2026-03-03
Added · Updated
The Superintendency of Financial Services adopts Resolution RR-SSF-2025-706, introducing additional capital requirements for banks, financial cooperatives, and other intermediaries under Basel III Pillar II. These requirements cover supervisory review, non-financial credit concentration, structural interest rate risk, and stress tests, with at least 75% of the requirement met by common equity tier 1. The resolution also amends Articles 154.1, 154.5, 158.2, 166, and 173 of the Financial System Regulation Compilation, extending fines for capital deficiencies and adjusting definitions for capital components and buffers, with provisions effective from January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027.
1 Montevideo, March 3, 2026 Ref: FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION INSTITUTIONS – Regulatory Adjustment on Additional Capital Requirements under the Basel III Pillar II Framework and Other Adjustments. The market is informed that the Superintendency of Financial Services adopted resolution RR-SSF-2025-706 on December 17, 2025.
JUAN PEDRO CANTERA Superintendent of Financial Services 2025-50-1-02304 Diagonal Fabini 777 - C.P. 11100 - Tel.: (598 2) 1967 - Montevideo, Uruguay - www.bcu.gub.uy CIRCULAR NO. 2498
SUPERINTENDENCY OF FINANCIAL SERVICES – RESOLUTION SUPERINTENDENCY OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
VISTO: The Initiative “IO 9 – Banks. Basel III Pillar II – Technical Assistance Recommendations” from the 2025 activity plan of the Superintendency of Financial Services.
RESULTING: I) That, with the objective of complying with one of the activities of the Initiative referred to in the VISTO, the Supervision Directorate prepared a proposal for the incorporation of additional capital requirements within the framework of Basel III Pillar II. II) That the 2025 Regulation Plan included an initiative whose objective is the issuance of a regulation incorporating these requirements. III) That the drafted project introduces a capital requirement for additional risks applicable to banks, retail banks, investment banks, financial houses, external financial institutions, financial intermediation cooperatives, and retail financial intermediation cooperatives, which shall be equal to the sum of the following requirements:
CONSIDERING: I) That the comments received from the industry provided elements that allowed clarifying the original proposal, highlighting the importance of the consultation process. II) That, considering the aforementioned comments, the following modifications were incorporated:
ATTENTIVE: To what is established in literal A) of Article 38 of Law No. 16.696 of March 30, 1995, as amended by Article 2 of Law No. 20.345 of September 19, 2024, and to the reports issued by this Superintendency of Financial Services.
IT IS RESOLVED:
ARTICLE 154.1 (COMPONENTS OF NET EQUITY RESPONSIBILITY BEFORE DEDUCTIONS). The components of net equity responsibility before the deductions referred to in Articles 154.3, 154.3.1, and 154.3.2 include the following concepts:
Common equity includes: a) Ordinary shares issued by the financial intermediation institution and non-capitalized contributions corresponding to future issuances of ordinary shares, as well as the capital assigned by the parent house in the case of branches of foreign companies, provided they meet the conditions established in numeral 1) of Article 154.2. b) Issuance premiums connected to the shares referred to in the preceding literal. c) Social capital referred to in Article 53 of Law No. 18.407 of October 24, 2008 (Cooperatives Law). d) Accumulated results and current year results, after deducting the balance of the item “Advances of results”. The portion of the current year’s results and the immediate previous year’s results that the institution reasonably estimates will be distributed as dividends (which have not yet been advanced) shall not be computed, according to the higher value between: the ratio resulting from the distribution policy referred to in Article 129, the last distribution ratio of results, and the average of the last three distribution ratios of results. When there is an express decision of the Assembly regarding this, the amount it has decided not to distribute will begin to be computed. The distribution ratio is defined as the quotient between the distribution of results (including advances) and the current year’s result. For the current exercise (t), the last distribution ratio of results is considered as the quotient between the distribution of results of the penultimate exercise (t-2) over the result of said exercise, with a maximum of 100%. In case the current year’s result is negative or null, the distribution ratio of results will be considered 0%. Likewise, for the calculation of the average of the last three ratios, the distribution ratios corresponding to (t-2), (t-3), and (t-4) will be considered according to the preceding definition. The portion of the remaining accumulated results that is estimated or has been decided to be distributed shall also be deducted. The remaining positive net balances capable of being computed – until a favorable opinion from the external auditor is received – will be computed at 50% when, in at least one of the last 3 opinions, such favorable position was not available. e) Reserves created from net profits after taxes, which will be computed – until a favorable opinion from the external auditor on said profits is received – at 50% when, in at least one of the last 3 (three) opinions, such favorable opinion was not available. f) Valuation adjustments. The positive net balances corresponding to said valuation adjustments will be computed – until a favorable opinion from the external auditor is received – at 50% when, in at least one of the last 3 (three) opinions, such favorable opinion was not available. g) Non-controlling interest, when it is necessary to determine net equity responsibility based on the consolidated situation, provided it is associated with the ordinary shares described in the preceding literal a) and subject to the conditions established in numeral 1) of Article 154.2. The non-controlling interest corresponding to financial institutions subject to regulation and supervision, whose investment by the financial intermediation institution is permitted by current legal and regulatory norms, will be computed. The elements referred to in literals d) to f) will be recognized as common equity only when they can be used immediately and without restriction by institutions to cover risks or losses as they occur.
