2008-08-20
Added
This law regulates the organization, operation, and supervision of credit unions in Mexico, establishing minimum capital requirements based on operational levels (ranging from 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 Units of Investment) and defining shareholder participation limits of 15 percent. It mandates federal authorization for establishment, prohibits government guarantees of union operations, and sets administrative resolution deadlines of 90 to 180 days for various regulatory requests. The text further details governance structures, capital composition including preferred shares, and restrictions on foreign and government equity participation.
CNBV published 1 document in the last 30 days — get each new one by email the day it lands.
CREDIT UNIONS LAW
Published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on August 20, 2008.
Updated with reforms published in the same Gazette on January 10, 2014, January 24, 2024, and November 14, 2025.
CREDIT UNIONS LAW
INDEX
TITLE ONE
Preliminary Provisions
Single Chapter
TITLE TWO
On the organization and functioning of credit unions
Chapter I
On organization
Chapter II
Capital and shareholders
Chapter III
On the administration of credit unions
Chapter IV
On merger and spin-off
TITLE THREE
On operations
Chapter I
General provisions
Chapter II
Prudential regulation
Chapter III
Special rules
TITLE FOUR
On accounting, inspection, and supervision
Chapter I
On accounting
Chapter II
On inspection and supervision
TITLE FIVE
On the powers of the authorities
Chapter I
Corrective measures
Chapter II
On revocation and liquidation
TITLE SIX
On prohibitions, infractions, crimes, and notifications
Chapter I
On prohibitions
Chapter II
On administrative infractions
(3) Chapter II Bis
(3) On self-correction programs
Chapter III
On crimes
Chapter IV
On notifications
Transitory Provisions
Statement of Reasons
References
CREDIT UNIONS LAW
TITLE ONE
Preliminary Provisions
SINGLE CHAPTER
Article 1.- This Law is of public order and general observance in the United Mexican States and aims to regulate the organization and functioning of credit unions, as well as the operations that they may carry out.
Article 2.- The Federal Government and entities of the para-statal public administration may not be held responsible for, nor guarantee the results of, the operations carried out by credit unions, nor assume any responsibility for obligations contracted with their members or third parties.
Credit unions must keep the provisions of the preceding paragraph in a visible place in their offices, as well as explicitly state them in their advertising.
Article 3.- For the purposes of this Law, the following shall be understood:
I. Commission, the National Banking and Securities Commission;
II. Control, the ability to impose, directly or indirectly, decisions in the general shareholders' meetings of the credit union; maintaining ownership of rights that allow, directly or indirectly, to exercise voting rights regarding more than fifty percent of the social capital of the credit union; directing, directly or indirectly, the administration, strategy, or main policies of the credit union, whether through ownership of securities or by any other legal act;
III. Business group, the set of legal entities organized under schemes of direct or indirect participation in social capital, in which the same company maintains control of said legal entities. Likewise, financial groups constituted in accordance with the Law to Regulate Financial Groups shall be considered as business groups;
IV. Group of persons, persons who have agreements, of any nature, to make decisions in the same sense. It is presumed, unless proven otherwise, that the following constitute a group of persons:
(1) a) Persons who have kinship by blood, affinity, or civil status up to the second degree, spouses, concubines, and concubines, and b) Companies that are part of the same consortium or business group and the person or group of persons who have control of said companies.
V. Ministry, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, and
VI. Credit union or credit unions, credit unions;
Article 4.- The words credit union or other words expressing similar ideas in any language may only be used in the name of companies that have been granted authorization to organize and operate as a credit union.
Associations of credit unions are exempt from the application of the preceding paragraph, provided that they do not carry out operations subject to authorization under this Law.
Article 5.- The Federal Executive, through the Ministry, may interpret the provisions of this Law for administrative purposes.
Article 6.- The Ministry may request the opinion of the Bank of Mexico, as well as of the National Banking and Securities Commission, the Insurance and Surety Commission, and the Retirement Savings Systems Commission, within the scope of their respective competencies, when it deems appropriate for the better fulfillment of the powers conferred by this Law.
Likewise, the Ministry may consult the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Financial Services Users, in cases where it requires its opinion and in accordance with the powers conferred upon the latter.
Article 7.- Legal acts entered into in contravention of what is established in this Law will give rise, if applicable, to the imposition of administrative and criminal sanctions contemplated by this legal framework, without such contraventions producing the nullity of the acts, in protection of third parties in good faith, unless this Law expressly states otherwise.
Article 8.- In matters not provided for by this Law, the following shall apply to credit unions in the following order:
I. Commercial laws;
II. Prevailing commercial usages among credit unions;
III. The Federal Civil Code;
IV. The Federal Administrative Procedure Law regarding the processing of appeals referred to in this Law, and
V. The Federal Tax Code regarding the update of fines.
Article 9.- The time limit for administrative authorities to resolve what corresponds may not exceed ninety days, unless specific provisions establish otherwise. Upon expiration of the applicable time limit, resolutions shall be understood to be negative to the petitioner, unless the applicable provisions provide otherwise. At the request of the interested party, a certificate of such circumstance must be issued within two business days following the presentation of the respective request before the competent authority that must resolve, in accordance with the respective Internal Regulations; the same certificate must be issued when specific provisions provide that upon expiration of the applicable time limit, the resolution shall be understood to be positive. If the aforementioned certificate is not issued within the cited time limit, the applicable liability shall be imposed, if applicable.
The presentation requirements and time limits, as well as other relevant information applicable to promotions made by credit unions, must be specified in general provisions issued by the Commission.
When the initial document does not contain the data or does not meet the requirements established in the applicable provisions, the authority must notify the interested party, in writing and only once, to cure the omission within a term that may not be less than ten business days. Unless specific provisions establish another time limit, such notification must be made no later than within half of the authority's response time limit, and when this is not express, within twenty business days following the presentation of the initial document. Upon notification of the notification, the time limit for administrative authorities to resolve shall be suspended and shall resume from the next business day following that on which the interested party responds. In the event that the notification is not fulfilled within the specified term, the authorities shall dismiss the initial document. If the authorities do not make the information request within the corresponding time limit, they may not reject the initial document as incomplete. Unless expressly provided otherwise, the time limits for authorities to respond shall begin to run on the next business day following the presentation of the corresponding document.
Article 10.- The time limit referred to in the previous article shall not apply to promotions related to authorizations regarding the constitution, merger, spin-off, and liquidation of credit unions. In these cases, the time limit for administrative authorities to resolve what corresponds may not exceed one hundred eighty days, and the other rules referred to in Article 9 of this Law shall apply.
Article 11.- Competent administrative authorities, at the request of the interested party, may extend the time limits established in this Law, provided that such extension does not exceed half of the originally established time limit in the applicable provisions, when the matter so requires and they have no knowledge that third parties' rights are prejudiced.
Article 12.- The provisions established in Articles 9 to 11 shall not apply to administrative authorities in the exercise of their supervision powers.
Article 13.- For the purposes of this Law, time limits fixed in days shall be understood as calendar days, unless it is expressly stated that they are business days. In cases where a time limit is referenced in calendar days, if it expires on a non-business day, it shall be understood to be completed on the first subsequent business day.
TITLE TWO
On the organization and functioning of credit unions
CHAPTER I
On organization
Article 14.- To organize and operate as a credit union, authorization from the Federal Government is required, which competes to be granted discretely by the Commission, prior to agreement by its Board of Directors. By their nature, these authorizations shall be non-transferable.
Within five business days following the date on which the Commission's Board of Directors has resolved to grant the authorization referred to in the preceding paragraph, said Commission shall notify the resolution, as well as its favorable opinion regarding the bylaws project of the company in question, so that acts aimed at its constitution or the transformation of its organization and functioning may be carried out, as applicable. The petitioner, within a time limit of ninety days counted from such notification, must present to the same Commission, for its approval, the public instrument containing the company's bylaws in terms of this Law, to subsequently proceed with its registration in the Public Commerce Registry without requiring a judicial order to that effect. The authorization granted in accordance with this article shall be subject to the condition that authorization to commence respective operations be obtained in terms of Article 43 of this Law, which must be requested within a time limit of one hundred eighty days counted from the approval of the public instrument referred to in the preceding paragraph. Upon making the aforementioned registration of the public instrument, it must be stated that the authorization to organize and operate as a credit union is subject to the condition indicated in this paragraph. Authorizations to organize and operate as a credit union, as well as their modifications, shall be published, at the expense of the credit union in question, in the Official Gazette of the Federation. Only companies enjoying authorization under the terms of this Law may operate as credit unions and shall be considered as financial intermediaries.
Article 15.- Without prejudice to what is stated in the previous article, until the authorization to organize and operate as a credit union enters into force, the corresponding company, once the notification mentioned in said article has been received, may carry out the necessary acts to comply with the requirements established in Article 43 of this Law for the commencement of operations, without, during said period, being able to carry out any of the operations indicated in Article 40 of this Law, except those provided for in its subsection XIX. During the aforementioned period, the company in question shall be exempt from the application of the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 4 of this Law.
The authorization to organize and operate as a credit union, in accordance with this Law, shall not take effect without a declaration by any authority, provided that the condition referred to is not fulfilled.
Article 16.- Companies authorized to operate as credit unions must be constituted as variable capital anonymous companies, organized in accordance with the General Law of Commercial Companies, in all matters not provided for by this Law, and particularly in accordance with the following provisions which are of special application:
I. Their purpose shall be the operations referred to in Article 40 of this regulation;
II. The duration of the company shall be indefinite;
III. They must have the social capital and minimum capital corresponding in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
IV. Their social domicile shall be within national territory, and
V. The company name must contain the expression “credit union”.
Social bylaws and any modifications thereto must be submitted to the prior approval of the Commission, in order to verify compliance with the requirements established by this Law.
Once approved, the bylaws or their reforms must be presented within a time limit of fifteen business days before the Public Commerce Registry. The company must provide the Commission with the respective registration data within fifteen business days following the granting of the registration.
Article 17.- The application for authorization to constitute and operate a credit union must be accompanied by the following documentation and information:
I. Project of social bylaws of the company adjusted to the provisions of this Law;
II. List and information of persons who directly or indirectly intend to maintain a participation in the social capital of the credit union to be constituted, which must contain, in accordance with general provisions issued for that effect by the Commission, prior to agreement by its Board of Directors, the following:
a) The amount of social capital that each of them will subscribe, and the origin of the resources it will use for such effect; b) The financial situation, regarding natural persons, or financial statements, regarding legal entities, in both cases, for the last three years, and c) That which allows verifying that they have honorability and satisfactory credit and business history.
III. List of probable councilors, general director, and main executives of the company, accompanied by information accrediting that such persons meet the requirements established by this Law for said positions.
IV. General functioning plan of the company comprising at least:
a) The operations to be carried out in accordance with Article 40 of this Law; b) Security measures to preserve the integrity of information; c) Geographic coverage provisions; d) The financial viability study of the company, and e) Bases regarding its organization and internal control.
V. Deposit receipt in national currency constituted in a credit institution or government securities at their market value, in favor of the Treasury of the Federation, for an amount equal to ten percent of the minimum capital according to its operational level required for its constitution, according to this Law.
VI. The remaining documentation and information related that the Commission requires for such effect.
The Commission shall have the power to verify that the application referred to in this article complies with what is provided in this Law, for which said Commission shall have powers to corroborate the veracity of the information provided and, in such virtue, the dependencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration, as well as other federal instances, shall deliver the related information. When the public instrument containing the company's bylaws is not presented for its approval within the time limit of ninety days indicated in the second paragraph of Article 14 of this Law; authorization to commence operations is not obtained or requested in terms of Articles 15 and 43 of this Law, respectively; the company commences operations other than those indicated in Article 15 of this same Law without such authorization, or the authorization to organize and operate as a credit union is revoked under subsection I of Article 97 of this Law, the Commission shall instruct the Treasury of the Federation to enforce the guarantee for the original amount of the deposit mentioned in subsection V of this article. In the event that the requested authorization is denied, there is withdrawal by the interested parties, or operations are commenced in the terms provided for in this Law, the principal and accessories of the deposit referred to in subsection V of this article shall be returned to the applicant. Once the notification referred to in Article 14 of this Law has been made and the approval of the bylaws provided for in that same article has been granted, the commencement of operations of the credit union must be subject to the provisions of Article 43 of this Law.
CHAPTER II
Capital and shareholders
Article 18.- The minimum subscribed and paid capital for credit unions shall be determined in accordance with the operational level assigned, as follows:
I. For credit unions with operational level I, it must be the equivalent in national currency to the value of 2,000,000 Units of Investment;
II. For credit unions with operational level II, it must be the equivalent in national currency to the value of 3,000,000 Units of Investment, and
III. For credit unions with operational level III, it must be the equivalent in national currency to the value of 5,000,000 Units of Investment.
The amount of minimum capital with which credit unions must be equipped must be subscribed and paid no later than the last business day of the year in question. To this effect, the value of the corresponding Units of Investment as of December 31 of the immediately preceding year shall be considered. The minimum capital must be integrated by shares without withdrawal rights. Paid capital with withdrawal rights may in no case exceed paid capital without withdrawal rights. When a credit union announces its social capital, it must simultaneously announce its paid capital. (3) Fourth Paragraph.- Repealed. The Commission shall establish the cases and conditions under which credit unions may temporarily acquire shares representing their own capital, seeking their sound development and liquidity.
Article 19.- All shares of credit unions shall be of equal value; within each series they shall confer equal rights and must be paid in full in cash at the time they are subscribed, or in kind if, in the latter case, the Commission authorizes it considering the financial situation of the credit union and ensuring its liquidity and solvency.
For the transfer of shares, the authorization of the board of directors is indispensable.
(1) Article 20.- Credit unions may issue unsubscribed shares, which shall be delivered to subscribers, against the total payment of their nominal value and premiums, if any, determined by the board of directors.
(1) The social capital of credit unions may be integrated with a part represented by preferred shares up to an amount equivalent to twenty-five percent of ordinary social capital, prior authorization of the Commission. The acquisition of preferred shares shall not be subject to the limits provided in Article 23 of this Law.
(1) Preferred shares shall grant voting rights only on matters related to change of purpose, merger, spin-off, transformation, and liquidation.
(1) Preferred shares must confer the right to receive a preferred dividend, which must be equal to or greater than that of ordinary shares, provided that this is established in the social bylaws.
(1) The social bylaws of credit unions shall contain provisions regarding the different series of shares and their characteristics.
(1) Credit unions may issue shares without nominal value expression.
(1) Article 21.- Shares representing the social capital of credit unions may only be acquired by natural or legal persons, national or foreign, who carry out economic activities, in terms of tax legislation, excluding those natural persons who receive their income predominantly from salaries, pensions, or social support programs.
(1) The direct or indirect participation of any natural or legal person in the paid social capital of a credit union may not exceed fifteen percent, unless authorization referred to in Article 23, subsection II of this Law is obtained. Regarding credit institutions, participation in the paid social capital of a credit union may not exceed fifteen percent, directly or indirectly. The Federal Government is exempt from the provisions of this paragraph. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, any foreign natural or legal person and foreign entities without legal personality may participate indirectly up to fifteen percent of the capital of a credit union, provided that the shares representing the social capital of the credit union are acquired by Mexican legal entities, in which said foreign natural or legal person or foreign entity participates. (1) Foreign governments may not participate, directly or indirectly, in the social capital of credit unions, except in the following cases:
(1) I. When they do so, due to prudential measures of a temporary nature such as financial support or bailouts.
(1) Credit unions that fall under the provisions of this subsection must deliver to the Commission the information and documentation accrediting satisfaction of the aforementioned, within fifteen business days following that they find themselves in such a situation. The Commission shall have a time limit of ninety business days, counted from receipt of the corresponding information and documentation, to resolve, prior to agreement by its Board of Directors, whether the participation in question falls under the exception provided for in this subsection.
(1) II. When the corresponding participation implies having control of the credit union, in terms of Article 3, fraction II of this Law, and is carried out through official legal entities, such as funds, government development entities, among others, with prior discretionary authorization from the Commission, with the agreement of its Board of Directors, provided that in its judgment such legal entities prove that:
(1) a) They do not exercise authority functions, and (1) b) Their decision-making bodies operate independently from the foreign government in question.
(1) III. When the corresponding participation is indirect and does not imply having control of the union, in terms of Article 3, fraction II of this Law. The foregoing, without prejudice to the notices or requests for authorization that must be made in accordance with what is established in this Law.
Article 22.- Credit unions shall abstain, where applicable, from registering in the registry referred to in Articles 128 and 129 of the General Law of Mercantile Societies the transfers of shares that are carried out in contravention of what is provided for in Articles 21 and 23 of this Law, and shall inform the Commission, within five business days following the date on which they become aware of it.
(3) Second paragraph.- Repealed.
(1) When the acquisitions and other legal acts through which direct or indirect ownership of shares representing the social capital of a credit union is obtained, are carried out in contravention of what is provided for in Articles 21 and 23 of this Law, the patrimonial and corporate rights inherent to the corresponding shares of the union shall be suspended and therefore cannot be exercised, until it is proven that the corresponding authorization or resolution has been obtained or that the requirements contemplated by this law have been satisfied.
Article 23.- The acquisition, through one or several simultaneous operations, of shares representing the social capital of a credit union, by a person or group of persons, shall be subject to the following requirements:
(1) I. When more than five percent and up to fifteen percent of the social capital of the union is acquired, written notice must be given to the Commission, within three business days following the transmission or acquisition.
(1) II. When it is intended to acquire more than fifteen percent and up to thirty percent of the social capital of a credit union, prior authorization from the Commission will be required, which may grant it discretionarily, for which the information and documentation referred to in Article 17, fraction II, of this Law must be attached to the request.
(1) III. When a group of persons intends to acquire control or more than thirty percent of the social capital of a credit union as a whole, prior authorization from the Commission will be required, which may grant it discretionarily, for which the information and documentation referred to in Article 17, fraction II, of this Law must be attached to the request. The Commission itself shall determine by means of general provisions the groups of persons that will be considered as a single entity due to the links of common interest they maintain.
(1) For the purposes of what is provided in this fraction, the Commission shall take into account the relationships that, where applicable, the group of persons has with other shareholders or whether this motivates an undue concentration of capital.
(1) IV. When several persons who are not considered as a group of persons, intend to acquire control or more than thirty percent of the social capital of a credit union as a whole, through simultaneous operations, prior authorization from the Commission will be required, which may grant it discretionarily, for which the information and documentation referred to in Article 17, fraction II, of this Law must be attached to the request.
(2) The Commission may authorize temporarily that a natural or legal person maintains participation in the social capital of a credit union in percentages higher than those indicated in fraction III of this article, in case the stability and solvency of the union is at risk, and in order to restore the net capital of the union referred to in Article 48 of this Law, where applicable, to comply with the capital restoration plan indicated in Article 80, fraction I, subsection b), of this Law. The Commission shall determine by means of general provisions the cases in which such capital concentration will proceed, as well as the minimum requirements that the unions must comply with, so that the shareholder can obtain the corresponding authorization.
CHAPTER III
Of the administration of credit unions
Article 24.- The administration of the unions shall be entrusted to a board of directors and a general manager, within their respective spheres of competence.
Article 25.- The board of directors of the unions shall be composed of a minimum of three and a maximum of fifteen principal directors, of whom at least twenty-five percent must be independent. Each principal director shall designate their respective substitute, understanding that the substitute directors of independent directors must have this same character. Each shareholder or group of shareholders representing at least ten percent of the paid-up capital of a union shall have the right to designate a director. The appointment of these minority directors may only be revoked when the appointment of all other directors is revoked.
(1) Article 26.- The appointments of directors of the unions must fall on persons who possess technical quality, honorability, and satisfactory credit history, as well as extensive knowledge and experience in business, financial, legal, or administrative matters.
The majority of the directors must be residents in the national territory.
Under no circumstances may the following be directors:
I. The executives and employees of the union, with the exception of the general manager;
II. The spouse, concubine, or concubine of any director, as well as persons who have kinship by blood or affinity up to the second degree, or civil, with more than two directors;
III. The executives or employees of the companies in which one or more members of the board of directors of the union are shareholders;
IV. Persons who have pending litigation with the union in question;
V. Persons sentenced for intentional patrimonial crimes and those disqualified from exercising commerce or for holding a job, position, or commission in public service or in the Mexican financial system;
VI. Bankrupts and those subject to bankruptcy proceedings, and
VII. Those who perform supervision or regulation functions of the unions.
Directors of unions who participate in the board of directors of other financial entities must disclose this circumstance to the shareholders' assembly at the time of their appointment.
