broad visibility to the users of the dependency, with other means of dissemination additionally permitted.

Article 13. The institutions referred to in Article 1, excluding credit cooperatives and Microentrepreneur and Small Business Credit Companies, must maintain, on an internet page accessible to all interested parties, an updated list of their dependencies, indicating the address and services provided.

Sole Paragraph. The exception provided in the main text does not apply to credit cooperatives with free admission of members.

Article 14. The Central Bank of Brazil shall define:

I - the information and procedures necessary for granting branch authorization, including regarding the timeframe for the dependency to begin operations;

II - the form, timeframe, and conditions for providing the information to be submitted to it by the institutions referred to in Article 1 regarding the installation and location of their dependencies, as well as the respective services and products offered; and

III - the form and conditions for maintaining the information mentioned in Article 13.

Article 15. Banking Service Posts (BSP), Advanced Service Posts (ASP), Transient Service Posts (TSP), Gold Purchase Posts (GPP), Cooperative Service Posts (CSP), Microcredit Service Posts (MSP), Banking Collection and Payment Posts (BCPP), and Exchange Posts currently in operation shall be considered SPs.

Article 16. The institutions referred to in Article 1, prior to the closure of branch activities or the transformation of branches into SPs, must prepare a report demonstrating the motivation, economic impacts, and adequacy of the changes to the institution's business plan and operational strategy.

Sole Paragraph. The report mentioned in the main text must be made available to the Central Bank of Brazil for a minimum period of 5 (five) years, at the headquarters of the financial institution.

Article 17. Article 1 of Resolution No. 2,932 of February 28, 2002, shall be amended to read as follows:

"Article 1. ............................................

......................................................

§ 2. A branch installed in a municipality where there is no other branch of a commercial bank, a multiple bank with a commercial portfolio, or a savings bank is not subject to the minimum hours nor the mandatory service provided in § 1.

................................................" (NR)

Article 18. Until the regulation mentioned in Article 14 is issued, the institutions referred to in Article 1, for the purpose of providing information to the Central Bank of Brazil, remain subject to the registration and maintenance procedures for the information related to the dependencies, including regarding address changes, suspension, and closure of their activities, as provided in the current regulation.

Article 19. The Central Bank of Brazil is authorized to issue complementary norms and adopt the measures necessary for the compliance with this Resolution.

Article 20. This Resolution enters into force on the date of its publication, producing effects 1 (one) year after its publication with respect to Article 13.

Article 21. The following are revoked:

I - the Regulation Annex III to Resolution No. 2,099 of August 17, 1994, Article 8 of Resolution No. 2,212 of November 16, 1995, Article 3 of Resolution No. 2,607 of May 27, 1999, item I and the sole paragraph of Article 6 of Resolution No. 2,932 of February 28, 2002, Article 6 of Resolution No. 3,567 of May 29, 2008, Article 47 of Resolution No. 3,859 of May 27, 2010; and

II - Resolutions Nos. 2,396 of June 25, 1997, 2,696 of February 24, 2000, and 2,926 of January 17, 2002.

Alexandre Antonio Tombini
President of the Central Bank of Brazil