Additional capital includes: a) Preferred shares and non-capitalized contributions corresponding to future issuances of preferred shares and other financial instruments issued by the financial intermediation institution, provided they meet the conditions established in numeral 2) of Article 154.2. b) Issuance premiums connected to the instruments referred to in the preceding literal. c) Cooperative shares with interest issued under Law No. 17.613 of December 27, 2002. d) Instruments issued by subsidiaries held by third parties, when it is necessary to determine net equity responsibility based on the consolidated situation, under the conditions of the preceding literal a) and subject to the conditions established in numeral 2) of Article 154.2. Instruments issued by financial institutions subject to regulation and supervision, whose investment by the financial intermediation institution is permitted by current legal and regulatory norms, will be computed.
Complementary net equity comprises: a) Instruments issued by the financial intermediation institution, provided they meet the conditions established in numeral 3) of Article 154.2. In particular, subordinated obligations must be computed according to the remaining term, according to the following scale:
The elements referred to in literals a) to f) of numeral 1), literals a) to c) of numeral 2), and literals a) and b) of numeral 3) arise from the individual financial situation statement, prepared in accordance with what is established in Article 507.
TRANSITIONAL PROVISION: The conditions established previously regarding literals a) and g) of numeral 1), literals a) and d) of numeral 2), and literals a) and c) of numeral 3) will apply to instruments issued from January 1, 2023. By means of Circular No. 2400 of March 15, 2022, it was resolved to admit that debt instruments issued during the year 2022 that satisfied the eligibility conditions established in numeral 2) of Article 154.2 of the Compilation of Regulations and Control Norms of the Financial System, as amended by the Resolution of the Superintendency of Financial Services of December 10 communicated by Circular No. 2.397, will be computed in additional capital provided they have prior authorization from said Superintendency.
VALIDITY: The modifications established previously will apply from January 1, 2026.
ARTICLE 154.5 (MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET EQUITY RESPONSIBILITY). Financial intermediation institutions must, at all times, comply with the following requirements:
Assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted by credit risk will be determined as provided in Article 160. Meanwhile, assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted by counterparty, market, and operational risk will be equivalent to: 1/X * (Capital requirement for counterparty risk + Capital requirement for market risk + Capital requirement for operational risk). Where: “X” corresponds to the percentage of capital requirement for credit risk applicable to the type of financial intermediation institution, as established in Article 160.
b) For the purpose of complying with the systemic risk capital requirement applicable to banks defined in Article 173, only common equity will be computed. c) For the purpose of complying with the additional risk capital requirement referred to in Article 173.1, at least 75% of the requirement will be computed with core equity, which must be integrated with at least 75% common equity.
VALIDITY: The modifications established previously will apply from January 1, 2027.
ARTICLE 158.2 (COUNTERCYCLICAL CAPITAL BUFFER) The Superintendency of Financial Services may require that banks, excluding investment banks, maintain additional common capital beyond that required to comply with the minimum net equity responsibility and the capital conservation buffer, referred to in Articles 158 and 158.1, respectively.
When the minimum net equity responsibility is equivalent to the risk capital requirement, the countercyclical capital requirement will be a percentage λ between 0% and 2.5% of assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted by credit, counterparty, market, and operational risk.
When the minimum net equity responsibility is equivalent to the basic capital requirement or to the capital requirement for assets, risks, and contingent commitments, and said minimum requirement is less than 10.5% plus λ of assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted by credit, counterparty, market, and operational risk, additional common capital must be maintained for the difference. In case the minimum net equity responsibility is determined as one and a half times the risk capital requirement, no countercyclical capital buffer will be required.
For these purposes, assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted by credit risk will be determined as provided in Article 160. Meanwhile, assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted by counterparty, market, and operational risk will be equivalent to:
1/X * (Capital requirement for counterparty risk + Capital requirement for market risk + Capital requirement for operational risk).