Article 27.- An independent director shall be understood as a person who is unrelated to the respective union and who meets the requirements and conditions determined by the Commission, through general provisions, in which the circumstances under which a director ceases to be independent will also be established.
The following may not be independent directors:
I. Employees or executives of the union;
II. Shareholders of the union;
III. Partners or persons who hold a job, position, or commission in important societies or associations that provide services to the union, whose income represents five percent or more of their income;
IV. Clients, suppliers, service providers, debtors, important creditors, partners, directors, or employees of a company that is an important client, supplier, service provider, debtor, or creditor of the union.
A client, supplier, or service provider is considered important when the services provided by the union to them or the sales they make to it represent more than ten percent of the total services or sales of the client or supplier, respectively. Likewise, a debtor or creditor is considered important when the amount of the respective operation is greater than fifteen percent of the assets of the union or its counterparty;
V. Employees of a foundation, association, or civil society that receive important donations from the union.
Important donations are considered those that represent more than fifteen percent of the total donations received by the foundation, association, or civil society in question;
VI. General managers or senior executives of a company in whose board of directors the general manager or a senior executive of the union participates;
VII. Spouses, concubines, or concubines, as well as relatives by blood or affinity in the first degree of any of the persons mentioned in fractions III to VI above, or up to the third degree, in relation to those indicated in fractions I, II, VIII, and IX of this article;
VIII. Those who have been included in any of the previous circumstances during the year prior to the moment when their appointment is intended, and
IX. Persons related as referred to in Article 61 of this Law.
Article 28.- The board of directors shall meet at least quarterly and in extraordinary sessions, when convened by its president, at least twenty-five percent of the directors, or any of the auditors of the union. For the holding of ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the board of directors, the attendance of at least fifty-one percent of the directors must be present, of whom at least one must be an independent director.
The President of the board shall have a casting vote in case of a tie.
Article 29.- Directors shall be obliged to expressly abstain from participating in the deliberation and voting on any matter that implies a conflict of interest for them. Likewise, they must maintain absolute confidentiality regarding all those acts, facts, or events related to the union of which they are directors, as well as any deliberation that takes place in the board, without prejudice to the obligation that the union will have to provide all the information requested under this Law.
Article 30.- The board of directors of the unions, without prejudice to the functions inherent to it, must have an audit committee, of a consultative nature, whose head must be an independent director.
This committee, in its integration and functioning, must comply with the general provisions issued by the Commission.
Article 31.- The board of directors of the unions must approve the Manual of Policies and Procedures, which shall contain, among others, the regulation applicable to the operations that will be carried out through the special department.
Article 32.- The appointments of the general manager of the unions and of the executives who hold the position immediately inferior in hierarchy to that of the general manager, must fall on persons who possess credit eligibility and honorability, and who additionally meet the requirements established by the Commission through general provisions.
Article 33.- The union in question must verify that the persons designated as directors, general manager, and executives with the hierarchy immediately inferior to the latter, comply, prior to the start of their term, with the requirements indicated in this Law. The Commission may establish, through general provisions, the criteria by which the files accrediting compliance with what is stated in this article must be integrated.
Unions must inform the Commission of the appointments of directors, general manager, and executives with the hierarchy immediately inferior to the latter, within five business days following their appointment, expressly stating that they comply with the applicable requirements.
Article 34.- The powers granted by the unions will not require any other insertions other than those related to the agreement of the board that authorized the granting of the power, the faculties granted in the deed of incorporation or in the bylaws to the same board on the matter, and the proof of the appointment of the directors.
Article 35.- The auditors of the unions must possess technical quality, honorability, and satisfactory credit history in terms of the provisions referred to in Article 33 of this Law, as well as extensive knowledge and experience in financial, accounting, legal, or administrative matters.
Article 36.- The following may not be principal or substitute auditors of the unions:
I. Their general managers, and
II. The members of their boards of directors, principal or substitute.
CHAPTER IV
Of merger and spin-off
Article 37.- For the merger of two or more unions or of any society or financial entity with a union, prior authorization from the Commission with the approval of its Board of Directors is required and it shall be carried out in accordance with the following bases:
I. The respective societies shall present to the Commission the projects of the agreements of the shareholders' assemblies related to the merger, the merger agreement, and the modifications that would correspond to make to the bylaws of the respective societies, accounting statements that present the situation of the societies and that will serve as a basis for the assembly to authorize the merger, projected financial statements of the society resulting from the merger, and the following information:
a) Project of bylaws of the society that adjusts to what is provided in this Law;
b) List and information of the persons who directly or indirectly intend to maintain a participation in the social capital of the union to be constituted, which shall contain, in accordance with the general provisions issued for this effect, prior agreement of its Board of Directors, the following:
i) The amount of social capital that each of them will subscribe, and the origin of the resources that will be used for such effect;
ii) The patrimonial situation, in the case of natural persons, or the financial statements, in the case of legal entities, in both cases, for the last three years, and
iii) That which allows verifying that they have satisfactory honorability, credit history, and business history.
c) The rest of the documentation and information related that the Commission requires for the effect.
II. Once the authorization referred to in this article is obtained, the merger agreements shall be registered in the Public Commerce Registry. From the date of registration, the merger shall take effect;
III. Once the previous registration is made, the merger agreements adopted by the respective shareholders' assemblies shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
IV. The authorization granted by the Commission for the merger of a union as the merged entity, shall render void the authorization granted to it to organize and operate as such, without it being necessary for the authority that granted it to issue an express declaration, and
V. During the ninety natural days following from the date of publication, the creditors of the societies may oppose the merger judicially, with the sole object of obtaining payment of their credits, without this opposition suspending the merger.
Article 38.- For the spin-off of a union, prior authorization from the Commission with the approval of its Board of Directors is required.
The spin-off society shall present to the Commission the draft minutes containing the agreements of its extraordinary general shareholders' assembly related to its spin-off, draft statutory reforms of the spin-off society, draft social bylaws of the spun-off society, accounting statements that present the situation of the spin-off society and that will serve as a basis for the assembly that authorizes the spin-off, projected financial statements of the societies resulting from the spin-off, and the rest of the connected documentation required by the Commission to evaluate the respective request.
The authorization referred to in this article, the agreements of the shareholders' assembly related to the spin-off, and the deed of incorporation of the spun-off entity, shall be registered in the Public Commerce Registry. From the date of registration, the spin-off shall take effect.
Once the previous registration is made, the spin-off agreements adopted by the shareholders' assembly of the spin-off society shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
(1) During the ninety natural days following from the date of publication referred to in the previous paragraph, the creditors of the spin-off society may oppose the spin-off judicially, with the sole object of obtaining payment of their credits, without this opposition suspending the spin-off.
The spun-off society shall not be understood as authorized to organize and operate as a union, and the surviving spin-off society shall retain the authorization granted to it for such effects.
Due to the spin-off, only active operations, liabilities, trusts, and commissions of the spin-off union shall be transmitted to the spun-off society, in cases where authorized by the Commission, when it considers that the interests of the union members in the respective operations are not adversely affected and there is no opposition from creditors. Trusts or commissions may only be transmitted when the final beneficiary is a financial entity authorized to carry out this type of operation.
In the event that the spin-off produces the extinction of the spin-off union, the authorization granted to organize and operate as such shall become void, without it being necessary to issue an express declaration regarding this.
THIRD TITLE
Of operations
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
Article 39.- Unions shall be classified into three levels of operation according to the minimum subscribed and paid-up capital required by this Law, and may carry out operations in terms of what is provided in the following Article 40.
Article 40.- Unions, in terms of their authorization and depending on the level of operations corresponding to them, may only carry out the following operations:
(1) I. Receive loans and credits exclusively from their members, private financing and investment funds, financial entities, companies whose predominant activity is the granting of credit, decentralized bodies of the federal, state, municipal, and Mexico City governments, or financial entities from abroad, as well as from their suppliers.
The operations referred to in this fraction that are guaranteed with a mortgage of the unions' properties must be agreed upon previously in an extraordinary general shareholders' assembly by a vote representing at least sixty-six percent of their paid-up capital, unless their bylaws establish a higher percentage;
II. Receive financing from funds contributed to trusts constituted by the federal, state, and Mexico City governments, in accordance with what is established in the operating rules established by them;
III. Issue securities, for placement among the general investing public, except for subordinate obligations of any type;
IV. Grant credits and loans to their members, with or without guarantee, or facilitate access to credit by providing them with their guarantee or surety;
V. Practice discount, loan, and credit operations with their members;
VI. Carry out financial derivative operations for hedging purposes, without in any case acting as an intermediary;
(1) VII. Issue letters of credit based on the granting of credits or prior receipt of their amount;
VIII. Make deposits in credit institutions and financial entities abroad;
IX. Carry out financial factoring operations with their members or with the companies over which they have control;
X. Enter into financial leasing contracts with their members and acquire the goods that are the subject of such contracts;
XI. Discount, pledge, or negotiate credit instruments and affect the rights arising from the financing contracts they carry out with their members or from the operations authorized to the unions, with the persons from whom they receive financing, in terms of fractions I and II above, as well as affect in irrevocable trust the credit instruments and the rights arising from the financing contracts they celebrate with their members to guarantee the payment of the issuances referred to in fraction III of this article;
XII. Receive money from their members for the fulfillment of mandates or commissions with the exclusive object of providing cash services, whose balances the union may deposit in credit institutions, financial entities abroad, or invest in government securities.
The monetary resources received for the execution of mandates or commissions referred to in the previous paragraph may be withdrawn in cash, by debit card, as well as by
transfers and non-negotiable payment orders. In no case may they be disposed of by means of checks;
XIII. To carry out operations with securities on their own account, through the intermediation of stock exchanges and other authorized securities market intermediaries;
XIV. To provide their members with credit administration and collection services derived from the provision of goods or services;
XV. To act as intermediaries in the contracting of documented insurance, exclusively in standard form contracts, except for pension insurance derived from social security laws, in accordance with the applicable provisions;
XVI. To act as trustees, in the guarantee trusts referred to in the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations;
XVII. To provide, directly, distribution services for shares to investment companies, in accordance with what is established in the Investment Companies Law and the general provisions applicable to this type of operation;
XVIII. To acquire titles representing the capital of commercial companies, including those that provide them with complementary or auxiliary services in their administration, or in the realization of their object, as well as real estate companies that are owners or administrators of properties destined for their offices, prior authorization of the Commission; said companies must comply, with respect to the services or operations that the Commission deems complementary or auxiliary to the operations that are proper to credit unions, with the general provisions issued by the same Commission, and with its inspection and supervision, and consequently, must cover the corresponding inspection and supervision fees;
XIX. To acquire the movable and immovable property necessary for the realization of their object and to dispose of them when appropriate;
XX. To lease their movable and immovable property, when circumstances justify it;
XXI. To take charge of or contract the construction or administration of works owned by their members for the use of the latter, when such works are necessary for the direct object of their companies, businesses, or industries;
XXII. To promote the organization and administer industrial or commercial companies, for which they may associate with third parties. These operations must be carried out with resources from their paid-in capital and capital reserves or from loans received for this purpose;
XXIII. To be responsible for the purchase and sale of fruits or products obtained or manufactured by their members or by third parties;
XXIV. To purchase, sell, and market inputs, raw materials, merchandise, and various articles, as well as to lease capital goods necessary for the exploitation of agricultural, industrial, commercial, and service activities, on behalf of their members or third parties;
(1) XXV. To acquire on their own account goods to resell or lease to their members or third parties;
XXVI. To be responsible, on their own account, for the industrial transformation or processing of products obtained or manufactured by their members;
XXVII. The transformation referred to in the preceding subsection may be carried out in industrial plants acquired for this purpose, charged to their paid-in capital and capital reserves or with resources from financing institutions, and
XXVIII. Other analogous and related operations that, through general provisions, are authorized by the Commission.
The operations referred to in subsections XXIII to XXV of this article that credit unions carry out with third parties shall in no case constitute their predominant activity, and such operations must in all cases be carried out through the special department referred to in Article 31 of this Law.
The operations referred to in subsections XXI to XXVII of this article shall be carried out through a special department.
(1) Credit unions with operational levels II and III may grant loans to other credit unions.
Factoring and financial leasing operations may only be carried out by credit unions located in operational levels II and III. The fiduciary trust in guarantee trusts may only be carried out by credit unions located in operational level III.
Article 41.- Credit unions may, with prior authorization from the Commission, enter into foreign exchange purchase and sale operations exclusively with their members.
To obtain the authorization referred to in this article, credit unions must credibly demonstrate to the Commission that they require foreign currency on a daily basis, as a result of their normal operations, those of their members, or those of the latter's companies.
Article 42.- The characteristics of the active, passive, and service operations carried out by credit unions shall be subject to the provisions of the general provisions issued by the Commission with the purpose of addressing credit regulation needs.
Article 43.- The Commission will authorize credit unions to begin operations or change their operational level referred to in Article 39 of this Law, when they demonstrate compliance with the following:
I. That the operations in question are expressly stated in their bylaws;
II. That they have the minimum paid-in social capital corresponding to them according to what is established in Article 18 of this Law, based on their operational level;
III. That the board of directors, the general manager, and the executives holding positions with hierarchy immediately below that of the latter, meet the requirements established in this Law and other general provisions issued by the Commission;
IV. That they have the necessary infrastructure and internal controls to carry out their operations and provide their services, in accordance with applicable provisions, even in the event of contracting with third parties the provision of services necessary for the development of their corporate object, and
V. That they are up to date in the payment of sanctions imposed for non-compliance with this Law that have become final, as well as in the fulfillment of observations and corrective actions issued by the said Commission in the exercise of its functions.
The Commission will conduct inspection visits it deems necessary to verify compliance with the requirements referred to in the preceding subsections.
The credit union in question must register in the Public Commerce Registry, for declaratory purposes, the authorization granted to it to begin operations under the terms of this article, no later than thirty days after it has been notified.
Article 44.- Credit unions may in no case give news or information about loans, credits, services, or any type of operations, except to the corresponding member, applicant, borrower, holder, or beneficiary, their legal representatives, or those who have been granted power to dispose of the granted loans or to intervene in the operation or service, except in the cases provided for in Article 117 of the Credit Institutions Law.
(2) Article 44 Bis.- The Secretariat, the Commission, and the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Financial Services Users, within the scope of their competence, shall be authorized to provide foreign financial authorities with any kind of information they deem appropriate to address the requests made to them, such as documents, certificates, records, declarations, and other evidence that such authorities have in their possession having obtained it in the exercise of their powers.
(2) For the purposes of the foregoing paragraph, the authorities must have signed an information exchange agreement with the foreign financial authorities in question, which contemplates the principle of reciprocity.
(2) The Commission shall be authorized to deliver to foreign financial authorities the information protected by confidentiality provisions in its possession, having obtained it in the exercise of its powers, acting in coordination with other entities, persons, or authorities or directly from other authorities.
(2) In any case, the Commission may refrain from providing the information referred to in the preceding paragraph, when the intended use of the same is different from that for which it was requested, is contrary to public order, national security, or the terms agreed upon in the respective information exchange agreement.
(2) The Secretariat, the Commission, and the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Financial Services Users must establish coordination mechanisms for the delivery of the information referred to in this article to foreign financial authorities.
(2) The delivery of information carried out under the terms of this article shall not imply any transgression of the obligations of reserve, confidentiality, secrecy, or analogous obligations that must be observed in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.
(1) Article 45.- The credit and leasing operations carried out by credit unions with their members must be directly related to the activities of their companies or businesses.
(1) The holder of the operations referred to in subsection I of Article 40 of this Law must designate beneficiaries and may at any time replace them, as well as modify, if applicable, the proportion corresponding to each of them.
(1) In the event of the holder's death, the credit union shall deliver the corresponding amount to those whom the holder himself has designated as beneficiaries, expressly and in writing, in the proportion stipulated for each of them.
(1) If no beneficiaries have been designated, the amount must be delivered in the terms provided for in common legislation.
CHAPTER II
Prudential Regulation
Article 46.- The Commission will issue minimum prudential regulation guidelines to which credit unions must adhere, on topics such as credit processes, credit portfolio rating, liquidity coefficients, integrated risk management, internal controls, and any others it deems convenient to provide financial solvency and the adequate operation of credit unions.
The Commission will determine, through technical and operational general provisions, the basis for rating the credit portfolios of credit unions, the documentation and information they will collect for the granting, renewal, and during the validity of credits of any nature, with or without real guarantee, the requirements that such documentation must meet, and the periodicity with which it must be obtained, as well as the integration of preventive estimates, which must be constituted for each rating range, seeking to ensure the solvency and stability of credit unions and the reliability of their financial information.
Credit unions must comply with the general prudential provisions issued by the Commission under the terms provided in this article.
Article 47.- In carrying out their operations, credit unions must diversify their risks. The Commission will determine, through general provisions, the following:
I. The maximum percentages of liabilities owed by a credit union corresponding to direct or contingent obligations in favor of the same person, entity, or group of persons that, according to the same rules, should be considered for these purposes, as a single creditor.
II. The maximum limits of the amount of direct and contingent liabilities, including investments in titles representing capital, of the same person, entity, or group of persons who, due to their patrimonial or responsibility links, constitute common risks, which may not exceed fifty percent of the net capital indicated in Article 48 of this Law.
In issuing the provisions referred to in this article, the Commission, in calculating the maximum financing amounts that credit unions may grant, will always take into account the liabilities contracted by the credit unions referred to in subsection I of Article 40 of this Law that have been constituted as irrevocable guarantee of credits granted to their members, to establish additional limits to those established in the preceding paragraph.
(2) Credit unions may exclude from the concept of common risk, the financing granted to the persons referred to in subsections a) and b) of subsection IV of Article 3, provided that they meet the following requirements:
(2) a) They have a primary source of payment that is independent of the person or Business Group that, in their case, control them, and
(2) b) The payment of the financing granted to them does not depend on the financial situation of the legal entity or Business Group over which they exercise control, such that they are able to fulfill their payment obligations, independent of said financial situation.
(2) III. The total amount of credits that a credit union may collectively grant to other credit unions may not exceed the equivalent of fifty percent of the net capital of the granting credit union.
The Commission, at the request of the credit union, may authorize specific operations for amounts exceeding the maximum limits, when the characteristics of the same justify it.
Article 48.- Credit unions must maintain net capital in relation to market, credit, and other risks incurred in their operations, which may not be less than the amount resulting from summing the capital requirements for each type of risk, in accordance with the general provisions established by the Commission with the approval of its Board of Directors.
Net capital, in its basic and complementary part, shall be determined in accordance with what the Commission itself establishes in the aforementioned provisions that safeguard the solvency and financial stability of credit unions.
(2) Net capital may in no case be less than the minimum paid-in capital applicable to it according to what is established in Article 18.
The Commission, in the general provisions referred to in the first paragraph of this article, will establish the procedure for calculating the capitalization index applicable to credit unions.
When the Commission, as part of its supervision function, requires credit unions to make adjustments to accounting records related to their active and passive operations, which in turn may result in modifications to their capitalization index, the Commission must carry out the necessary actions so that the calculation of said index is carried out in accordance with what is provided in this article and the applicable provisions, in which case it will previously listen to the affected credit union.
The capitalization index, under the terms of this article, resulting from the adjustments required by the Commission will be used for all legal effects.
Article 49.- Investments charged to the credit union's capital shall be subject to the following limits:
I. The amount of investments in furniture and equipment, in properties destined for their offices and warehouses, plus the amount of investments in the capital of companies that provide them with complementary or auxiliary services in their administration, or in the realization of their object, as well as real estate companies that are owners or administrators of properties destined for their offices, shall not exceed sixty percent of the basic part of net capital. The investment in said shares and the requirements that the companies referred to must satisfy shall be subject to the general provisions issued by the Commission.
II. The amount of organization expenses or similar shall not exceed twenty percent of the basic part of net capital.
III. The total amount of investments in industrial plants, commercial or service companies linked to the activities of their members, as well as in companies owning said plants, shall not exceed seventy-five percent of the credit union's book capital.
When there are outstanding balances from credits destined for the acquisition of industrial plants, commercial or service companies, or companies owning said plants, credit unions may not agree on capital returns with withdrawal rights.
(2) IV. The total amount of the value of assets in pure leasing operations referred to in subsection XXV of Article 40 shall not exceed one hundred percent of the credit union's book capital.
The provisions in subsections I and III above are without prejudice to what is provided in subsection V of Article 103 of this Law.
CHAPTER III
Special Rules
Article 50.- In the credits, loans, or financing that credit unions grant, the payment of interest may not be demanded in advance, but only for expired periods, without prejudice to compliance with applicable commercial legislation. The Commission, through the general provisions referred to in Article 42 of this Law, will determine the amounts of credits, loans, and financing to which this article applies, of which credit unions are obligated to inform their members when agreeing on the terms of the credit.
Article 51.- For the granting of their credits, credit unions must estimate the payment viability of the same by the borrowers or counterparties, using quantitative and qualitative information analysis, which allows establishing their credit solvency and payment capacity within the planned credit term. The foregoing must be observed without prejudice to considering the monetary value of any guarantees offered.
Similarly, modifications to credit contracts that credit unions agree to with their borrowers, for the benefit of their respective interests, must be based on payment viability analysis, based on quantitative and qualitative information, under the terms of the preceding paragraph.
When adverse or different financial circumstances from those considered at the time of the original analysis arise or are presumed, which prevent the borrower from meeting their commitments in a timely and proper manner, or when the recovery viability improves, credit unions must base themselves on quantitative and qualitative analyses that reflect an improvement in credit recovery possibilities, to support the viability of the restructuring agreed upon.
In these cases, credit unions must carry out the necessary procedures to obtain partial payments or additional guarantees to those originally contracted. If in the restructuring, in addition to the modification
of original conditions, additional resources were required, a study supporting the viability of payment of the added debt under the new conditions must be available.
In all cases, there must be evidence that credit procedures were adjusted to the policies and guidelines established by the union itself for such purposes.
For the adequate observance of what is provided in this article, unions shall comply with the prudential provisions, in matters of credit and risk management, issued by the Commission to ensure the solvency of unions.
The Commission will monitor that unions properly observe what is provided in this article.
Article 52.- The refinancing and enabling or outfitting credit contracts entered into by unions shall be governed by the provisions of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations, and by the following bases:
I. They shall be recorded, as agreed by the parties and regardless of their amount, in a policy before a licensed public broker, in a public deed, or in a private contract, which in the latter case shall be signed in triplicate before two witnesses and ratified before a public notary, a licensed public broker, a first-instance judge acting as a notary, or before the person in charge of the corresponding Public Registry;
II. Without satisfying any other formalities than those indicated in the preceding fraction, real guarantees may be established on movable or immovable property, in addition to those that constitute the guarantee proper to these credits, or on the agricultural, livestock, or other primary, industrial, commercial, or service unit, with the characteristics mentioned in the following article;
III. The property on which the pledge is constituted, if applicable, may remain in the possession of the debtor under the terms established in Article 329 of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations;
IV. The debtor may use and dispose of the pledge that remains in his possession, according to what is agreed in the contract, and
V. The portion of refinancing credits destined to cover the liabilities referred to in the second paragraph of Article 323 of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations may exceed fifty percent, only in cases where the Commission authorizes the union to do so, provided that compliance with the requirements set forth in Article 51 of this Law is accredited.
Article 53.- In enabling or outfitting credit contracts, the lender reserves the right to negotiate, affect as collateral, or endorse to financial entities in the country, the titles issued by the borrower for the disbursements made and shall be obligated, if applicable, to redeem them according to what is agreed, as credit repayments are made; each disbursement shall be in accordance with production cycles; default on the payment of a disbursement shall suspend the exercise of the credit and future fruits or products, and new goods acquired by the borrower for the service of the productive unit within the validity of the contract, shall remain as collateral without the need for further annotations or registrations in the corresponding Public Registry of Commerce, except if they are immovable property.
When the enabling or outfitting credit is complementary to a refinancing credit and is formalized in the same instrument, the terms of the former may be extended to those established for refinancing, provided that the requirements and conditions indicated in the preceding paragraph are observed.
Article 54.- The pledge on goods and securities shall be constituted in the manner provided in the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations, sufficient for this purpose that it be recorded in the respective credit document with the necessary data to identify the goods given as collateral.
In any case of advance on titles or securities, pledge on them, on their fruits and merchandise, unions may effect the sale of the titles, goods, or merchandise, in cases that apply in accordance with the aforementioned General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations, through a licensed public broker or two merchants of the locality, retaining in their possession the portion of the price that covers the debtor's liabilities, which they may apply in compensation of their credit and keeping available to the debtor any surplus that may exist.
Article 55.- When unions receive credits in books as pledge, it shall be sufficient that this be stated, in the terms of the preceding article, in the corresponding contract, that the credits given as pledge have been specified in the respective notes or lists, and that these lists have been transcribed by the creditor union in a special book in successive entries, in chronological order, in which the day of registration shall be expressed, from which the pledge shall be understood to be constituted.
The debtor shall be considered as the agent of the creditor for the collection of credits, and shall have the civil and penal obligations and responsibilities corresponding to the agent.
Article 56.- Mortgages constituted in favor of unions, on the complete unit of an industrial, agricultural, livestock, or public goods or services exploitation enterprise, shall include the respective concession or concessions, if applicable; all material elements, movable or immovable, affected to the exploitation, considered as a unit; and additionally, may include the money in the cash register of the current exploitation and credits in favor of the company, arising directly from its operations, without prejudice to the possibility of disposing of them and substituting them in the normal course of operations, without the consent of the creditor unless otherwise agreed.
Creditor unions of the mortgages referred to in this article shall allow the normal development of the exploitation of the goods affected to them, according to the destination assigned to them, and may not, regarding goods affected to a public service concession, oppose alterations or modifications made to them during the term of the mortgage, provided they are necessary for the better provision of the corresponding public service.
However, as creditors, they may oppose the sale or alienation of part of the goods and the merger with other companies, if this originates a danger to the security of the mortgage credits.
The aforementioned mortgage may be constituted, in second place, if the amount of the net income from the exploitation free of any other charge, is sufficient to cover the interest and amortization of the loan.
The mortgages referred to in this article shall be registered in the Public Registry of Commerce of the place or places where the goods are located.
The provisions of Article 214 of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations shall apply, where pertinent, to the mortgages referred to in this article.
Article 57.- In credit, financial lease, and financial factoring contracts entered into by unions where it is agreed that the borrower, lessee, or factored party may dispose of the credited amount or loan amount in partial amounts or are authorized to make early repayments before the term specified in the contract, the statement of account certified by the union's accountant shall serve as evidence, unless proof to the contrary is offered, in the respective trial for the determination of the balance due from the debtor.
Article 58.- The contract or document in which the credits, financial leases, or financial factoring granted by unions are recorded, together with the certification of the statement of account referred to in the preceding article, shall be a commercial executive title without the need for signature recognition or any other requirement.
Regarding financial factoring, in addition to the contract, documents demonstrating the credit rights transferred to unions, duly notified to the debtor, must be available.
The aforementioned certified statement of account must contain data on the identification of the contract or agreement where the credit or lease granted is recorded; the initial capital disbursed or the amount of determined rents; the capital or rents due and unpaid; the capital or rents pending to mature; the interest rates of the credit or variability of the applicable rent, the determinable rents for each payment period; the generated late interest; the interest rate applicable to late interest, and the amount of generated accessories.
Article 59.- The judge shall decree the possession of the property subject to the financial lease contract, requested in accordance with Article 416 of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations by unions that have entered into such a contract as lessor, provided that, in addition to the financial lease contract duly certified before a public official, they accompany their request with the certified statement of account in the terms of Article 57 of this Law.
Article 60.- Unions, when issuing the letters of credit referred to in fraction VII of Article 40 of this Law, shall be subject to what is indicated in this article, and subsidiarily, to the uses and practices expressly indicated by the parties in each of them, without the provisions of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations regarding letters of credit being applicable to this operation.
For the purposes of this Law, a letter of credit is understood as the instrument by virtue of which a union undertakes to pay, at sight or at term, in its own name or on behalf of its member, directly or through a correspondent bank, a determined or determinable sum of money in favor of the beneficiary, against the presentation of the respective documents, provided that the terms and conditions provided in the letter of credit itself are met.
Letters of credit may be issued by unions based on the granting of credits or prior receipt of their amount as the provision of a service. In both cases, the documents on the basis of which the issuance of the letter of credit is carried out must contain, at least, the terms and conditions for the exercise of the credit or the provision of the service, the payment of principal, accessories, expenses, and commissions, as well as the return of unused amounts.
Once letters of credit are issued, the payment obligation of the issuing union shall be independent of the rights and obligations it has with its member. Letters of credit must establish a determined or determinable validity period.
Irrevocable letters of credit may only be modified or canceled with the express acceptance of the issuing union, the beneficiary, and, if applicable, the confirming union.
For the purposes of this article, confirmation is understood as the express payment commitment assumed by a union regarding a letter of credit issued by another, at the request of the latter. The confirmation of the letter of credit carried out by a union implies for it a direct payment obligation towards the beneficiary, subject to the latter complying with the terms and conditions provided in the letter of credit itself. Such payment obligation is independent of the rights and obligations existing between the union providing the confirmation and the issuing union.
Unions shall not be responsible for:
I. The compliance or non-compliance with the fact or act that motivates the issuance of the letter of credit;
II. The accuracy, authenticity, or legal value of any document presented under the letter of credit;
III. The acts or omissions of third parties, even if those third parties are designated by the issuing union, including banks acting as correspondents;
IV. The quality, quantity, weight, value, or any other characteristic of the goods or services described in the documents;
V. The delay or loss in shipping or communication means, and
VI. Non-compliance due to fortuitous event or force majeure.
The letters of credit referred to in this article may be commercial, as well as guarantee or contingent letters of credit.
Commercial letters of credit allow the beneficiary to make the payment of an obligation derived from a commercial operation enforceable, against the presentation of the documents provided in them and in accordance with their terms and conditions. When the expressions "documentary credit," "documentary commercial credit," and "commercial credit" are used, it shall be understood that they refer to the commercial letters of credit provided in this paragraph.
Guarantee or contingent letters of credit guarantee the payment of a determined or determinable sum of money, upon presentation of the payment request and other documents provided in them, provided that the stipulated requirements are met.
Unless otherwise agreed, the resolution of disputes related to letters of credit shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts of the place where they are issued. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the payment obligation derived from the confirmation of letters of credit, unless otherwise agreed, shall be enforceable before the competent courts of the place where the confirmation takes place.
(2) Article 61.- Unions shall require the agreement of at least three-fourths of the counselors present at the sessions of the board of directors to approve the celebration of operations with related parties.
Operations with related parties are those entered into by unions, in which the following persons result or may result as debtors of the same:
I. The members of the board of directors of the union, the general director thereof, and officials of the hierarchy immediately below this;
II. The spouses, concubine or concubine, and persons who have kinship by blood or affinity up to the second degree or civil with the persons indicated in the preceding fraction;
III. Legal entities, as well as the counselors and executives thereof, in which the union directly or indirectly holds control of ten percent or more of the titles representing its capital, and
IV. Legal entities in which any of the persons indicated in the preceding fractions directly or indirectly hold control of ten percent or more of the titles representing its capital.
(2) Counselors and officials shall excuse themselves from participating in discussions and abstain from voting in cases where they have a direct interest.
(2) In all cases, operations with related parties shall not be celebrated on terms and conditions more favorable than operations of the same nature carried out with other members of the union.
(2) Article 62.- Operations with related parties that must be submitted to the approval of the board of directors shall be presented through and with the favorable opinion of the respective credit committee. If approval is granted, the union must present to the Commission a copy of the agreement, certified by the secretary of the board of directors, in which the approval of the council is recorded and inform it of the granting and, if applicable, renewal, as well as the form of payment or extinction of these credits, in the terms indicated by the Commission itself.
(2) Operations with persons referred to in Article 61 of this Law whose total amount does not exceed the equivalent in national currency to 500,000 investment units or five percent of the paid-in social capital of the union, whichever is less, shall not require the approval of the board of directors; however, they must be brought to its knowledge and made available to it all information related to the aforementioned operations in an aggregated manner, as well as to the general shareholders' meeting.
(2) The board of directors of the institutions may delegate its powers to a committee of counselors, whose function shall be exclusively the approval of operations with related parties, in those operations where the amount does not exceed two million investment units. Such committee shall be composed of a minimum of four and a maximum of seven counselors, of whom at least one-third must be independent counselors, in terms of what is provided in Article 27 of this Law.
(2) The resolutions of the committee shall require the agreement of three-fourths of the members present at the session.
(2) The aforementioned committee must present a management report to the board of directors with the frequency indicated by it, which shall not exceed one hundred eighty days.
The total sum of the amounts of disbursed credits, plus the irrevocable credit opening lines granted to related parties, shall not exceed one hundred percent of the union's book capital.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, unions may grant credits to related parties when these credits have as irrevocable guarantee the liabilities referred to in fraction I of Article 40, up to an additional amount equivalent to one hundred percent of their book capital.
For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, the book capital to be used shall be that corresponding to the last business day of the calendar quarter immediately preceding the date on which the calculations are made.
Article 63.- Unions may assign or discount their credit portfolio with any person.
Regarding assignments or discounts of credit portfolio carried out with the Bank of Mexico, credit institutions, trusts constituted by the Federal Government for economic development, or trusts that have the object of issuing securities, they shall be carried out without any restriction.
When unions carry out assignments or discounts of credit portfolio with other unions or persons other than those mentioned in the preceding paragraph and intend to respond for the solvency of the debtor, provide financing to the assignee or discounter, or agree with them obligations or rights that allow them to reacquire the assigned or discounted credit portfolio, they shall require prior authorization from the Commission, which must safeguard the solvency and financial stability of the unions. Likewise, those who subrogate in the rights of said portfolio shall not receive financing from the union itself, regarding such operation or the credits subject to the same, nor shall this union respond for the solvency of the debtor.
Unions shall not be subject to what is established in Article 44 of this Law regarding information related to the assets mentioned below, when this is provided to persons with whom the following operations are negotiated or celebrated:
I. The credits that will be the object of assignment or discount, or
II. Their portfolio or other assets, regarding the transmission or subscription of a significant percentage of their social capital. To make the respective information known, prior authorization from the Commission must be obtained.
During the negotiation processes referred to in this article, participants must maintain due confidentiality regarding the information to which they have access as a result of the same.
Article 64.- Unions shall be subject, with respect to guarantee trust operations they administer in accordance with Section Second of Chapter V of Title Second of the General Law of Negotiable Instruments and Credit Operations, to what is provided by Articles 79 and 80 of the Credit Institutions Law for such institutions.
FOURTH TITLE
On Accounting, Inspection, and Surveillance
CHAPTER I
On Accounting
Article 65.- Any act or contract that signifies a variation in the assets or liabilities of a union, or implies a direct or contingent obligation, must be registered in the accounting on the same day it is effected. The accounting, books, and corresponding documents and the term they must be
conserved shall be governed by the general provisions issued by the Commission, aimed at ensuring the reliability, timeliness, and transparency of the accounting and financial information of credit unions.
Article 66.- Credit unions may microfilm, record in digital format, optical or magnetic media, or preserve in any other medium authorized by the Commission, all those books, records, and documents in general that are in their possession related to the acts they carry out and that through general provisions pointed out by the Commission, according to the technical bases for microfilming or recording, handling, and preservation established by the same.
The original camera negatives obtained by the microfilming system and the first copy obtained from optical or magnetic disks with digitized images or any other authorized medium, according to what is stated in the preceding paragraph, as well as the prints obtained from said systems or media, duly certified by the authorized executive of the credit union, shall have in court the same probative value as the books, records, and documents microfilmed, recorded, or preserved through any other authorized medium.
After the term in which credit unions are obligated to preserve accounting, books, and other documents in accordance with Article 65 of this Law and the provisions issued by the Commission, the records appearing in the credit union's accounting shall serve as proof, unless contrary evidence is presented, in the respective trials for the determination of the balances resulting from the operations referred to in fractions I and XII of Article 40 of this Law.
Article 67.- The Commission, through general provisions that ensure the transparency and reliability of the financial information of credit unions, shall indicate the requirements to which the approval of financial statements by the administrators of credit unions will be subject; their dissemination through any means of communication, including electronic, optical, or any other technology; as well as the procedure to which the review carried out by the Commission itself will be adjusted.
The Commission shall establish, through general provisions that facilitate the transparency and reliability of the financial information of credit unions, the form and content that the financial statements of credit unions must present; likewise, it may order that the financial statements be disseminated with the pertinent modifications and within the timeframes established for that purpose.
Credit unions, as an exception to what is provided in Article 177 of the General Law of Commercial Companies, must publish their financial statements in the terms and means established by the general provisions referred to in the first paragraph of this article.
Annual financial statements must be audited by an independent external auditor, who shall be appointed directly by the board of directors of the credit union in question.
The Commission itself, through general provisions that ensure the transparency and reliability of the financial information of credit unions, may establish the characteristics and requirements that independent external auditors must meet, determine the content of their opinions and other reports, as well as indicate the information that must be revealed in their opinions.
Article 68.- Credit unions are obligated to make available to their members the corporate, financial, administrative, operational, economic, and legal information determined by the Commission, through general provisions issued for such purposes. To issue such provisions, the Commission must take into consideration the relevance of that information to transparent to the members of the credit unions their solvency, liquidity, and operational security. For such purposes, automated or digitized means may be used.
Article 69.- The Commission shall have inspection and supervision powers regarding legal entities that provide external audit services in terms of this Law, including partners or employees thereof who are part of the audit team, in order to verify compliance with this Law and the observance of the general provisions emanating from it.
For this purpose, the aforementioned Commission may:
I. Request all kinds of information and documentation related to the provision of this type of services;
II. Conduct inspection visits;
III. Require the appearance of partners, representatives, and other employees of legal entities that provide external audit services, and
IV. Issue or recognize audit norms and procedures that legal entities providing external audit services must observe when auditing or issuing opinions regarding the financial statements of credit unions.
The exercise of the powers referred to in this article shall be limited to the opinions, opinions, and audit practices that, in terms of this Law, are practiced by legal entities providing external audit services, as well as their partners or employees.
Article 70.- Credit unions must observe what is provided in Articles 67 and 71 of this Law, regarding the requirements that the legal entity providing external audit services must meet, as well as the external auditor who signs the opinion and other reports corresponding to the financial statements.
Article 71.- External auditors who sign the opinion on financial statements on behalf of legal entities providing external audit services must have honorability in terms of Article 17, fraction II, of this Law; meet the personal and professional requirements established by the Commission through general provisions, and be partners of a legal entity that provides professional audit services for financial statements and that meets the quality control requirements established by the Commission itself in said provisions.
Furthermore, the aforementioned external auditors, the legal entity of which they are partners, and the partners or persons who are part of the audit team must not fall under any of the situations of lack of independence established by the Commission, through general provisions, in which aspects such as financial links or economic dependency, provision of additional services beyond auditing, and maximum time periods during which external auditors can provide external audit services to credit unions are considered.
Article 72.- The external auditor, as well as the legal entity of which he is a partner, are obligated to preserve the documentation, information, and other elements used to prepare their opinion, report, or opinion, for a period of at least five years. For such purposes, automated or digitized means may be used.
Likewise, external auditors must provide the Commission with the reports and other elements of judgment on which they base their opinions and conclusions. If during the practice or as a result of the audit they find irregularities that affect the liquidity, stability, or solvency of any of the credit unions to which they provide audit services, they must present to the audit committee, and in any case to the Commission, a detailed report on the observed situation.
Persons providing external audit services shall be liable for damages and losses caused to the credit union that hires them, when:
I. Due to inexcusable negligence, the opinion or opinion they provide contains flaws or omissions that, by reason of their profession or trade, should be part of the analysis, evaluation, or study that gave rise to the opinion or opinion.
II. Intentionally, in the opinion or opinion:
a) Omit relevant information of which they have knowledge, when it must be contained in their opinion or opinion;
b) Incorporate false or misleading information, or adjust the result in order to appear as a situation different from what corresponds to reality; c) Recommend the celebration of any operation, choosing among the existing alternatives, that which generates patrimonial effects notably detrimental to the credit union, or d) Suggest, accept, facilitate, or propose that a specific transaction be registered in contravention of the accounting criteria issued by the Commission.
Article 73.- The persons referred to in Article 70 of this Law shall not incur liability for damages or losses caused, derived from the services or opinions they issue, when acting in good faith and without fraud, the following occurs:
I. They issue their opinion or opinion based on information provided by the person to whom they provide their services, and
II. They issue their opinion or opinion in accordance with the norms, procedures, and methodologies that must be applied to perform the analysis, evaluation, or study corresponding to their profession or trade.
Article 74.- The Commission shall establish the maximum rules for the estimation of the assets of credit unions and the minimum rules for the determination of their obligations and liabilities, in order to ensure the adequate valuation of these concepts in the accounting of credit unions.