Where: “X” corresponds to the percentage of capital requirement for credit risk applicable to the type of financial intermediation institution, as established in Article 160.
risk-weighted for counterparty, market, and operational risk will be equivalent to: 1/X * (Capital requirement for counterparty risk + Capital requirement for market risk + Capital requirement for operational risk). Where: “X” corresponds to the percentage of capital requirement for credit risk applicable to the type of financial intermediation institution, as established in Article 160. The required λ percentage will be announced semi-annually by the Superintendency of Financial Services, together with a report that will evaluate the accumulation of risks in the financial system through a set of variables, such as: a. the detection of the economic cycle phase in which the economy is located (expansion, stagnation, recession, recovery), based on standard statistical methods; b. the evolution of Credit to the Non-Financial Private Sector (NFPS) through its growth rate, the relationship between Credit to NFPS and banking assets, as well as the relationship between Credit to NFPS and Gross Domestic Product (GDP); and c. other quantitative and qualitative variables deemed relevant. When the Superintendency of Financial Services sets the percentage, it will also determine the date from which the new requirement will enter into force. In cases of an increase in the percentage, such effective date will be 12 (twelve) months after the announcement, except in duly justified exceptional circumstances. For the purpose of setting the required λ percentage, the maximum values indicated below will be taken into account:
| Maximum Required | Date |
|---|---|
| 0.625% | Until Dec/2020 |
| 1.250% | Until Dec/2021 |
| 1.875% | Until Dec/2022 |
| 2.500% | From Jan/2023 |
The counter-cyclical capital buffer must be met on average at the close of the annual fiscal year. For these purposes, the average annual counter-cyclical capital requirement (λ) will be determined considering the number of months each level was in effect and compared with the average excess of common equity based on the equity situation at the close of each month. Banks presenting consolidated financial statements must comply with the additional common capital requirement also based on the consolidated situation. For these purposes, the provisions of Article 177 will apply.
VALIDITY: The modifications previously established will govern from the date of publication of the corresponding Resolution in the Official Gazette.
ARTICLE 166 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR EXCHANGE RATE RISK – CALCULATION METHOD). The capital requirement for exchange rate risk will be determined according to the formula described below. First, it will be necessary to calculate the net position exposed in each currency, which will be determined by deducting the structural position from the net position. The net position in each currency will be determined as the difference between assets and liabilities in that currency, with the exception of assets and liabilities arising from financial derivative instruments. In the case of linear financial derivative instruments, an active position will be computed for the notional value of the currency to be received and a passive position for the notional value of the currency to be delivered. In the case of currency options, an active position will be computed for the delta equivalent position of the currency to be received and a passive position for the delta equivalent position of the currency to be delivered. The net position in each currency will be computed in accordance with the accounting rules established by the Superintendency of Financial Services. When the institution has fund shares in investment funds that integrate the trading portfolio as established in Article 162, the assets subject to exchange rate risk in which the fund invests will be treated as if they were direct exposures, taking into account the share that the institution holds in the total investment fund. These assets will be considered together with the other exposures held by the institution and, for the purpose of calculating the capital requirement, the provisions of this Article will apply.
RCRTC = +
Where:
For the purpose of considering risk ratings, the criteria established in numeral 1 of Article 160 will apply.
VALIDITY: The modifications previously established will govern from the date of publication of the corresponding Resolution in the Official Gazette.
ARTICLE 173 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR SYSTEMIC RISK). The capital requirement for systemic risk will be applicable to banks, excluding investment banks and retail banks, based on their contribution to systemic risk, which will be determined considering the participation of each in:
Data on assets and assets under custody will arise from the monthly information bulletin of the Superintendency of Financial Services. Exchange rate risk will be measured as the absolute value of the exposed net position in foreign currency referred to in Article 165. The data for the total of banks will arise from the information in the monthly information bulletin of the aforementioned Superintendency. The amount of operations in the payment system will be determined from the semi-annual report of the high-value payment system of the Payments System Area of the Central Bank of Uruguay. For each of the aforementioned categories, the corresponding average amount for each bank will be divided by the aggregated average amount of all banks. The averages of the rolling year “July of year t - June of year t+1” will be considered. The relative participation in each category will be multiplied by the weights indicated below, for the purpose of calculating the systemic risk indicator for each bank:
The capital requirement for systemic risk will be determined annually and will govern from January 1 of year t+2, for a term of one year, according to the following scale:
| Weighted Indicator % of credit, counterparty, market, and operational risk-weighted assets and contingent liabilities | |
|---|---|
| Greater than 7.5% and less than or equal to 15% | 0.5% |
| Greater than 15% and less than or equal to 21% | 1% |
| Greater than 21% and less than or equal to 25% | 1.5% |
| Greater than 25% | 2% |
VALIDITY: The modifications previously established will govern from the date of publication of the corresponding Resolution in the Official Gazette.