CHAPTER II
Of Inspection and Supervision
Article 75.- Credit unions are subject to the supervision of the Commission, which shall have, insofar as it does not oppose this Law, all the powers in matters of inspection and supervision granted to it by the Law governing it and the Credit Institutions Law.
Article 76.- Credit unions are obligated to provide inspectors of the Commission with all the support required, providing the data, reports, records, minute books, auxiliary books, documents, correspondence, and in general, the documentation that they deem necessary for the fulfillment of their duties; being able to access their offices, premises, and other facilities.
Article 77.- Public officials of the Commission are prohibited from carrying out operations with credit unions subject to its supervision under preferential conditions offered to the rest of their members.
Article 78.- Credit unions must present the information and documentation that, within the scope of their respective competencies, is requested by the Secretariat, the Commission, as well as the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services, within the timeframes and through the means established by them.
(1) With the object of preserving financial stability, avoiding interruptions or alterations in the functioning of the financial system, as well as facilitating the adequate fulfillment of their functions, the Secretariat, the Commission, and the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services must, at the request of the interested party and in terms of the agreements referred to in the last paragraph of this article, exchange among themselves the information they have in their possession having obtained it:
(1) I. In the exercise of their powers;
(1) II. As a result of their action in coordination with other entities, persons, or authorities, or (1) III. Directly from other authorities.
(1) The power mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not be subject to restrictions regarding reserved or confidential information in terms of the applicable legal provisions. Whoever receives the information referred to in this article shall be administratively and criminally liable, in terms of the applicable legislation, for the dissemination to third parties of confidential or reserved information.
(2) For the purposes of what is provided in this article, the aforementioned authorities must sign information exchange agreements in which they specify the information subject to exchange and determine the terms and conditions to which they must be subject for this purpose. Likewise, such agreements must define the degree of confidentiality or reservation of the information, as well as the respective control instances to which cases where the delivery of information is denied or its delivery is made outside the established timeframes will be reported.
FIFTH TITLE
Of the Powers of the Authorities
CHAPTER I
Corrective Measures
Article 79.- Corrective measures must have the object of preventing and, if applicable, correcting the problems that credit unions present, derived from the operations they carry out and that may affect their financial stability or solvency.
The Commission must notify credit unions in writing of the corrective measures they must observe in terms of this Chapter, as well as verify their compliance according to what is provided in this regulation. In the notification referred to in this paragraph, the Commission must define the terms and timeframes for the compliance of the corrective measures.
Credit unions must provide for the implementation of corrective measures within their bylaws, obligating themselves to adopt the actions that, if applicable, result.
The adoption of any of the corrective measures imposed by the Commission, based on this Law and, if applicable, the sanctions or revocation procedures derived from non-compliance, shall be considered a matter of public order and social interest, so no suspensive measure shall apply against them.
Article 80.- When credit unions do not comply with the capitalization requirements established in accordance with Article 48 of this Law and the provisions emanating from that provision, the Commission must order the application of the following minimum corrective measures:
I. Minimum corrective measures:
a) Inform their board of directors of the causes that motivated it, for which they must present a detailed report of comprehensive evaluation of their financial situation, indicating compliance with the regulatory framework and including the expression of the main indicators that reflect the degree of stability and solvency of the credit union, as well as the observations that, if applicable, the Commission, within its competence, has directed to them.
b) Within a period not exceeding twenty days, submit to the Commission, for its approval, a capital restoration plan that results in an increase in its capitalization index, which may contemplate a program of improvement in operational efficiency, rationalization of expenses, and increase in profitability, the making of contributions to social capital, and limits on the operations that the credit union in question may carry out in compliance with its social object, or to the risks derived from said operations. The capital restoration plan must be approved by the board of directors of the credit union in question before being presented to the Commission itself.
The credit union in question must determine in the capital restoration plan that, according to this subsection, it must present, periodic goals, as well as the timeframe in which the capital of said credit union will obtain the level of capitalization required in accordance with the applicable provisions.
The Commission must resolve what corresponds regarding the capital restoration plan that, if applicable, has been presented, within a maximum period of sixty days, counted from the date of presentation of the plan in question.
Credit unions to which the provisions of this subsection apply must comply with the capital restoration plan within the timeframe established by the Commission, which in no case may exceed two hundred and seventy days counted from the day following the notification to the credit union of the respective approval. For the determination of the timeframe for compliance with the capital restoration plan, the Commission must take into consideration its financial situation, as well as the conditions that generally prevail in the financial markets. The Commission, by agreement of its Board of Directors, may extend this timeframe only once for a period that will not exceed ninety days.
The Commission will follow up and verify compliance with the capital restoration plan, without prejudice to the applicability of other corrective measures;
c) Suspend the payment to shareholders of dividends from the credit union, as well as any mechanism or act that implies a transfer of patrimonial benefits.
d) Suspend the payment of compensations and additional extraordinary bonuses to the salary of the general director, as well as not granting new compensations in the future for the general director and officials, until such time as the credit union complies with the capitalization levels required by the Commission in terms of the provisions referred to in Article 48 of this Law. This provision must be contained in the contracts and other documentation that regulate working conditions.
What is provided in this subsection shall also apply to payments made to legal entities other than the credit union in question, when said legal entities make payments to the officials of the credit union.
The measure provided for in this article is without prejudice to the acquired labor rights in favor of persons who may be affected by the same;
e) Refrain from agreeing to increases in the amounts of credits granted to persons considered as related in terms of Article 61 of this Law.
Regardless of the capitalization index of credit unions, the Commission may order the application of additional special corrective measures.
II. The additional special corrective measures that, if applicable, credit unions must comply with are the following:
a) Contract the services of external auditors or other specialized third parties to carry out special audits on specific issues;
b) Refrain from agreeing to increases in the salaries and benefits of officials and employees in general, excepting agreed salary reviews and respecting at all times the acquired labor rights.
What is provided in the present subsection shall also apply to payments made to legal entities other than the credit union in question, when said legal entities make payments to the employees or officials of the credit union;
(1) c) Replace officials, counselors, auditors, or external auditors, with the credit union itself appointing the persons who will occupy the respective positions. This is without prejudice to the powers of the Commission provided in Article 93 of this Law to determine the removal or suspension of members of the board of directors, general directors, auditors, directors, managers, fiduciary delegates, and other officials who may obligate the credit union with their signature;
(1) d) When, in the opinion of the Commission, the administration of the company does not present the comprehensive financial situation of the credit union to the general assembly of shareholders or when irregular situations arise that put the patrimonial value of the company at risk, the Commission itself may request the auditor of the same to call for ordinary and extraordinary assemblies of shareholders to inform of the determined situation or the corrective measures ordered, and
(2) e) Those others determined by the Commission, based on the result of its inspection and supervision functions, as well as on sound financial practices.
For the application of additional special corrective measures, the Commission may consider, among other elements, the comprehensive financial situation of the credit union, compliance with the regulatory framework, the trend of its capitalization index and the main indicators that reflect the degree of stability and solvency, the quality of accounting and financial information, and compliance in the delivery of said information.
Article 81.- When, in the opinion of the Commission, there are irregularities in credit unions that affect their stability or solvency and put the interests of members or creditors in danger, the President of said body may propose to the Board of Directors the declaration of intervention with the character of management of the credit union in question and designate the natural person who will take charge of the credit union with the character of intervention-manager.
Article 82.- The management intervention referred to in the previous article shall be carried out directly by an intervention-manager, and upon the start of said intervention, it shall be understood with the main official of the credit union who is located in its offices.
Article 83.- The intervention-manager shall have all the powers that normally correspond to the board of directors of the credit union and full general powers for acts of dominion, administration, lawsuits, and collections, with the powers that require special clauses according to the law, to grant and sign credit instruments, to file complaints and lawsuits, and to withdraw from the latter, prior agreement of the President of the Commission, and to grant general or special powers that he deems convenient, and revoke those that have been granted by the intervened credit union and those that he himself has conferred.
The intervention-manager shall not be subordinated in his actions to the assembly of shareholders or the board of directors.
Article 84.- The intervenors referred to in this chapter must meet the requirements provided in this Law to be general director of a credit union, with the caveat that they may be designated as intervenors who perform inspection and supervision functions of credit unions. Likewise, they may only obtain loans from credit unions, or acquire the character of debtors of such credit unions by any title, under the same terms that, if applicable, the Board of Directors of the Commission approves for its employees.
Article 85.- The document containing the appointment of the intervention-manager must be registered in the Public Commerce Registry corresponding to the domicile of the intervened credit union, without further requirements than the respective document of the Commission.
Article 86.- From the moment of the intervention, all powers of the board of directors and the powers of the persons determined by the intervention-manager shall be subordinated to the intervention-manager; but the assembly of shareholders may continue to meet regularly to deal with the matters that concern it, and the same may be done by the board to be informed by the intervention-manager about the functioning and operations carried out by the company, and to comment on the matters that the same intervention-manager submits to their consideration. The intervention-manager may call for a shareholders' assembly and board of directors meetings for the purposes he deems necessary or convenient.
Article 87.- The Commission will agree to lift the intervention with the character of management when the irregularities that have affected the stability or solvency of the union have been corrected.
When the Commission agrees to lift the intervention with the character of management, it will communicate this to the person in charge of the Public Commerce Registry who made the annotation referred to in Article 85 of this Law, for the purpose of cancelling the respective registration.
Article 88.- Unions must notify the Commission at least thirty days in advance of the opening, change of location, and closure of any type of offices in the country, except when it concerns the change of social domicile, for which prior authorization from the Commission will be required.
Article 89.- Unions will require prior authorization from the Commission to acquire shares or participations in the share capital of foreign companies or societies.
Article 90.- Unions must close their doors and suspend operations on the days designated by the Commission through general character provisions.
The days designated in the aforementioned terms will be considered as non-working days for all legal effects.
Article 91.- Unions will adhere to the general character provisions issued by the Commission, in which it establishes the form and terms that must be met by the publicity related to the characteristics of their active, passive, and service operations. For the issuance of the aforementioned provisions, the aforementioned dependency will hear the opinion of the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services.
The Commission, ex officio or at the request of the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services, may order the suspension of the publicity carried out by the unions, when in its judgment it implies inaccuracy, or unfair competition among them, or that by any other circumstance it may induce error, regarding their operations and services, or if it does not adjust to what is provided in this article, as well as in the general character provisions issued based on this provision.
Article 92.- The documentation used by unions related to the application and contracting of their operations must be subject to the provisions of this Law, those emanating from it, and the others applicable to it. The Commission may object at any time to the use of the aforementioned documentation, when in its judgment it implies inaccuracy, obscurity, or by any other circumstance that could induce error, regarding their operations and services.
(1) Article 93.- The Commission, with the agreement of its Board of Directors, may at any time determine that the members of the board of directors, directors, managers, and commissioners, fiduciary delegates, and officials who can obligate the union with their signature be removed, as well as suspend the aforementioned persons for a period of three months to five years, when it considers that they do not have sufficient technical quality, honorability, and satisfactory credit history for the performance of their functions, do not meet the requirements established for that purpose, or commit serious or repeated violations of this Law or the general character provisions derived from it. In the last two cases, the Commission itself may also, disqualify the aforementioned persons from holding employment, position, or commission within the Mexican financial system, for the same period of three months to five years, without prejudice to the sanctions that may apply in accordance with this or other legal frameworks. Before issuing the corresponding resolution, the aforementioned Commission must hear the interested party and the union.
(1) The Commission itself may, also with the agreement of its Board of Directors, order the removal of independent external auditors of the unions, as well as suspend or disqualify such persons for the period indicated in the previous paragraph, when they commit serious or repeated violations of this Law or the general character provisions emanating from it, or provide reports or opinions containing false information, regardless of the sanctions to which they may be subject.
For the purposes of this article, the following shall be understood:
a) Suspension, as the temporary interruption in the performance of the functions that the offender had within the union at the time the violation was committed or detected; being able to perform functions other than those that gave rise to the sanction, as long as they are not directly or indirectly related to the position or activity that gave rise to the suspension. b) Removal, as the separation of the offender from the employment, position, or commission they held in the union at the time the violation was committed or detected; c) Disqualification, as the temporary impediment to exercising an employment, position, or commission within the Mexican financial system. The resolutions referred to in this article may be appealed before the Commission within fifteen business days following the date on which they were notified. The Commission, with the approval of its Board of Directors, may revoke, modify, or confirm the appealed resolution, prior to a hearing of the parties.
Article 94.- Unions may contract with third parties, including other unions or financial entities, the provision of services or commissions necessary to carry out the operations provided for in Article 40 of this Law, in accordance with the general character provisions issued by the Commission, prior to the agreement of its Board of Directors.
The provisions of Article 44 of this Law shall be applicable to the third parties referred to in this article, as well as to the representatives, executives, and employees of said third parties, even if they cease to work or provide their services to such third parties.
The Commission, prior to the right to a hearing granted to the union, may order the partial or total, temporary or definitive, suspension of the provision of services or commissions through the third party in question, when the unions repeatedly fail to comply with the general character provisions issued by the Commission or if the financial stability or operational continuity of the union may be affected in the judgment of the Commission itself. This, unless there is a regularization program authorized by the Commission, which meets the requirements established in the aforementioned general character provisions. The Commission will directly formulate to the unions the information requests, and in its case, the observations and corrective measures derived from the supervision it carries out regarding the operations that the unions carry out through service providers or commission agents as provided for in this article. Likewise, the Commission may, at any time, conduct inspections on the service providers or commission agents contracted by the unions, or order the unions to conduct audits on said service providers or commission agents, with the union itself being obligated to submit a report to the Commission regarding this matter. The Commission must specify the object of the inspections or audits, which must be limited to the matter of the contracted service and the compliance with what is provided in this Law and the provisions emanating from it. The contracting of the services or commissions referred to in this article will not exempt the unions, nor their executives, fiduciary delegates, employees, and other persons who hold an employment, position, or commission in the union, from the obligation to observe what is established in this legal framework and in the general character provisions emanating from it.
Article 95.- The Commission may, prior to the right to a hearing of the unions, suspend or limit partially the celebration of active, passive, and service operations referred to in Article 40 of this Law, when such operations fall under any of the following circumstances:
I. There is no infrastructure or internal controls necessary to carry out the respective operations and services, in accordance with applicable provisions;
II. Compliance with any of the requirements for the start of the operations and services in question is not met or is violated;
III. Operations other than those authorized are carried out;
IV. The necessary requirements to carry out operations or provide specific services, established in general character provisions, are not met;
V. Operations are carried out or services are provided that imply a conflict of interests to the detriment of their members or intervene in operations that are prohibited in this Law or in the provisions emanating from it, and
VI. In other cases specified by this or other laws.
The suspension order referred to in this article is without prejudice to the sanctions that may result in accordance with what is provided in this Law and other provisions.
Article 96.- The Commission, in the exercise of the powers referred to in this law, may indicate the form and terms in which its requirements must be complied with.
Likewise, the aforementioned Commission, to enforce its determinations regarding the subjects regulated by this law, may employ, indistinctly, the following means of coercion:
I. Admonition with warning;
II. Fine of 2,000 to 5,000 days of salary;
III. Additional fine of 100 days of salary for each day the violation persists, and
IV. The assistance of the public force.
If the coercion is insufficient, a request may be made to the competent authority to proceed against the rebel for disobedience to a legitimate mandate of a competent authority.
For the purposes of this article, federal judicial or ministerial authorities and federal or local security or police forces must provide the support requested by the Commission in an expeditious manner.
In the cases of public security bodies of the Federal Entities or Municipalities, the support will be requested in accordance with the ordinances that regulate public security or, in its case, in conformity with the administrative collaboration agreements that such orders of government have celebrated with the Federation.
CHAPTER II
On the revocation and liquidation
Article 97.- The Commission, with the agreement of its Board of Directors and prior to the hearing of the interested society, may declare the revocation of the authorization granted to the unions, in the following cases:
I. If it does not start its operations within the period of thirty days from when the authorization referred to in Article 43 of this Law is notified;
II. If the union does not comply with the capitalization requirements established in accordance with what is provided by Article 48 of this Law and the provisions to which said provision refers;
(1) III. If the union in question does not comply with any of the minimum corrective measures referred to in Article 80 of this Law; does not comply with more than one additional special corrective measure referred to in said article or, in addition, repeatedly fails to comply with an additional special corrective measure;
IV. If it carries out operations in contravention of what is provided by this Law or by the provisions emanating from it, or if it abandons or suspends the operations for which it is authorized in terms of Article 40 of this Law;
V. If, despite the observations of the Commission, the union carries out operations different from those for which it is authorized or does not maintain the proportions of assets or liabilities established therein; or if, in the judgment of the Commission, it does not adequately comply with the functions for which it was authorized due to the lack of diversification of its operations or its social object, in accordance with what is provided by this Law;
VI. When due to causes attributable to the union, the same day on which acts or contracts that signify a variation in the assets or liabilities of the union, or imply a direct or contingent obligation, are not registered in the accounting;
VII. If the union acts without authorization from the Commission, in cases where the Law so requires;
VIII. If it omits to comply with the requirements of financial authorities in the exercise of their powers;
IX. When imprecise or incomplete information is provided to financial authorities on two or more occasions;
X. When false information is provided to financial authorities;
XI. If, due to a cause attributable to the union, it fails to comply with obligations derived from contracted operations;
XII. If it is dissolved, enters a state of liquidation or commercial bankruptcy;
XIII. If the union repeats the carrying out of prohibited operations provided for in Article 103 of this Law and sanctioned in accordance with Article 105 of the same;
It will be considered that the union repeats the infractions indicated in the previous paragraph, when having committed an infraction that has been sanctioned, it commits another of the same type or nature, within the two years immediately following the date on which the corresponding resolution became final.
XIV. If the net capital of the union is less than the minimum capital required based on the level of operations authorized to it, and
XV. In any other established by the Law.
(1) To proceed with the revocation of a union in the cases referred to in fractions III, regarding its last case, V, VIII, and XI of this article, it will be required that the union updates the same case on two or more occasions in a period of three years or less.
Article 98.- Unions may request the Commission to, prior to the agreement of its Board of Directors, declare the revocation of their authorization to operate with such character, provided that the following is met:
I. The shareholders' assembly of the union has agreed to its dissolution and liquidation and approved the financial statements in which obligations owed by the union derived from the operations for which it is authorized are no longer registered.
II. The union has presented to the Commission the mechanisms and procedures to carry out the delivery or transfer of assets referred to in fractions XVI, XVII of Article 40, or, in its case, those carried out through the special department, as well as the estimated dates for their application.
III. The union has presented to the Commission the financial statements, approved by the general shareholders' assembly, accompanied by the report of an external auditor, which includes the auditor's opinions on specific components, accounts, or items in the financial statements, where the state of the records referred to in the previous fraction I is confirmed.
(2) Article 98 Bis.- Unions that request the authorization of the Commission to cease operating as a union, prior to agreement in an extraordinary general assembly, will not be obliged to dissolve and liquidate, provided that they meet the following requirements:
(2) I. Not having liabilities derived from loans from their members, or mandates and commissions to carry out cash services agreed upon with them; (2) II. Not maintaining overdue debts with financial entities, societies whose predominant activity is the granting of credit, decentralized bodies of the federal, state, municipal, and Mexico City governments, financial entities from abroad, or funds contributed to trusts constituted by the federal, state, Mexico City, or municipal governments, which they must demonstrate with written records from these creditors; (2) III. Having covered the inspection fees and fines imposed by the Commission and whose application has become final; (2) IV. Agreeing in an extraordinary general assembly to reform their social statutes to eliminate any express or inferable reference that they are unions and that they are authorized by the Commission to be constituted and function with such character. (2) Once the authorization to transform is obtained, the union must present to the Commission within one hundred eighty days following, the public instrument in which the statutory reform referred to in fraction IV of this article is recorded, with the data of the respective registration in the Public Commerce Registry. (2) The authorization to operate as a union will become void by operation of law, from the registration in the Public Commerce Registry referred to in the previous paragraph. (2) Once the authorization to operate granted to the union is revoked, it may not continue carrying out any of the operations reserved exclusively for unions provided for in Article 40 of this Law.
(4) Article 99.- The Commission will grant the right to a hearing referred to in Article 97 to the interested society so that, within the period of ten business days, counted from the business day following that on which the corresponding notification takes effect, it manifests in writing what is convenient for its interest and offers evidence. The Commission, at the request of a party, may extend the period referred to in this fraction by one occasion only, up to the same period, attending to the particular circumstances of the case. Notifications will take effect on the business day following that on which they are practiced. Once the period referred to in the previous paragraph, and in its case, its extension, has concluded, the Commission will have a period of up to sixty business days for the hearing of evidence. After the period for the hearing of evidence has elapsed, the Commission will notify the Union in question of the opening of the period of five business days to formulate allegations. The respective Commission may carry out such notification by posting or by any other means it determines. On the business day following the expiration of the period to formulate allegations, the instruction will be considered closed, and the Commission will have a period not greater than one hundred eighty business days to issue and notify the resolution that ends the procedure referred to in Article 97. The declaration of revocation will be published in the Official Journal of the Federation and must be registered in the Public Commerce Registry corresponding to the social domicile of the Union in question, for which the Registry will only require prior notification from the Commission; it will also put the society in a state of dissolution and liquidation, without the need for the agreement of the shareholders' assembly, the latter being excepted for unions that transform under the auspices of Article 98 Bis of this Law. The revocation will incapacitate the society to carry out the operations referred to in Article 40 of this Law, from the date on which it is notified.
Article 100.- The dissolution and liquidation of unions will be governed by what is provided in Chapters X and XI of the General Law of Commercial Societies and the commercial bankruptcy in accordance with Chapter III of Title Eight of the Commercial Bankruptcy Law, with the following exceptions:
I. The position of liquidator may fall to credit institutions, the Service for the Administration and Alienation of Goods, or to natural or legal persons who have experience in the liquidation of societies.
When it concerns natural persons, the appointment must fall on a person who meets the following requirements:
a) Be a resident in national territory in terms of what is provided by the Federal Tax Code. b) Be registered in the registry kept by the Federal Institute of Specialists in Commercial Bankruptcies. c) Present a Special Credit Report, in accordance with the Law to Regulate Credit Information Societies, provided by credit information societies containing their antecedents of at least five years prior to the date on which the position is intended to be started. d) Not have pending litigation against the union in question. e) Not have been sentenced for property crimes, nor disqualified to exercise commerce or to hold an employment, position, or commission in public service, or in the Mexican financial system. f) Not be declared bankrupt nor in commercial bankruptcy. g) Not have held the position of external auditor of the union in question during the twelve months immediately prior to the date of appointment. Regarding legal persons, the natural persons designated to perform activities linked to this function must meet the requirements referred to in this fraction.
II. The Commission will promote before the judicial authority to designate the liquidator, if within the period of sixty business days of the publication of the revocation, it has not been designated by the union itself.
III. The Commission may request the declaration of commercial bankruptcy.
Article 101.- In the case of liquidation or commercial bankruptcy procedures of unions in which the Service for the Administration and Alienation of Goods serves as liquidator or trustee, the Federal Government may assign resources to said decentralized body of the Federal Public Administration, with the exclusive purpose of carrying out expenses associated with publications and other procedures related to such procedures, when it is observed that these cannot be borne by the assets of the union in question due to lack of liquidity, or insolvency, in which case, it will constitute itself as a creditor of the latter.
Article 102.- When the Commission or the liquidator finds that it is impossible to carry out the liquidation of the society, it will make it known to the competent judge so that they order the cancellation of its registration in the Public Commerce Registry, which will take effect after one hundred eighty natural days have elapsed from the judicial order.
Interested parties may oppose this cancellation within a period of sixty days, counted from the registration of the cancellation in the Public Commerce Registry before the same judicial authority.
SIXTH TITLE
On Prohibitions, Infractions, Crimes, and Notifications
CHAPTER I
On Prohibitions
Article 103.- Credit unions are prohibited from:
I. Carrying out discount, loan, or credit operations of any kind with persons who are not members of the credit union, except with the persons and trusts expressly authorized in Article 40, fractions I and II of this Law, as well as carrying out loan operations or concluding mandates and commissions to carry out cash services, in all cases, with members who do not have a contribution of at least the equivalent in national currency to 2,500 investment units, to the paid-in capital without right of withdrawal considering their corresponding reserves and premiums, at the time of the celebration of the first operation.
The share certificates representing the social capital acquired with the contribution referred to in the preceding paragraph must be retained for the carrying out of subsequent operations.
II. Grant guarantees, sureties, or endorsements, unless they are in favor of their members or the guarantees referred to in fraction XI of Article 40 of this Law;
III. Guarantee securities, with the exception of those subscribed in terms of what is provided in Article 40, fraction III, or those issued by their members, in accordance with what is indicated by Article 40, fraction IV of this Law;
IV. Trade on their own account or on behalf of others regarding merchandise of any kind, except what is provided in fractions XXIII, XXIV, and XXV of Article 40 of this Law;
V. Participate in companies that are not limited liability and exploit by their own account: mines, metallurgical plants, rural estates, and commercial or industrial establishments, except for the case referred to in Article 40, fraction XXVI of this Law, or when they receive them in payment of credits or as guarantee of those already arranged, in which cases they may continue the exploitation of them, with prior authorization from the Commission, for a period not exceeding two years from the date of their acquisition.
In exceptional cases, the Commission may extend this term once, for the period that in its judgment is strictly necessary for the transfer of the assets in question, provided that the extension does not exceed two years;
VI. Acquire real rights that are not guarantees, movable and immovable property other than those permitted for credit unions or in excess of the proportions indicated in Article 49 of this Law, except those they receive in payment of credits or by adjudication.
When the assets and rights referred to in the preceding paragraph have been acquired in payment of debts or by adjudication at auction within lawsuits related to credits in favor of the credit union, they must be liquidated, regarding movable property, within a period of two years from their acquisition, and in the case of immovable property, within a period of four years;
VII. Operate directly or indirectly on their own shares, as well as grant credit for the acquisition of the same; except what is provided in the last paragraph of Article 18 of this Law;
VIII. Accept or pay bills of exchange or any other document, in overdraft, except in the cases of credit opening arranged in terms of the law;
IX. Carry out report operations, except those of short term on government securities;
X. Conclude operations under which their commissioners and external auditors may result as direct debtors of the society, unless, in their case, these operations correspond to labor loans or are approved by a majority of four-fifths of the votes of the board of directors. This rule will apply to the ascendants, descendants, or spouses of the persons indicated;
XI. Carry out operations with natural persons who do not have business activity, in terms of Article 21 of this Law;
XII. Carry out future operations with gold, silver, and foreign exchange, except what is provided in Article 40, fraction VI.
Foreign exchange operations related to financing or contracts concluded in foreign currency are excepted, or when it concerns operations abroad linked to their corporate purpose, which will be adjusted at all times to the general provisions, if any, issued by the Commission;
XIII. Allocate the monetary resources they receive for the fulfillment of mandates or commissions to ends other than those permitted by the Law;
XIV. Dispose of assets acquired by adjudication or dation in payment, to the same member from whom they were acquired or to companies linked with him or integrated with him in the same group;
XV. Grant sureties;
XVI. Grant mortgage credits for housing;
XVII. Grant credits for consumption;
XVIII. In the carrying out of the operations referred to in fraction XVI of Article 40 of this Law:
a) Act as fiduciaries in any other trusts other than guarantee trusts;
b) Use the cash, assets, rights, or values of the trusts to carry out operations under which their fiduciary delegates, administrators, members of their board of directors, owners or substitutes, whether or not in office; their executives or employees; their commissioners, owners or substitutes, whether or not in office; their external auditors; the members of the technical committee of the respective trust; the ascendants or descendants in the first degree or spouses of the persons cited; the companies in whose assemblies these persons have a majority or the same credit unions, result or may result as debtors or beneficiaries;
c) Conclude operations on their own account;
d) Act in trusts through which limitations or prohibitions contained in this or other laws, and general provisions emanating from them, are evaded;
e) Respond to the settlors or beneficiaries of the trust for the non-compliance of debtors regarding the assets, rights, or values of the trust, except if it is due to their fault as provided in the final part of Article 391 of the General Law of Securities and Credit Operations.
f) If at the end of the trust, the assets, rights, or values have not been paid by the debtors, the fiduciary must transfer them, along with the cash, assets, and other rights or values constituting the fiduciary estate, to the settlor or beneficiary, as the case may be, abstaining from covering their value.
In trust contracts, what is provided in this subsection must be inserted in a prominent manner, along with a declaration by the fiduciary stating that it unequivocally informed the content to the persons from whom it received the cash, assets, rights, or values for their fiduciary allocation;
g) Act as fiduciaries in trusts through which resources from the public are captured, directly or indirectly, by any act causing direct or contingent liability;
h) Act as fiduciaries in the trusts referred to in the second paragraph of Article 88 of the Investment Companies Law, and
i) Administer rural estates, unless they have received administration to guarantee the beneficiary the fulfillment of an obligation and their preference in payment with the value of the same estate or its products.
Any agreement contrary to what is provided in the preceding fractions will be null.
XIX. Acquire credit rights from companies in which their members participate, except with respect to financial factoring operations.
XX. Invest in the capital of financial entities.
CHAPTER II
On Administrative Infractions
Article 104.- Infractions of this Law or of the provisions issued based on it by the Commission will be sanctioned with an administrative fine imposed by said Commission, at a rate of days of the general minimum wage in force for the Federal District, as follows:
I. Fine of 200 to 2,000 days of wage:
a) To credit unions that do not provide within the established deadlines the information or documentation referred to in this Law or the provisions emanating from it, as well as for omitting to provide what is requested by the Commission.
b) To credit unions that do not comply with what is stated in Article 67 of this Law or the provisions referred to in said provision.
c) To credit unions that do not comply with what is provided in Article 90 of this Law as well as the provisions emanating from it.
d) To shareholders of credit unions that, in contravention of what is prescribed in Article 19 of this Law, omit to pay in cash the shares of the credit unions they subscribe.
e) To credit unions that omit to submit to the approval of the Commission, their constitutive deed or any modification to it. To persons who contravene what is provided in Articles 21 and 23, in contravention of what is established in Article 22 of this same legal order, as well as the general provisions referred to in said Article 21.
f) To credit unions that fail to comply with any of the provisions referred to in Article 46 of the same.
g) To independent external auditors and other professionals or experts who render or provide opinions or reports to credit unions that commit infractions of this Law or the provisions emanating from it for such effects.
II. Fine of 1,000 to 5,000 days of wage:
a) To the councilor of the credit union that, in contravention of what is provided in Article 29 of this Law, omits to excuse themselves from participating in the deliberation or voting on any matter involving a conflict of interest.
b) To credit unions that do not comply with the obligations provided in Article 64 of this Law.
c) To credit unions that do not comply with what is stated in Articles 65 and 74 of this Law or the provisions referred to in said provisions.
d) To legal entities and establishments other than those authorized that express ideas in any language under their name, from which it can be inferred that they are credit unions, or that use the word union under their name, except those excepted by the second paragraph of Article 4 of this Law.
III. Fine of 3,000 to 15,000 days of wage:
a) To credit unions that do not obtain authorization or do not comply with what is stated in Article 63 of this Law.
b) To credit unions that oppose or hinder the exercise of the powers that this Law and other applicable provisions grant to the Commission. Obstruction will not be understood as exercising the defense resources provided by the law, and in any case, prior to the sanction, the infractor must be heard.
IV. Fine of 5,000 to 20,000 days of wage:
a) To credit unions that provide news or information about operations concluded with their members in contravention of what is provided in Article 44 of this Law.
b) To credit unions that do not comply with the preventive and corrective actions ordered by the Commission, in the exercise of their powers in matters of inspection and supervision.
c) To credit unions that do not comply with what is prescribed in Article 48 of this Law as well as the provisions emanating from it.
d) To credit unions that do not comply with what is prescribed in Article 49 of this Law as well as provisions emanating from it.
e) To credit unions that do not comply with the guidelines and requirements provided in Article 62 of this Law.
f) To credit unions that do not comply with what is stated in the second paragraph of Article 46 of this Law or the provisions referred to in said provision.
V. Fine of 20,000 to 100,000 days of wage:
a) To credit unions that provide, in bad faith, false, imprecise, or incomplete information to the Commission, which has the consequence that their true financial, administrative, economic, or legal situation is not reflected, provided that it is proven that the general director or some member of the board of directors of the corresponding credit union had knowledge of such act.
The Commission may abstain from sanctioning credit unions, provided that the cause of such abstention is justified according to the guidelines issued for such effects by the Board of Directors of the Commission itself, and refer to facts, acts, or omissions that do not involve gravity, there is no recidivism, there are no elements to demonstrate that the interests of third parties or the financial system are affected, and they do not constitute a crime.
Article 105.- Infractions consisting of carrying out prohibited or unauthorized operations, in accordance with this Law and the provisions emanating from it, will be sanctioned with a fine imposed by the Commission on credit unions, according to the following:
I. Fine equivalent to 1% up to 4% of the amount of the operation in question, or, in case the amount of the operation cannot be determined, from 5,000 to 10,000 days of wage, to credit unions that contravene what is provided in Article 103, fractions IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XII, XVIII subsection i), and Article 23, as well as the general provisions emanating from such provisions, as applicable.
II. Fine of 5% up to 15% of the amount of the operation in question, or, in case the amount of the operation cannot be determined, from 10,000 to 30,000 days of wage, to credit unions that contravene what is provided in Article 103, fractions I, II, III, VII, XI, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, subsections a), b), c), d), e), f), and g), XIX, and XX.
Article 106.- The infraction of any other provision of this Law or of the provisions derived from it, other than those expressly indicated in another article of this Law and that does not have a specially indicated sanction in this legal order, will be sanctioned with a fine of 1,000 to 5,000 days of wage, or 0.1% up to 1% of its paid-in capital and capital reserves, depending on the nature of the infraction.
In case any of the infractions contained in Articles 104, 105, or 106 of this Law generate a patrimonial damage or a benefit, the corresponding sanction may be imposed by adding up to one and a half times the equivalent of said damage or the benefit obtained by the infractor, whichever is greater. Benefit is understood as the gain obtained or the loss avoided for oneself or for a third party.
Article 107.- When the Commission presumes that a natural or legal person is carrying out operations reserved for credit unions, without the corresponding authorization, it may appoint an inspector and the necessary assistants to review the accounting and other documentation of the negotiation, company, or establishment of the natural or legal person, in order to verify if they are indeed concluding the operations mentioned in violation of what is provided in this Law, in which case the Commission may order the immediate suspension of operations or proceed to the closure of the negotiation, company, or establishment of the natural or legal person in question.
The inspection, suspension of operations, and closure procedures referred to in the preceding paragraph are of public interest. What is provided in this Chapter will apply insofar as appropriate.
Article 108.- In the administrative procedures provided for in this Law, relevant evidence will be admitted with the acts subject to the procedure, provided that they are offered within the deadline for the exhaustion of the guarantee of hearing. In the case of confessional evidence from authorities, it must be exhausted in writing.
Once the right to hearing referred to in Article 110 of this Law has been exhausted, or the written document through which the review resource provided for in Article 117 is filed has been presented, only subsequent evidence will be admitted, provided that the corresponding resolution has not been issued.
Upon completion of the deadline referred to in fraction I of Article 110, and in its case, its extension, the Commission will have a period of up to sixty working days to exhaust the evidence.
After the deadline for exhausting evidence has passed, the Commission will notify the presumed infractor of the opening of the five working day period to formulate arguments. The respective Commission may carry out such notification by posting or by any other means it determines.
On the next working day following the expiration of the deadline to formulate arguments, the instruction will be considered closed, and the Commission will have a period not greater than one hundred eighty working days to issue and notify the resolution that ends the administrative sanction procedures referred to in this Law.
The Commission may obtain the means of evidence it considers necessary, as well as agree on the admissibility of the evidence offered. Evidence submitted by interested parties may only be rejected when it was not offered in accordance with the law, has no relation to the substance of the matter, is inappropriate, unnecessary, or contrary to morality or the law. The valuation of the evidence will be made in accordance with what is established by the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures.
Article 109.- The Commission's power to impose the administrative sanctions provided for in this Law, as well as in the provisions emanating from it, will expire within a period of five years, counted from the next working day after the conduct was performed or the infraction scenario was met.
The expiration period indicated in the preceding paragraph will be interrupted upon the initiation of the relevant procedures. It will be understood that the procedure in question has started from the notification to the presumed infractor of the letter granting the right to hearing referred to in fraction I of Article 110 of this Law.
To calculate the amount of fines in those scenarios contemplated by this Law at a rate of days of wage, the general daily minimum wage in force in the Federal District on the day the sanctioned conduct was performed or the scenario giving rise to the corresponding sanction was met will be taken as the basis.
The fines imposed by said Commission must be paid within the fifteen working days following the day of their notification. When fines are not paid within the period indicated in this paragraph, their amount will be updated from the month in which payment should have been made until it is made, under the same terms established by the Federal Tax Code for this type of scenario.
In case the infractor pays the fines imposed by the aforementioned Commission within the fifteen days referred to in the preceding paragraph, a reduction of twenty percent of its amount will be applied, provided that no defense mechanism has been filed against said fine.
Article 110.- The Commission, in imposing the administrative sanctions referred to in this Law, will be subject to the following:
I. A hearing will be granted to the presumed infractor, who, within a period of ten working days counted from the next working day after the corresponding notification takes effect, must manifest in writing what is in their interest and offer evidence. The Commission, at the request of the party, may extend once the period referred to in this fraction, for the same length of time, for which it will consider the particular circumstances of the case. Notifications will take effect on the next working day after they are carried out;
II. In case the presumed infractor does not use the right to hearing referred to in the preceding fraction within the granted period, or having exercised it, fails to dispel the imputations made against them, the imputed infractions will be considered proven, and the corresponding administrative sanction will be imposed, and
III. The following will be taken into account, if applicable:
a) The impact on third parties or the financial system that the infraction has produced or may produce;
b) Recidivism, the causes that originated it, and, if applicable, the corrective actions applied by the presumed infractor. A person will be considered a recidivist who has committed an infraction that has been sanctioned, and in addition to that, commits the same infraction, within the two immediate years following the date on which the corresponding resolution became final;
Recidivism may be sanctioned with a fine whose amount is equivalent to up to double the originally provided amount.
c) The amount of the operation;
d) The economic condition of the infractor so that the sanction is not excessive, and
e) The nature of the infraction committed.
IV. Regarding conduct classified by this Law as serious, in addition to what is established in the preceding fraction III, any of the following aspects may be taken into account:
a) The amount of patrimonial damage or prejudice caused;
b) The profit obtained;
(2) c) Lack of honorability on the part of the offender, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the general provisions emanating from it;
(2) d) Inexcusable negligence or intent with which the act was carried out;
(2) e) That the infringing conduct referred to in the administrative process may constitute a crime, or
(2) f) The other circumstances that the Commission deems applicable for such purposes.
Article 111.- The sanctions shall be imposed by the Board of Directors of the Commission, which may delegate this authority, based on the nature of the offense or the amount of the fine, to the president or to other public servants of that Commission.
(1) Article 112.- The Commission may, taking into account the circumstances of each case, in addition to imposing the corresponding sanction, reprimand the offender, or merely reprimand them, considering their personal background, the gravity of the conduct, that there are no elements to demonstrate that the interests of third parties or the financial system itself are affected, that if damage has been caused it has been repaired, as well as the existence of mitigating factors.
(1) Serious infractions shall be considered the violation of what is provided in articles 48, when capital requirements are not met and thus the regime provided in article 80 of this Law is triggered; 51, when damage, detriment, or loss is caused to the credit union by the credit operation subject to the non-compliance with said provision; 62; 65 when it concerns omissions or alterations of accounting records; 74 when damage, detriment, or loss is caused to the union; 78, first paragraph; 103; 129, fractions I regarding the failure to present to the National Banking and Securities Commission the document on customer identification and knowledge policies, and II, first paragraph, item a, for unreported operations, third paragraph of fraction II, items v. and vi.; 44; 79 and 80 of this Law.
Article 113.- The fines referred to in this Chapter may be imposed on the unions, as well as on members of the board of directors, general managers, executives, officials, employees, or persons holding a position, mandate, commission, or any other legal title that the aforementioned unions grant to third parties to carry out their operations, who have directly incurred or ordered the conduct that is the subject of the infraction. Without prejudice to the foregoing, the Commission, taking into account the circumstances of each case, may proceed in accordance with what is provided in article 93 of this law.
(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Secretariat to enforce the fines imposed by the Commission on the unions, once they have become final.
(1) Article 114.- The Commission shall consider as a mitigating factor in the imposition of administrative sanctions, when the alleged offender proves to the Commission that they have compensated for the damage caused, as well as the fact that they provide information that contributes to the exercise of the Commission's powers in matters of inspection and supervision, in order to clarify responsibilities.
Article 115.- The procedures for the imposition of administrative sanctions referred to in this law shall begin independently of the opinion of crime, if any, issued by the Commission in terms of article 120 of this legal framework.