ARTICLE 173.1 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR ADDITIONAL RISKS). The capital requirement for additional risks will be applicable to banks, retail banks, investment banks, financial houses, external financial institutions, financial intermediation cooperatives, and retail financial intermediation cooperatives.
This requirement will be additional to the minimum net equity established in Article 158 and to the capital conservation and counter-cyclical capital buffers referred to in Articles 158.1 and 158.2, respectively. The capital requirement for additional risks, as detailed in the following articles, will be equal to the sum of the following: a) Capital requirement arising from the supervisory review and evaluation process. b) Capital requirement for credit risk concentration in the non-financial sector. c) Capital requirement for structural interest rate risk. d) Capital requirement as a result of stress tests carried out by the Superintendency of Financial Services.
VALIDITY: The provisions previously established will govern from January 1, 2027.
ARTICLE 173.2 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT DERIVED FROM THE SUPERVISORY REVIEW AND EVALUATION PROCESS). As a result of the supervisory review and evaluation process that includes the evaluation of corporate governance, economic-financial situation, and risk and technology management, a rating will be assigned to institutions that will determine a capital requirement based on assets, risks, and contingent commitments weighted for credit, counterparty, market, and operational risk, in accordance with the instructions that will be issued.
This capital requirement will be determined at the time of the rating and will govern from the last day of the month following its notification.
VALIDITY: The provisions previously established will govern from January 1, 2027.
ARTICLE 173.3 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR CREDIT RISK CONCENTRATION IN THE NON-FINANCIAL SECTOR). The capital requirement for credit risk concentration includes a requirement for individual concentration and a requirement for sectoral concentration. For the purpose of determining these capital requirements, the individual concentration index (ICI) and the sectoral concentration index (SCI) must be calculated in accordance with the instructions that will be issued.
From these indices, the capital requirement will be determined monthly based on assets and risks and contingent commitments weighted for credit risk.
VALIDITY: The provisions previously established will govern from January 1, 2027.
ARTICLE 173.4 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT FOR STRUCTURAL INTEREST RATE RISK). For the purpose of calculating the capital requirement for structural interest rate risk, the potential risk that the entity's equity will be affected as a consequence of movements in interest rates will be considered.
For the determination of this requirement, changes in the net present value of the flow of assets minus liabilities denominated in each currency in a predefined risk scenario representing an increase of 200 basis points in the following interest rate curves, constructed and published daily by the Uruguayan Electronic Stock Exchange: ITLUP, CUI, and CUD, will be considered.
For the purpose of the calculation, assets and liabilities in pesos, indexed units (UI), other adjustable units (OR), and foreign currencies (ME) arbitrated to US dollars will be discriminated, which will be assigned to time bands in accordance with the instructions that will be issued.
Finally, the results in each currency must be summed and the capital requirement for structural interest rate risk will be determined according to the formula described below.
RCRTIE = Max [ 0, ΔNPV – 15%*NE]
Where:
The requirement will be determined for the quarters closed in February, May, August, and November and will be due from the first day of the quarter following its determination.
VALIDITY: The provisions previously established will govern from January 1, 2027.
ARTICLE 173.5 (CAPITAL REQUIREMENT AS A RESULT OF STRESS TESTS CARRIED OUT BY THE SUPERINTENDENCY OF FINANCIAL SERVICES). The Superintendency of Financial Services may establish a capital requirement as a result of the stress tests that it defines in certain scenarios.
The result of the impact of these scenarios on the amount of own resources and on the Net Equity ratio on risk-weighted assets will determine the capital requirement to be imposed.
VALIDITY: The provisions previously established will govern from January 1, 2027.
ARTICLE 676 (FINE FOR INSUFFICIENCY OF MINIMUM NET EQUITY AND INSUFFICIENCY OF CAPITAL FOR ADDITIONAL RISKS - BANKS, INVESTMENT BANKS, FINANCIAL HOUSES, EXTERNAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, AND FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION COOPERATIVES).
Violations of the rules on minimum net equity and capital requirement for additional risks will be sanctioned with fines equivalent to 1/1000 (one per thousand) of each daily deficiency incurred, even on non-business days. In these cases, the provisions of Article 670 will not apply.
VALIDITY: The modifications previously established will govern from January 1, 2027.
JUAN PEDRO CANTERA Superintendent of Financial Services
Exp. 2025-50-1-02304 Publishable: Yes - Signatory: JUAN PEDRO CANTERA PENALTY CIRCULAR N°2498
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