(1) Article 116.- To safeguard the exercise of the right of access to government public information, the Commission, in accordance with the guidelines approved by its Board of Directors, must make known to the general public, through its Internet portal, the sanctions imposed for infractions of this Law or the provisions emanating from it, for which it must indicate:
(1) I. The name, trade name, or corporate name of the offender;
(1) II. The infringed provision, the type of sanction imposed, amount or term, as applicable, and the infringing conduct, and
(1) III. The status of the resolution, indicating whether it is final or if it is subject to challenge, and in the latter case, if any defense mechanism has been filed and its type, when such circumstance is known because it has been duly notified by the competent authority.
(1) In any case, if the imposed sanction is voided by any competent authority, such circumstance must also be published.
(1) The information mentioned above shall not be considered reserved or confidential.
Article 117.- Those affected by the acts of the Commission that conclude authorization procedures or the imposition of administrative sanctions may defend their interests by filing an appeal for review, the filing of which is optional.
The appeal for review must be filed in writing within fifteen business days following the date on which the notification of the respective act takes effect, and must be presented before the Board of Directors of the Commission, when the act has been issued by said Board or by the president of that same Commission, or before the latter when it concerns acts carried out by other public servants.
The document by which the appeal for review is filed must contain:
I. The name, trade name, or corporate name of the appellant;
II. Address for hearing and receiving all kinds of citations and notifications;
III. The documents accrediting the personality of the promoter;
IV. The act being appealed and the date of its notification;
V. The grievances caused by the act mentioned in the preceding fraction IV, and
VI. The evidence offered, which must have an immediate and direct relationship with the challenged act.
When the appellant fails to meet any of the requirements referred to in fractions I to VI of this article, the Commission shall warn them, in writing and only once, to remedy the omission warned within the three business days following the date on which the notification of said warning takes effect, and in case the omission is not remedied within the period indicated in this paragraph, said Commission shall consider it not filed. If evidence is omitted, it shall be considered not offered.
Article 118.- The filing of the appeal for review shall suspend the effects of the challenged act when it concerns fines.
Article 119.- The body responsible for resolving the appeal for review may:
I. Dismiss it as inadmissible;
II. Suspend it in the following cases:
a) By express withdrawal of the appellant.
b) By the subsequent occurrence of a cause of inadmissibility.
c) By the cessation of the effects of the challenged act.
d) The others provided by law.
III. Confirm the challenged act;
IV. Revoke the challenged act in whole or in part, and
V. Modify or order the reinstatement of the challenged act or dictate or order the issuance of a new act that replaces it.
Administrative acts not challenged by the appellant cannot be revoked or modified.
The person responsible for resolving the appeal for review must attend to it without the intervention of the Commission public servant who issued the administrative sanction that gave rise to the corresponding appeal.
The resolution of the appeals for review must be issued within a period not exceeding ninety business days following the date on which the appeal was filed, when it must be resolved by the president of the Commission, nor exceeding one hundred twenty business days when it concerns appeals that are the competence of the Board of Directors.
The Commission must provide mechanisms to avoid conflicts of interest between the area that issues the resolution subject to the appeal and that which resolves it.
(2) Chapter II Bis
(2) On Self-Correction Programs
(2) Article 119 Bis.- Credit unions, through their general manager and, with the opinion of the audit committee, may submit to the Commission's authorization a self-correction program when the union in question, in the course of its activities, or the audit committee as a result of the functions conferred upon it, detects irregularities or non-compliance with what is provided in this Law and other applicable provisions.
(2) The following may not be the subject of a self-correction program under the terms of this article:
(2) I. Irregularities or non-compliance detected by the Commission in the exercise of its inspection and supervision powers, before the presentation by the union of the respective self-correction program.
(2) It shall be understood that the irregularity was previously detected by the Commission, in the case of supervision powers, when the union has been notified of the irregularity; in the case of inspection powers, when it has been detected during the course of the inspection visit, or corrected after a requirement has been made during the course of the visit;
(2) II. When the violation of the norm in question corresponds to one of the crimes contemplated in this Law, or
(2) III. When it concerns one of the infractions considered serious in terms of this Law.
(2) Article 119 Bis 1.- The self-correction programs referred to in article 119 Bis of this Law shall be subject to the general provisions issued by the Commission. Additionally, they must be signed by the president of the union's audit committee and presented to the board of directors in the session immediately following the authorization request submitted to the Commission. It must also contain the irregularities or non-compliance committed, indicating the provisions that have been considered violated; the circumstances that originated the irregularity or non-compliance, as well as indicating the actions adopted or intended to be adopted by the union to correct the irregularity or non-compliance that motivated the program.
(2) In case the union requires a period to remedy the irregularity or non-compliance committed, the self-correction program must include a detailed schedule of activities to be carried out for that purpose.
(2) If the Commission does not order the union in question to modify or correct the self-correction program within twenty business days following its presentation, the program shall be considered authorized in all its terms.
(2) When the Commission orders the union to make modifications or corrections with the purpose that the program adheres to what is established in this article and other applicable provisions, the corresponding union shall have a period of five business days counted from the respective notification to remedy such deficiencies. This period may be extended only once for up to five additional business days, with the Commission's authorization.
(2) If the deficiencies referred to in the preceding paragraph are not remedied, the self-correction program shall be considered not presented, and consequently, the irregularities or non-compliance committed cannot be the subject of another self-correction program.
(2) Article 119 Bis 2.- During the validity of the self-correction programs authorized by the Commission in terms of articles 119 Bis and 119 Bis 1 above, it shall refrain from imposing on the unions the sanctions provided in this Law for the irregularities or non-compliance whose correction these programs contemplate. Likewise, during such period, the statute of limitations for imposing sanctions shall be interrupted, resuming until it is determined that the irregularities or non-compliance subject to the self-correction program were not remedied.
(2) The audit committee shall be obligated to follow up on the implementation of the authorized self-correction program and report its progress to the board of directors and the general manager, as well as to the Commission, in the manner and terms established by the Commission in the general provisions referred to in article 119 Bis 1 of this Law. This is independent of the Commission's power to supervise, at any time, the degree of progress and compliance with the self-correction program.
(2) If, as a result of the audit committee's reports or the Commission's inspection and supervision activities, it determines that the irregularities or non-compliance subject to the self-correction program were not remedied within the planned period, it shall impose the corresponding sanction, increasing the amount of this by up to 40 percent; said amount being adjustable in terms of applicable fiscal provisions.
(2) Article 119 Bis 3.- Natural persons and other legal entities subject to the Commission's supervision may submit to the Commission's authorization a self-correction program when, in the course of their activities, they detect irregularities or non-compliance with what is provided in this Law and other applicable provisions, subject to what is provided by articles 119 Bis to 119 Bis 2 of this Law, as applicable.
CHAPTER III
On Crimes
Article 120.- In the cases provided for in articles 121 to 128 of this Law, proceedings shall be initiated independently at the request of the Secretariat, prior to the Commission's opinion; or at the request of the union in question, or of anyone with a legal interest.
To determine the amount of the operation, loss, or patrimonial detriment provided for in this chapter, the general daily minimum wage in force in the Federal District at the time the crime in question is committed shall be considered as days of salary.
The provisions in the cited articles do not exclude the imposition of sanctions according to other laws applicable for the commission of another or other crimes.
Article 121.- Councilors, general managers, and other executives or employees, auditors, or external auditors of the unions, or those who intervene directly in the operation, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to ten years and a fine of five hundred to fifty thousand days of salary, for:
I. Omitting or ordering the omission of registering, in accordance with article 65 of this Law, the operations carried out by the union in question, or altering or ordering the alteration of records to conceal the true nature of the operations performed, affecting the composition of assets, liabilities, contingent accounts, or results;
II. Presenting to the Commission false or altered data, reports, or documents regarding the solvency of the debtor or the value of the guarantees protecting the credits;
III. Destroying or ordering the total or partial destruction of accounting systems or records, or supporting documentation that gives rise to the respective accounting entries, prior to the expiration of the legal conservation periods;
IV. Destroying or ordering the total or partial destruction of information, documents, or files, including electronic ones, with the purpose of preventing or obstructing the Commission's supervision and inspection acts;
V. Providing or allowing false data to be included in documents, reports, opinions, studies, or credit ratings that must be submitted to the Commission in compliance with what is provided in this Law;
VI. Knowing the falsity regarding the amount of assets or liabilities, granting the loan or credit;
VII. Knowing the flaws indicated in fraction III of article 122 of this Law, granting the loan or credit, if the amount of the alteration had been decisive for granting it.
Article 122.- A penalty of imprisonment of three months to two years and a fine of thirty to two thousand days of salary shall be imposed when the amount of the operation, loss, or patrimonial detriment, as applicable, does not exceed the equivalent of two thousand days of salary.
When the amount of the operation, loss, or patrimonial detriment, as applicable, exceeds two thousand but does not exceed fifty thousand days of salary, a penalty of imprisonment of two to five years and a fine of two thousand to fifty thousand days of salary shall be imposed.
When the amount of the operation, loss, or patrimonial detriment, as applicable, exceeds fifty thousand but does not exceed three hundred fifty thousand days of salary, a penalty of imprisonment of five to eight years and a fine of fifty thousand to two hundred fifty thousand days of salary shall be imposed.
When the amount of the operation, loss, or patrimonial detriment, as applicable, exceeds three hundred fifty thousand days of salary, a penalty of imprisonment of eight to fifteen years and a fine of two hundred fifty thousand to three hundred fifty thousand days of salary shall be imposed.
Considering the amount of the operation, loss, or patrimonial detriment, the sanctions provided for in this article shall be imposed on:
I. Persons who, with the purpose of obtaining a loan or credit, or to enter into a financial leasing or financial factoring contract, provide a union with false data regarding the amount of assets or liabilities of an entity or natural or legal person, if as a consequence thereof there is loss or patrimonial detriment to the union;
Officials, employees, or third-party agents who participate in the application and/or processing for the granting of credit, and who know of the falsity of the data regarding the amounts of the assets or liabilities of the borrowers, or who directly or indirectly alter or substitute the mentioned information, to conceal the real data regarding said assets or liabilities, shall be sanctioned up to one half more of the penalties provided for in this article;
II. Councilors, executives, employees, or those who intervene directly in the operation who, falsify, alter, simulate, or knowingly carry out operations that result in loss or detriment to the union's patrimony.
Councilors, executives, or employees of the unions, or those who intervene directly in the operations, who:
a. Grant loans, credits, goods in financial leasing, or acquire credit rights through financial factoring contracts, knowing that these societies have not integrated the capital registered in the respective assembly minutes;
b. Carry out operations inherent to the union's corporate object with natural or legal persons whose state of insolvency is known to them, if it is foreseeable upon carrying out the operation that they lack the economic capacity to pay or respond for the amount of the operations performed that result in loss or detriment to the patrimony of the unions in question;
c. Renew loans, credits, or financial leasing contracts, partially or fully due, to the natural or legal persons referred to in the previous subsection;
d. Renew credits partially or fully due to the natural or legal persons referred to in subsection b) above, if it is foreseeable upon carrying out the operation that they lack the economic capacity to pay or respond for the amount of the credited sums, producing loss or patrimonial detriment to the union, and
e. Knowingly allow a debtor to divert the amount of the credit, loan, or leased good for the benefit of third parties, notably reducing their capacity to pay or respond for the amount of their obligation, and as a consequence thereof, resulting in loss or patrimonial detriment to the union.
For the purposes of the first paragraph of this fraction, operations carried out as part of restructuring processes of payment operations carried out in terms of article 51 of this Law are not considered to cause loss or detriment to the union's patrimony.
III. Persons who, to obtain loans or credits or with the purpose of entering into financial leasing or financial factoring contracts, present appraisals that do not correspond to reality, such that the real value of the goods offered as collateral is lower than the amount of the credit or loan, goods in leasing, or credit rights, resulting in loss or patrimonial detriment to the union;
IV. Borrowers or financial lessees who divert a granted credit or a good given in financial leasing by some union for purposes other than those for which it was granted, if the source of resources used by the union comes from development funds, public trusts constituted by the Federal Government for economic development, or international organizations, and
V. Debtors who do not use the amount of the credit for the agreed purposes, and as a consequence thereof, resulting in loss or patrimonial detriment to the union.
Article 123.- Councilors, general managers, and other executives, officials, and employees of the unions, or those who intervene directly in the operation, who, independent of the positions or interests fixed by the respective society, personally or through an intermediary, have obtained from the credit subjects, financial lessees, factoring clients, or foreign exchange operation subjects, benefits from their participation in the processing or granting of credit, from the goods subject to leasing, the factoring contract, or foreign exchange operations, shall be sanctioned with a prison term of three months to three years and a fine of thirty to five hundred days of salary when the benefit is not valuable, or the amount of the benefit does not exceed five hundred days of salary, at the time the crime is committed; when the benefit exceeds said amount, they shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to ten years and a fine of five hundred to fifty thousand days of salary.
Article 124.- Councilors, general managers or other executives, auditors, employees, or shareholders who incite or order executives or employees of the union to commit the crimes referred to in articles 121 and 122 fraction II, shall be sanctioned up to one half more of the penalties provided for in the respective articles.
Article 125.- Natural persons, councilors, executives, or administrators of legal entities shall be sanctioned with prison terms of three to fifteen years and a fine of up to one hundred thousand days of salary, for
carry out operations reserved for credit unions, without having the authorizations provided for in the law.
Article 126.- Persons who, on their own or through another person or by means of trade names, by any means of advertising, hold themselves out to the public as a credit union, without having the authorization to constitute, function, organize or operate with such character, as the case may be, issued by the Commission, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to six years.
Article 127.- Public servants of the Commission shall be sanctioned with the penalty established for the corresponding crimes plus one half, depending on whether the crimes are those provided for in articles 121 to 123 and 126 of this Law, when:
I. They conceal from their superiors facts that may probably constitute a crime;
II. They allow the directors or employees of the union to alter or modify records with the purpose of concealing facts that may probably constitute a crime;
III. They obtain or seek to obtain a benefit in exchange for abstaining from informing their superiors of facts that may probably constitute a crime;
IV. They order or incite their subordinates to alter reports in order to conceal facts that may probably constitute a crime, or
V. They incite or order not to present the request referred to in article 120 of this Law to the person authorized to do so.
Article 128.- A member of the board of directors, general manager and any other director or employee of a union who, on their own or through an intermediary, gives or offers money or anything else to a public servant of the Commission, so that he performs or omits a specific act related to his functions, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.
The same sanction shall be imposed on the public servant of the Commission, who, on his own or through an intermediary, requests or obtains for himself or for another, money or anything else, to do or refrain from doing any act related to his functions.
Article 129.- Unions, in terms of the general provisions issued by the Ministry, after hearing the prior opinion of the Commission, shall be obliged to:
(1) I. Establish measures and procedures to prevent and detect acts, omissions or operations that could favor, provide help, aid or cooperation of any kind for the commission of the crime provided for in article 139 or 148 bis of the Federal Penal Code or that could be located in the circumstances of article 400 Bis of the same Code, and
II. Present to the Ministry, through the Commission, reports on:
a. The acts, operations and services they carry out with their members and third parties, relating to the preceding fraction, and b. Any act, operation or service, that could be located in the circumstance provided for in fraction I of this article or that, in its case, could contravene or violate the adequate application of the provisions indicated in the same, carried out or in which any member of the board of directors, administrators, general managers and other directors, officials, employees and attorneys intervene.
(1) The reports referred to in fraction II of this article, in accordance with the general provisions provided for in the same, shall be prepared and presented taking into consideration, at least, the modalities referred to in said provisions for that effect; the characteristics that the acts, operations and services referred to in this article must meet to be reported, taking into account their amounts, frequency and nature, the monetary and financial instruments with which they are carried out, and the commercial and financial practices observed in the markets where they are carried out; as well as the periodicity and the systems through which the information shall be transmitted. The reports shall refer at least to operations defined as relevant, internally concerning and unusual and cash operations carried out in foreign currency.
(1) Likewise, the Ministry in the general provisions referred to in this article, shall also establish the guidelines on the procedure and criteria that unions must observe regarding:
i. The adequate knowledge of their members and third parties with whom they carry out operations, for which they must consider the background, specific conditions, economic or professional activity and the markets in which they operate;
ii. The information and documentation that said unions must collect for the opening of accounts or celebration of contracts relating to the operations and services they provide and that fully accredits the identity of their members and third parties mentioned above;
(1) iii. The manner in which the same unions must safeguard and guarantee the security of the information and documentation relating to the identification of their members or former members and third parties mentioned, as well as that of those acts, operations and services reported in accordance with this article;
(1) iv. The terms to provide training within the unions on the subject matter of this article. The general provisions referred to in this article, will indicate the terms for their due compliance;
(2) v. The use of automated systems that contribute to the compliance of the measures and procedures established in the general provisions referred to in this article, and
(2) vi. The establishment of those internal structures that must function as compliance areas in the matter, within each credit union.
Unions must conserve, for at least ten years, the information and documentation referred to in fraction iii, without prejudice to what is established in this or other applicable regulations.
The Ministry shall be empowered to request and collect, through the Commission, information and documentation related to the acts, operations and services referred to in fraction II of this article. Unions shall be obliged to provide such information and documentation. The Ministry shall be empowered to obtain additional information from other sources for the same purpose and to provide information to competent authorities.
The compliance with the obligations indicated in this article shall not imply any breach of the legal obligation of confidentiality, nor shall it constitute a violation of the restrictions on disclosure of information established by contractual means.
The general provisions referred to in this article shall be observed by the unions, as well as by the members of the board of directors, administrators, general managers and other directors, employees and respective attorneys, for which both the entities and the persons mentioned shall be responsible for the strict compliance with the obligations established through said provisions.
(2) Unions must immediately suspend the carrying out of acts, operations or services with clients or users that the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit informs them through a list of blocked persons which shall have the character of confidentiality. The list of blocked persons shall have the purpose of preventing and detecting acts, omissions or operations that could be located in the circumstances provided for in the articles referred to in fraction I of this article.
(2) The obligation of suspension referred to in the preceding paragraph shall cease to produce effects when the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit removes the client or user in question from the list of blocked persons.
(2) The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit shall establish, in the general provisions referred to in this article, the parameters for the determination of the introduction or elimination of persons in the list of blocked persons.
(1) The violation of the provisions referred to in this article shall be sanctioned by the Commission in accordance with the procedure provided for in article 110 of this Law, with a fine equivalent to 10% to 100% of the amount of the act, operation or service carried out with a client or user who has been informed that he is on the list of blocked persons referred to in this article; with a fine equivalent to 10% to 100% of the amount of the unusual operation not reported or, in its case, of the series of operations related to each other of the same client or user, which should have been reported as unusual operations; regarding relevant operations, internally concerning operations and cash operations carried out in foreign currency, not reported, as well as the non-compliance with any of the items i., ii., iii. or v. of this article, a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 days of the general minimum wage in force in the Federal District and in the other cases of non-compliance with this provision and the provisions emanating from it, a fine of 2,000 up to 30,000 days of the general minimum wage in force in the Federal District shall be imposed.
Public servants of the Ministry and the Commission, the unions, their members of the board of directors, administrators, general managers and other directors, employees and attorneys, shall refrain from giving notice of the reports and other documentation and information referred to in this article, to persons or authorities other than those expressly empowered by the relative regulations to require, receive or conserve such documentation and information. The violation of these obligations shall be sanctioned in accordance with the corresponding laws.
Article 130.- The crimes provided for in this Law only admit intentional commission. The criminal action in the crimes provided for in this Law, prosecutable at the request of the Ministry, by the offended union, or by anyone who has a legal interest, shall prescribe in three years counted from the day on which said Ministry or the union or whoever has a legal interest has knowledge of the crime and the probable responsible person, and if they do not have that knowledge, in five years which shall be computed in accordance with the rules established in article 102 of the Federal Penal Code. Once the requirement of procedibility is met, the prescription shall continue to run according to the rules of the Federal Penal Code.
Article 131.- Anyone who, having been removed, suspended or disqualified, by final resolution of the Commission, in terms of what is provided for in article 93 of this Law, continues to perform the functions with respect to which he was removed or suspended or occupies a job, position or commission, within the Mexican financial system, despite being suspended or disqualified for that purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment of two to seven years.
Article 132.- The penalties provided for in this Law shall be reduced by one third when it is proven that the damage has been repaired or the harm caused has been compensated.
Chapter IV
Of Notifications
Article 133.- The notifications of requirements, ordinary and special inspection visits, precautionary measures, requests for information and documentation, summonses, citations, resolutions imposing administrative sanctions or of any act that puts an end to the suspension procedures, revocation of authorizations referred to in this Law, as well as the acts that deny the authorizations referred to in this Law and the administrative resolutions that fall on the review appeals and the requests for forgiveness filed in accordance with the applicable laws, may be carried out in the following ways:
I. Personally, in accordance with the following:
a) In the offices of the financial authorities, in accordance with what is provided for in article 136 of this Law.
b) At the domicile of the interested party or his representative, in terms of what is provided for in articles 137 and 140 of this Law.
c) In any place where the interested party or his representative is located, in the circumstances established in article 138 of this Law.
II. By letter delivered by messenger or by certified mail, both with receipt acknowledgment;
III. By edicts, in the circumstances indicated in article 141 of this Law, and
IV. By electronic means, in the circumstance provided for in article 142 of this Law.
Regarding the information and documentation that must be exhibited to the inspectors of the Commission under an inspection visit, what is provided for in the regulation issued by the Federal Executive, in matters of supervision, under what is established in article 5, first paragraph of the Law of the National Banking and Securities Commission, shall be observed.
For the purposes of this Chapter, financial authorities shall be understood to be the Ministry and the Commission.
Article 134.- The authorizations, revocations of authorizations requested by the interested party or his representative, the acts that come from procedures promoted at the request of the interested party and other acts different from those indicated in article 133 of this Law, may be notified by delivering the letter in which the corresponding act is stated, in the offices of the authority carrying out the notification, obtaining in copy of said letter the signature and name of the person who receives it.
Likewise, the financial authorities may carry out said notifications by ordinary mail, telegram, fax, email or messenger when the interested party or his representative requests it in writing indicating the necessary data to receive the notification, leaving a record in the respective file, of the date and time when it was carried out.
Likewise, the acts referred to in the first paragraph of this article may be notified by any of the forms of notification indicated in article 133 of this Law.
Article 135.- The notifications of investigation visits and of the declaration of intervention referred to in this Law shall be carried out in a single act and in accordance with what is provided for in the regulation referred to in the penultimate paragraph of article 133 of this Law.
Article 136.- Personal notifications may be carried out in the offices of the financial authorities only when the interested party or his representative goes to them and manifests his agreement to receive the notifications; for which whoever carries out the notification shall draw up a duplicate act that complies with the regulation applicable to this type of acts.
Article 137.- Personal notifications may also be carried out with the interested party or with his representative, at the last domicile that he had provided to the corresponding financial authority or at the last domicile that he had indicated before the same authority in the administrative procedure in question, for which an act shall be drawn up in the terms referred to in the penultimate paragraph of this article.
In the event that the interested party or his representative is not found at the mentioned domicile, whoever carries out the notification shall deliver a summons to the person who attends the diligence, in order for the interested party or his representative to wait for him at a fixed time on the next business day and in such summons he shall warn the cited person that if he does not appear at the time and day set, the notification will be carried out with whoever attends him or that in case of finding said domicile closed or if they refuse to receive the respective notification, it will be made by instructive in accordance with what is provided for in article 140 of this Law. Whoever carries out the notification shall draw up an act in the terms provided for in the penultimate paragraph of this article.
The aforementioned summons shall be drawn up in duplicate and addressed to the interested party or his representative, indicating the place and date of issuance, the fixed date and time at which he must wait for the notifier, who must enter his name, position and signature in said summons, the object of the appearance and the respective warning, as well as the name and signature of the person who receives it. In case that the latter does not wish to sign, such circumstance shall be noted in the summons, without affecting its validity.
On the day and hour set for the practice of the diligence subject of the summons, the person in charge of carrying out the diligence shall appear at the corresponding domicile, and finding the cited person present, he shall proceed to draw up an act in the terms referred to in the penultimate paragraph of this article.
In the event that the cited person does not appear, the notification shall be understood with any person who is found at the domicile where the diligence is carried out; for such purposes an act shall be drawn up in the terms of this article.
In all cases, whoever carries out the notification shall draw up a duplicate act in which he shall state, in addition to the circumstances mentioned above, his name, position and signature, that he ensured that he constituted and appeared at the searched domicile, that he notified the interested party, his representative or person who attended the diligence, after identification of such persons, the letter in which the administrative act to be notified is stated, he shall also state the designation of the witnesses, the place, time and date in which it is drawn up, identification data of the mentioned letter, the identification means exhibited, name of the interested party, legal representative or person who attends the diligence and of the designated witnesses. If the people involved refuse to sign or to receive the notification act, such circumstance shall be noted in the act, without this affecting its validity.
For the designation of the witnesses, whoever carries out the notification shall require the interested party, his representative or person who attends the diligence to designate them; in case of refusal or if the designated witnesses do not accept the designation, it shall be made by the notifier himself.
Article 138.- In the event that the person in charge of carrying out the notification searches for the interested party or his representative at the domicile referred to in the first paragraph of article 137 of this Law, and the person with whom the diligence is understood denies that it is the domicile of said interested party or his representative, whoever carries out the diligence shall draw up an act to record such circumstance. Said act must meet, in what is pertinent, the requirements provided for in the penultimate paragraph of article 137 of this legal instrument.
In the case provided for in this provision, whoever carries out the notification may carry out the personal notification in any place where the interested party or his representative is found. For the purposes of this notification, whoever carries it out shall draw up an act in which he states that the notified person is of his personal knowledge or has been identified by two witnesses, in addition to entering, in what is pertinent, what is provided for in the penultimate paragraph of the aforementioned article 137, or to record the diligence before a public notary.
Article 139.- The notifications carried out by letter delivered by messenger or by certified mail, with receipt acknowledgment, shall produce their effects on the next business day after that which appears as the reception date in said acknowledgment.
Article 140.- In the event that on the day and hour set in the summons that had been left in terms of article 137 of this Law, whoever carries out the notification finds the corresponding domicile closed or the interested party, his representative or whoever attends the diligence, refuses to receive the letter subject of the notification, he shall make effective the warning indicated in the aforementioned summons. For such purposes he shall carry out the notification, by instructive that he will fix in a visible place of the domicile, attaching the letter in which the act to be notified is stated, in the presence of two witnesses designated for that purpose.
The aforementioned instructive shall be drawn up in duplicate and addressed to the interested party or his representative. In said instructive, the circumstances by which it was necessary to carry out the notification by that means, place and date of issuance; the name, position and signature of the person who draws up the instructive; the name, identification data and signature of the witnesses; the mention that whoever carries out the notification ensured that he constituted and appeared at the searched domicile, and the identification data of the letter in which the administrative act to be notified is stated, shall be stated.
The instructive shall prove the existence of the acts, facts or omissions recorded in it.
Article 141.- Notifications by edicts shall be carried out in the event that the interested party has disappeared, has died, their domicile is unknown or there is impossibility of accessing it, and they do not have a known representative or domicile in national territory or are abroad without having left a representative.
For such purposes, a summary of the respective official document shall be published three consecutive times in a newspaper of national circulation, without prejudice to the financial authority that notifies disseminating the edict on the electronic page of the worldwide network known as the Internet corresponding to the notifying financial authority; indicating that the original official document is available at the address also indicated in said edict.
Article 142.- Notifications by electronic means, with receipt acknowledgment, may be carried out as long as the interested party or their representative has expressly accepted or requested them in writing to the financial authorities through the automated systems and security mechanisms established by them.
Article 143.- Notifications that are not carried out in accordance with this Chapter shall be understood as legally made and shall take effect on the next business day following that on which the interested party or their representative become aware of their content.
Article 144.- For the purposes of this Law, the domicile for hearing and receiving notifications related to acts relative to the performance of their duties as members of the board of directors, general managers, auditors, directors, officials, fiduciary delegates, executives occupying the hierarchy immediately below that of the general manager, and other persons who may obligate with their signature the societies regulated by this Law, shall be the place where the society to which they provide their services is located, unless such persons indicate in writing to the Commission a different domicile, which must be located within national territory.
In the cases indicated in the preceding paragraph, the notification may be carried out with any person who is at the aforementioned domicile.
For what is provided in this article, the last domicile provided before the Commission itself or in the administrative procedure in question shall be considered as the society's domicile.
Article 145.- The notifications referred to in this chapter shall take effect on the next business day following that on which:
I. They have been carried out personally;
II. The respective official document has been delivered in the cases provided for in Articles 133 and 142;
III. The last publication referred to in Article 141 has been carried out, and
IV. It has been carried out by ordinary mail, telegram, fax, electronic means or messenger.
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
(Decree issuing the Credit Unions Law and adding and reforming the General Law of Titles and Credit Operations, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on August 20, 2008)
First.- This Decree shall enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
Second.- Chapter III of Title Two of the General Law of Auxiliary Credit Organizations and Activities, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 14, 1985, is repealed, as well as any reference in said Law to credit unions.
Credit unions authorized to operate as such in accordance with the provisions that are repealed shall be deemed authorized to operate under the terms of this Decree.
Credit unions authorized to operate as such before the entry into force of this Decree may only admit new members who meet the characteristic established in the first paragraph of Article 21 of the First Article of this Decree. Likewise, they may not renew the operations they have agreed upon with members who do not prove the aforementioned characteristic.
Third.- Until the National Banking and Securities Commission issues the general provisions referred to in this Law, those issued prior to its effectiveness shall continue to apply in the corresponding matters, insofar as they do not oppose this Decree. When issuing the provisions referred to in this article, those that they replace or that remain repealed shall be expressly indicated.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, as of the date of entry into force of this Decree, the Agreement determining the minimum capitals that general depository warehouses, financial leasing companies, credit unions, factoring companies and exchange houses must have for the year 2008, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on March 31, 2008, is repealed in all respects relating to credit unions.
Fourth.- Credit unions shall have a period of two years counted from the entry into force of this Decree to adjust to the provisions referred to in Articles 61 and 62 of the Credit Unions Law.
Fifth.- The authorizations granted to credit unions and the other administrative acts carried out on the basis of the General Law of Auxiliary Credit Organizations and Activities, which according to what is provided in this Decree correspond to be carried out by the National Banking and Securities Commission, shall remain in force, until such time as they are revoked or their terms expressly modified by said Commission or until they cease to produce their effects.
Sixth.- Infractions and crimes committed prior to the date of entry into force of this Decree shall be sanctioned in accordance with the law in force at the time the said infractions or crimes were committed.
In administrative proceedings that are pending, the interested party may opt for their continuation in accordance with the procedure in effect during their initiation or for the application of the provisions applicable to administrative proceedings provided for in this Decree.
Seventh.- Credit unions shall have a period of one hundred and eighty days from the entry into force of this Decree to submit to the National Banking and Securities Commission, for its approval, their corporate bylaws in order to adjust their operation to what is provided in the aforementioned Decree.
Eighth.- Upon the entry into force of this Decree, all credit unions that have been authorized to operate as such under the terms of the General Law of Auxiliary Credit Organizations and Activities, shall be classified with an operations level I.
Credit unions may request the National Banking and Securities Commission to authorize them to change their operations level prior to compliance with the requirements referred to in Articles 39 and 43 of the First Article of this Decree.
Ninth.- Credit unions that at the entry into force of this Decree do not meet the minimum capital provided for in Article 18 of the First Article of this Decree for operations level I, shall have a period of five years to integrate the referred minimum capital.
After the aforementioned period has elapsed, the authorizations granted by the National Banking and Securities Commission for the constitution and operation of credit unions that do not have a minimum capital equivalent in national currency to the value of 2,000,000 investment units, shall become void by operation of law, so that societies having such status shall cease to be credit unions.
The societies indicated in the preceding paragraph shall not be obliged to dissolve and liquidate by the fact that, in accordance with what is provided in the preceding paragraph, the respective authorizations become void, although, to continue operating, they must:
I. Reform their corporate bylaws in order to eliminate any express reference or from which it can be inferred that they are credit unions and that they are authorized by the National Banking and Securities Commission to constitute and function with such status.
II. Submit to the National Banking and Securities Commission, no later than one hundred and eighty natural days, the public instrument in which the bylaw reform referred to in the preceding fraction is recorded, with the data of the respective registration in the Public Commerce Registry.
Societies that do not comply with what is provided in the preceding fraction II shall enter, by operation of law, into a state of dissolution and liquidation, without the need for a resolution of the general shareholders' meeting.
The National Banking and Securities Commission shall publish in the Official Gazette of the Federation those authorizations that according to this article become void.
Tenth.- Fraction IV of Article 6 of the Foreign Investment Law is repealed.
Mexico, D.F., on April 30, 2008.- Sen. Santiago Creel Miranda, President.- Dip. Ruth Zavaleta Salgado, President.- Sen. Gabino Cué Monteagudo, Secretary.- Dip. Ma. Mercedes Maciel Ortiz, Secretary.- Signatures.
In compliance with what is provided in fraction I of Article 89 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, and for its due publication and observance, I issue this Decree in the Residence of the Federal Executive Power, in Mexico City, Federal District, on August nineteen, two thousand eight.- Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa.- Signature.- The Secretary of the Interior, Juan Camilo Mouriño Terrazo.- Signature.
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
(Decree by which various provisions in financial matters are reformed, added and repealed and the Law to Regulate Financial Groupings is issued, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 10, 2014)
ARTICLE TENTH.- In relation to the modifications referred to in Article Ninth of this Decree, the following shall apply:
I. Credit unions shall have a period of one hundred and eighty days to regularize member loan operations that fall under the case indicated in fraction I of article 103, previously agreed upon before the entry into force of this Decree.
II. Credit unions shall have a period of one hundred and eighty days from the entry into force of this Decree to submit to the Commission, for its approval, the corporate bylaws in order to adjust their operation to what is provided in the aforementioned Decree.
III. Infractions or crimes committed prior to the date of entry into force of this Decree shall be sanctioned in accordance with the law in force at the time the said infractions or crimes were committed.
In administrative proceedings that are pending, the interested party may opt for their continuation in accordance with the procedure in effect during their initiation or for the application of the provisions applicable to administrative proceedings that are stipulated by this Decree.
TRANSITORY PROVISION OF THE DECREE
(Decree by which various provisions in financial matters are reformed, added and repealed and the Law to Regulate Financial Groupings is issued, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 10, 2014)
SINGLE.- This Decree shall enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation, except for what is provided in ARTICLES TWENTY-FIFTH, fraction I; THIRTIETH, fractions IV and VI; FORTIETH, fractions I and II; and FIFTIETH, fractions I and II, which shall enter into force on the dates established in said provisions.
Mexico, D.F., on November 26, 2013.- Dip. Ricardo Anaya Cortes, President.- Sen. Raúl Cervantes Andrade, President.- Dip. Javier Orozco Gomez, Secretary.- Sen. María Elena Barrera Tapia, Secretary.- Signatures.
In compliance with what is provided in fraction I of Article 89 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, and for its due publication and observance, I issue this Decree in the Residence of the Federal Executive Power, in Mexico City, Federal District, on January nine, two thousand fourteen.- Enrique Peña Nieto.- Signature.- The Secretary of the Interior, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong.- Signature.
TRANSITORY PROVISION OF THE DECREE
(Decree by which various provisions of various legal instruments are reformed in matters of administrative procedure, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 24, 2024)
First.- This Decree shall enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
Second.- Sanctioning administrative proceedings that, as of the date of entry into force of this Decree, have been initiated, shall continue until their conclusion, in accordance with the procedure in effect at the time of notification to the alleged infringer.
Third.- Resolutions that put an end to revocation administrative proceedings that have been initiated through the notification of the act through which the right to a hearing is granted, before the entry into force of this Decree, shall continue until their conclusion, in accordance with the procedure in effect at the time of notification to the corresponding institution or entity.
Fourth.- The processing and resolution of sanctioning proceedings that, as of the date of entry into force of this Decree, have been initiated by the Bank of Mexico shall be governed by what is provided in the Supervision Rules, Self-Correction Programs and Sanctioning Procedure, in effect on the same date of entry into force of this Decree.
TRANSITORY PROVISION OF THE DECREE
(Decree by which various provisions of various legal instruments are reformed in matters of regulatory homologation relative to the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on November 14, 2025)
First. This Decree shall enter into force the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation.
Second. The application of what is provided in this Decree shall enter into force in each of the federative entities at the same time as the Gradual Application Declaration issued by the Local Congresses for the purpose of the entry into force of the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures, in accordance with the Second Transitory Article of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on June 7, 2023.
At the federal level, the application of what is provided in this Decree shall enter into force in accordance with the Gradual Application Declaration that the Chambers of Deputies and Senators that make up the Congress of the Union indistinctly and successively carry out for the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures.
In all cases, upon expiration of the term without the respective Declaration having been issued, the entry into force of what is provided in this Decree shall be automatic from April 1, 2027.
Third. Proceedings that are pending at the entry into force of this Decree in accordance with what is provided in the preceding article, shall continue their processing with the legislation applicable at the time of their initiation, unless the parties jointly opt for the regulation of the content of the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures.
The accumulation of processes shall not proceed when any of them is processed in accordance with the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures and the other process in accordance with an abrogated Code.
Fourth. Article Forty-One of this Decree shall remain in force until the Federal Law on Telecommunications and Radio Broadcasting is abrogated, in accordance with what is provided in the Sixth Transitory Article of the Decree by which the Law on Telecommunications and Radio Broadcasting is issued and the Federal Law on Telecommunications and Radio Broadcasting is abrogated, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 16, 2025.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSES
(Decree of August 20, 2008)
The first antecedents of credit unions in our country date back to the year 1932, where the legislation recognizes and regulates this figure, which has the purpose of facilitating access to credit to certain sectors of the population, acting as an instrument to achieve the reduction of financing costs for the benefit of its members, and to foster collective organization in some branches of the national economy.
Currently, credit unions are regulated, fundamentally, in the General Law of Auxiliary Credit Organizations and Activities (LGOAAC), issued in 1985. This Ordinance has been subject to various reforms; however, in matters of credit unions, the most important ones were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 15, 1993, since their regulatory framework was significantly deregulated, with the purpose of financially strengthening those already existing, providing them with greater management autonomy and promoting their development, in the context of greater competitiveness.
The Law governing these companies states that they can only carry out operations with their shareholders, who must be natural persons with business activity or legal entities; it also establishes that no member can own more than 10% of the paid-in capital of a credit union.
There are various operations that a credit union can carry out with its shareholders, the most common being: granting credit, member loans, joint purchases and technical assistance services, among others.
As anonymous societies, they must also comply with the General Law of Commercial Societies. It is important to highlight that credit unions are private companies that do not have participation or subsidy from the federal government or entities of public administration, their capital is integrated with the contributions made by their shareholders.
Credit unions are also subject to the provisions of the General Law for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services, compliance with which is the responsibility of the National Commission for the Defense of Users of Financial Institutions (CONDUSEF).
Credit unions are institutions recognized worldwide as pillars of economic development and the financial system of many countries due to the comprehensive support they provide as consortia to their associates. As is well known, in our country, credit unions have survived and strengthened themselves despite the recurrent economic crises of the last twenty-five years, without receiving subsidies or government support.
The recognition of these institutions as promoters of economic development is broad. They combat poverty, reduce inequity and stimulate growth in many countries around the world. Essentially, credit unions provide accessible financial services to those who, otherwise, would not have the possibility of obtaining them.
The World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU) is the worldwide organization that associates credit unions; this organization promotes the sustainable growth of credit unions, as well as financial cooperatives, which includes around 84 countries with more than 40,000 affiliated credit unions serving more than 123 million people in the world.
Since the year 2000, twelve countries in the world have introduced new legislation on the sector.
There are various representative models of credit unions or savings and credit cooperatives, as they are known in various regions of the world.
According to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) of the United States, there are currently more than 10,000 Credit Unions that offer their services to more than 80 million people.
Credit unions at the federal level are certified, regulated and insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Through the National Fund of
Participation in Insurance for Credit Unions (National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, NCUSIF), of the NCUA, federal credit union members' deposits are insured up to US$100,000. The NCUA also insures most deposits of state-certified credit unions.
In Germany, savings and credit societies are regulated by the Federal Ministry of Finance under the category of universal financial entities. The savings and credit sector within the German banking system is of the greatest importance, representing approximately 40% of the volume of assets, and a similar percentage of all third-party resources managed by the German financial system.
This is formed by 489 savings and credit societies, 11 regional giro institutions, and their central institution called Deutsche Girozentrale-Deutsche Kommunalbank. Like the rest of the banking system, they operate under the principle of regionality, which refers to the limitation of their commercial activity to the geographic and economic environment where they are established. There are both public and private savings and credit societies. Private cooperatives are constituted as joint-stock companies, economic associations, or foundations.
In Spain, currently 46 entities have this type of institution, with assets amounting to 633,501,614 euros, which aim to provide financial support and promote greater credit access for the entire population. The credit and savings cooperative sector is part of the Spanish financial system, along with banks and savings banks, as they are the only instruments authorized in general to collect repayable funds from the public in the form of deposits.
Brazil is another recognized case, where credit unions play a fundamental role in the development of various sectors of its economy. The Central Bank is responsible for authorizing and evaluating the functioning of credit unions of any kind; it also authorizes the existence and operation of individual credit unions, as well as central credit unions, and may establish requirements to prove the capacity to carry out meetings, control, and the functioning of services provided. In some specific sectors, such as agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture also intervenes in their authorization. It is important to mention that credit unions focused on micro and small enterprises must also publish their annual balance sheets prepared according to Central Bank regulations.
On the other hand, the phenomenon of globalization, of which Mexico has not been exempt, has particularly promoted in the financial system that the country's banking level be increasingly higher. This globalizing trend has diversified financial instruments and increased marketing modalities. Nevertheless, even with this global advancement, there are still producers and entrepreneurs without real possibilities of access to bank financing. Although in recent years, development banking has put into practice instruments that facilitate this access, these only partially resolve financing needs.
Despite these limitations, credit unions have been able to satisfy the financing needs of a very important sector of the Mexican economy: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Due to their performance, moreover, Credit Unions have become eligible intermediaries for development banking, with which, according to their own figures, they have no non-performing loans.
In Mexico, the segment of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises represents 99% of business units, contributes 50% of national GDP, and generates 70% of employment. The relevance of these figures makes it necessary to promote organizations that provide financing, facilitate the purchase of inputs, product commercialization, and access to technology, in terms of competitive prices and costs, as is the case with credit unions.
An additional consideration lies in the fact that credit support from development institutions and commercial banking to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises has been declining over the last twelve years, which has translated into infinitesimal employment growth, and that, nevertheless, credit unions have grown by an average of 16% annually in the volume of their financing and number of members, using their own resources, demonstrating their solvency and strength as financial intermediaries serving micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
It is important to highlight that credit unions are recognized institutions worldwide as pillars of economic development and the financial system of many and varied countries due to the comprehensive support they provide as consortia to their associates, and in our country, they have survived and strengthened themselves; despite recurrent economic crises over the last twenty-five years, without receiving subsidies or government support.
Furthermore, they also contribute to regional development, strengthening the vocations and economic activities of multiple zones of the country through comprehensive support, despite their geographical distances and the absence of infrastructure and services that make them uninteresting to other financial intermediaries.
Credit unions as such do not have a primary profit motive but rather service to their associates, and they only associate with companies or individuals with business activities, contributing to a culture of fiscal responsibility and formality and business modernity, proving to be ideal vehicles for the implementation of government promotion programs.
When a company is a shareholder of a credit union, it is usually easier for it to achieve understanding by the directors and board members of that Union regarding the convenience of supporting the project with financing. This is because the Unions are formed by people who also have businesses and who find it easier to understand the needs of applicants.
Additionally, there are credit unions that pay their shareholders significant dividends generated by financial and commercial operations, so in addition to receiving different treatment in service, there is the possibility of obtaining profits on the shares owned by members.
Before deciding to become a shareholder of a credit union, promoters have the right to request information on the Union's financial position, the services provided, the characteristics and requirements of these, the capital, the price of shares, and the accumulated or generated profits for the year. These are, without a doubt, beneficial impacts generated within the sector.
The financial crisis the country faced from late 1994 had the effect, among others, of restricting access to financing from commercial banking, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The reaction to the drought of credit as a lever for development and growth of the national industry was the organization and grouping of SMEs into credit unions, which, within each productive branch in which they operate, are now the most specialized to channel and administer the reciprocal financial support captured from the SMEs themselves.
Under such conditions, most credit unions born before the nineties have shown greater capacity and flexibility to adapt to changes, as they not only survived the crisis but also emerged strengthened from it.
It is recognized that today the figure is lagging, gradually losing presence in the national financial system. Added to this, the birth of SOFOLs and recent reforms to the General Law of Organizations and Auxiliary Credit Activities to deregulate factoring and financial leasing companies, giving rise to the creation of SOFOMs, seem to confirm it; since 1993, there have been no important reforms to the chapter on credit unions in the law.
Unlike Popular Financial Societies (SOFIPOS), whose natural vocation is to serve the popular market, Unions do not serve the consumer credit market, a segment for which they are not even prepared to serve, not only due to the high number of operations demanded but also regarding the absence of methodologies to analyze the real payment possibilities of consumers; to this is added the fact that consumer financing is prohibited in the sector, as well as the capture of savings.
These new figures that have emerged as part of the new Mexican financial model intend to provide space for auxiliary credit institutions that by their nature and conception do not fit the specific needs of certain sectors of the population (especially business) and which, despite this, the authorities want to impose. In this case, precisely, credit unions are found.
Starting from the decrease in funding from development banking to credit unions in 1994-1995, the capture of loans from members was promoted, an activity that by its amount currently represents 86% of the resources invested in the sector portfolio. The above is closely linked to the profile of the people and companies that make up the natural market of Unions, integrated by micro and small entrepreneurs and credit demanders with the same profile.
It is worth noting that one of the greatest strengths of Unions lies in the knowledge of the business activities of their accredited clients, which originates precisely in that they are formed by entrepreneurs, who for their credit decisions must be assisted by people with experience in the financial sector.
The initiative presented seeks to contribute to the generation of formal jobs, the creation of companies, the strengthening of production chains, and the raising of competitiveness and productivity levels, as these are priority areas for national growth; under this premise, it is fundamental to modernize, strengthen, develop, and promote credit unions as business organizations, which require a specific legal framework that allows their reconfiguration for a precise fit within the national financial system.
It is a new legal framework that seeks to regulate and promote better corporate governance practices; to establish modern prudential regulation systems; to comply with informing and transparently operating in accordance with what is established by law, to prohibit the concentration of risks, and to establish the products and services they may provide. All of this in a gradual process and with prerogatives according to the levels of compliance and strength of these institutions.
With the aim of stimulating the capitalization of Unions and having a legal framework, this project contemplates 3 levels of operation. It is proposed that in level II, unions may also conclude financial leasing and factoring operations; in level III, that they may additionally act as fiduciaries in guarantee trusts related to their own operations; for unions located in level I, the operations already contemplated by the General Law of Organizations and Auxiliary Credit Activities in the corresponding chapter are maintained.
Special attention is given to the original vocation of Unions so that their shareholders are persons with business activity, in addition, that shareholders can be so by purchasing shares for an amount not less than one thousand investment units. With these proposals, it is intended to avoid the acceptance of members who do not have business activity, as well as the improper use of the authorization to receive loans from members.
Regarding governance, the requirements to be met by the directors and board members of the unions are expanded, including the obligation that independent board members participate in the board of directors, of whom the conditions for them to be so are defined. Furthermore, limitations are established so that employees or directors of the board members' companies can be first and second-level officials of the respective union, which apply to the board members' relatives.
To prevent the concentration of related loans from becoming a cause of possible losses, the rules limiting their amount with respect to the total portfolio are stated, and the concept of linkage is expanded; it is also proposed that the authority have the power to issue rules obligating portfolio rating.
Member loans represent approximately 90% of the Union's portfolio; given their importance in operations, it is proposed that the authority issue rules limiting the amounts that can be received from one or more persons in the capacity of a loan.
Considering that most unions operate with reduced intermediation margins, and in order for them to have other income, it is proposed that they provide other services to their members, including credit administration and collection services.
The new Credit Unions Law will significantly expand the services of these intermediaries, seeking comprehensive attention to the requirements of associated SMEs, solving not only credit needs through the traditional channel but also through figures such as leasing, factoring, formalization and professionalization of the special department, fiduciary services, debit cards, capture of national and foreign resources, guarantees and sureties, letters of credit, issuance of securities, money deposits, insurance contracting, etc.
Finally, Credit Unions with specific vocations such as agricultural, livestock, and agro-industrial, as well as those specialized in construction and tourist services, would consolidate their impact on regional development, in addition to modernizing these sectors with the support of all services contemplated in the new Credit Unions Law.
In congruence with the globalizing trend of the current world and the modernization being applied to the Mexican financial sector, this proposal originates to incorporate Credit Unions on equal footing with those already applied to other financial entities in the country.
Based on the foregoing, I permit myself to submit to the consideration of this Sovereignty the present initiative with:
EXPLANATION OF MOTIVES
(Decree of January 24, 2024)
The exercise of the state's ius puniendi, through the capacity to impose administrative sanctions, implies one of the most incisive actions of the Public Administration in the legal sphere of private parties; the administration orders and protects the public interest through the application of a sanction, and this activity takes on particular importance when directed at the proper functioning of the organization and public service.
The sanctioning power is that faculty of public administration to impose sanctions through an administrative procedure, understood as administrative sanction as that harm inflicted on an administrative party as a consequence of an unlawful conduct, with repressive purpose, consisting in the deprivation of a good or right, or the imposition of a duty, as the public administration is barred from sanctions consisting in deprivation of liberty.
An administrative sanctioning procedure is that mechanism or procedure by which the State, through administrative units, carries out functions of inspection, verification, control, and sanction, with the aim of determining responsibility or absolving for the probable infringement of the law, or by failing to comply with some obligation related to the sector in which they operate. As a result of said procedure and in attention to the sanctioning faculty, the authority imposes a sanction or fine, which must be distinguished from the word infringement, as they do not mean the same; thus, the fine is defined as the pecuniary sanction imposed by any legal contravention, to the benefit of the State or any official entity authorized to impose it.3 On the other hand, the term infringement is conceived as that act performed against what is stipulated in a legal norm or failing to comply with a commitment entered into.
The Mexican Financial System is regulated and supervised by various authorities responsible for monitoring that actions are taken under applicable regulations and, if applicable, applying the corresponding sanction in case of the commission of any infringement; however, vices of unconstitutionality have arisen due to the lack of legal certainty regarding the time to decide their legal status.
Problem Statement
In recent dates, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, as well as the Circuit Tribunals, through various jurisprudential criteria, declared the unconstitutionality of various legal provisions of different regulatory laws of the National Financial System, considering that they transgress the principle of legal certainty, which consists of the right that belongs to an institution or financial entity subject to an administrative sanctioning procedure to exercise its defense and be heard, with due opportunity, within a procedure which establishes a reasonable deadline for the competent authority to resolve, if applicable, the imposition of a privative act, in consonance with what is mandated by articles 14 and 16 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.
This, under the argument that, by not establishing clearly and precisely the maximum deadline for the authority to issue and notify the resolution that ends the administrative sanctioning procedure, the guarantee of due process is violated.
Conscious of this problem and with the aim of avoiding the instruction of administrative sanctioning procedures that violate due process to the detriment of the legal certainty of the Financial System, an exhaustive review of all provisions regulating it was carried out.
Therefore, this Initiative intends to resolve fundamentally the affectation to the principles of legality, legal certainty, and prompt and expeditious justice in the administrative sanctioning procedure provided for in the laws regulating the National Financial System, by establishing the general scheme of the procedure, identifying each of its stages, which adjust to the essential formalities of the procedure, recognized both by legal doctrine, judicial interpretations supported by our Highest Courts, and adhering to international best practices. An example of this is found in jurisprudential thesis 1a./J. 11/2014 (10a.), Gacette of the Judicial Gazette of the Federation. Book 3, February 2014, Volume I, page 396, which states verbatim:
“RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS. ITS CONTENT.
Within the guarantees of due process, there is a 'hard core', which must be inexcusably observed in any jurisdictional procedure, and another of guarantees applicable in processes involving the exercise of the State's punitive power. Thus, regarding the 'hard core', the guarantees of due process applicable to any jurisdictional nature procedure are those identified by this Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation as essential formalities of the procedure, the set of which integrates the 'guarantee of hearing', which allow those governed to exercise their defenses before authorities modify their legal sphere definitively. Regarding this, the Plenary Tribunal of this Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, in jurisprudence P./J. 47/95, published in the Judicial Gazette of the Federation and its Gacette, Ninth Era, Volume II, December 1995, page 133, under the heading: 'ESSENTIAL FORMALITIES OF THE PROCEDURE. THOSE THAT GUARANTEE AN ADEQUATE AND TIMELY PREVIOUS DEFENSE TO THE PRIVATIVE ACT.', maintained that the essential formalities of the procedure are: (i) notification of the start of the procedure; (ii) the opportunity to offer and exhaust the evidence on which the defense is based; (iii) the opportunity to allege; and, (iv) a resolution that settles the debated issues and whose challenge has been considered by this First Chamber as part of this formality. Now, the other core is commonly identified with the list of minimum guarantees that every person whose legal sphere intends to be modified through the State's punitive activity must have, as occurs, for example, with criminal, migratory, tax, or administrative law, where it will be required that guarantees be compatible with the specific subject matter of the case. Therefore, within this category of due process guarantees, two species are identified: the first, corresponding to all persons regardless of condition, nationality, gender, age, etc., within which are, for example, the right to have a lawyer, not to testify against oneself, or to know the cause of the sanctioning procedure; and the second, which is the combination of the minimum list of guarantees with the right to equality before the law, and which protects those persons who may find themselves in a situation of disadvantage before the legal order, by belonging to some vulnerable group, for example, the right to notification and consular assistance, the right to have a translator or interpreter, the right of girls and children to have their detention notified to those exercising parental authority and guardianship, among others of the same nature.
Amparo en revisión 352/2012. October 10, 2012. Five votes of Ministers Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, José Ramón Cossío Díaz, Guillermo I. Ortiz Mayagoitia, Olga Sánchez Cordero de García Villegas, and Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo. Reporter: Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea. Secretary: Mario Gerardo Avante Juárez.
Amparo directo en revisión 3758/2012. Maple Commercial Finance Corp. May 29, 2013. Five votes of Ministers Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, José Ramón Cossío Díaz, Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Olga Sánchez Cordero de García Villegas, and Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo. Reporter: Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena. Secretary: David García Sarubbi.
Amparo en revisión 121/2013. June 12, 2013. Five votes by Justices Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, José Ramón Cossío Díaz, Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Olga Sánchez Cordero de García Villegas, and Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo. Reporter: Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena. Secretary: Cecilia Armengol Alonso.
Amparo en revisión 150/2013. July 10, 2013. Five votes by Justices Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, José Ramón Cossío Díaz, Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Olga Sánchez Cordero de García Villegas, and Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo. Reporter: Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo. Secretary: Mercedes Verónica Sánchez Miguez.
Amparo directo en revisión 1009/2013. October 16, 2013. Five votes by Justices Arturo Zaldívar Lelo de Larrea, José Ramón Cossío Díaz, Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Olga Sánchez Cordero de García Villegas, and Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo, who reserved the right to formulate a concurrent vote. Reporter: José Ramón Cossío Díaz. Secretary: Julio Veredín Sena Velázquez. Jurisprudence Thesis 11/2014 (10th). Approved by the First Chamber of this High Court, in session dated February 7, 2014.” (emphasis added)
OBJECT OF THE INITIATIVE
The present Initiative details, in each of the financial laws, the stages of the administrative sanctioning procedure, as follows:
a) Expiration of the Sanctioning Authority.
In the Initiative, the five-year time limit for the authority to initiate the administrative sanctioning procedure is resumed, counted from the next business day after the conduct was performed or the infringement assumption was triggered. This time limit is consistent with the national legal framework applicable to administrative procedures, which establish similar time limits for the extinction of the authority's sanctioning power, in order to provide justiciable legal certainty. This time limit may be suspended for up to two years due to the non-existence of the presumed infringer's domicile or due to the filing of any defense mechanism, and it will resume from the date on which the respective authority becomes aware of the domicile or when the final resolution corresponding to the defense mechanism invoked is issued. Likewise, it was considered relevant to distinguish the moment when the counting of this time limit begins regarding continuous and continuing conduct, being in the first case from the moment the conduct ceases and regarding continuing conduct from the consummation of the last conduct. On the other hand, it is provided that the expiration time limit referred to above will be interrupted, i.e., cease to be counted, at the moment of notification to the presumed infringer of the start of the administrative sanctioning procedure. b) Right to be heard and offering of evidence. In the initiative, it is stated that when notifying the presumed infringer of the start of the administrative sanctioning procedure, the authorities must grant them the right to be heard so that they may express what is in their interest and the possibility of offering evidence for a period of ten business days, which may be extended by ten additional business days at the request of the party. c) Examination of evidence. Once the time limit referred to in the previous paragraph and, if applicable, its extension has concluded, the authority will have up to sixty business days to examine the evidence that has been offered, which is considered sufficiently broad for its preparation and examination. d) Period for arguments and closure of instruction. Once the evidence has been examined, the authority will notify the presumed infringer of the opening of the five-business-day period to formulate arguments. Such notification, being of an intra-procedural nature, will not require personal delivery, attending to the principle of legal interest of the presumed responsible party within the substantiation of the procedure. On the next business day following the expiration of the time limit to formulate arguments, the instruction will be considered closed. e) Time limit for resolution. The authority will have a time limit that will not exceed one hundred eighty business days to issue and notify the resolution that ends the administrative sanctioning procedure, imposing, if applicable, the sanctions that result as appropriate. The foregoing provides legal certainty and
security to the presumed infringers and establishes a maximum time limit within which the authority must definitively resolve the existence of the infringement, as well as the imposition of the sanction, if applicable, that the reproachable conduct warranted. In this sense, the inclusion of said time limit in the laws regulating the National Financial System surpasses the jurisprudential interpretations that motivated the presentation of the present Initiative. In conclusion, the instructions and financial entities will have certainty regarding the stages of the administrative sanctioning process, the duration of each, and the moment at which the authority can no longer continue with legal actions to impose sanctions. Likewise, it guarantees the fundamental rights enshrined in the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States by differentiating each stage of the process, in such a way that they can assert their rights, while also limiting the authority's powers so that the legal sphere of the governed is not affected. Finally, the procedures for revocation of authorizations granted by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit are strengthened, for the constitution, operation, and functioning, as applicable, of various entities and financial institutions, with the purpose of specifying certain aspects of the procedure and preventing such entities from being placed in a state of defenselessness, as well as to provide that, in these procedures, the consultation instances must issue the corresponding opinion at least thirty business days in advance before the time limit for issuing the resolution that ends the revocation procedure expires. In the event that any of the opinions is issued after the time limit provided, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit may resolve with the records in the file, without the need to consider the opinion presented late.
EXPLANATION OF MOTIVES
(Decree of November 14, 2025)
On September 15, 2017, the decree reforming and adding Articles 16, 17, and 73 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, regarding Everyday Justice, was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, with which powers were granted to the Congress of the Union to publish a unique procedural legislation in civil and family matters.
According to the fourth transitional article of said decree, the Congress of the Union would have a time limit of 180 days to draft and publish the new procedural law in civil and family matters. This time limit expired on March 14, 2018, without the referenced norm being published. Therefore, and following the non-compliance with the transitional articles, the Mexican Bar Association filed an amparo for the non-compliance of the Congress. Thus, through a ruling on June 28, 2019, the Eighth District Judge in Civil Matters of Mexico City condemned the Congress of the Union to discuss and publish the reform. In response to the ruling, the Congress of the Union finally discussed and approved the National Code of Civil and Family Procedures; however, despite legislative efforts, the ruling was not fully complied with, which is why an incident of non-execution was promoted, published on July 13, 2023.
This new ruling indicates that the reform in everyday justice does not end with the publication of the National Code, but it is fundamental to homologate federal and general laws so that they refer to the legal process required. Thus, the present initiative aims to carry out the normative homologation referred to in the ruling so that the Credit Unions Law is concordant with the new National Code of Civil and Family Procedures, as observed below.
REFERENCES
(1) Reformed by Article Nine of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 10, 2014.
(2) Added by Article Nine of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 10, 2014.
(3) Repealed by Article Nine of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 10, 2014.
(4) Reformed by Article Eleven of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 24, 2024.
(5) Added by Article Eleven of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on January 24, 2024.
(6) Added by Article Twenty-Six of the Decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on November 14, 2025.
Note from RegAlert. AI assistants can read this document in full, and search 70,000+ more, through the RegAlert MCP connector (https://mcp.regalert.today/mcp). Free with an account. How to connect ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor.
Source: Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores — original document · Summary generated with machine assistance and reviewed before publication; the authoritative text is the regulator's original document. How RegAlert works
More like this from CNBV
CNBV published 1 document in the last 30 days. We email you each new one the day it's published.