2025-08-21
Added · Updated
The Superintendence of Financial Services adopts Resolution SSF No. 2025-402 to adjust credit risk limit regulations in the Recollection of Regulatory and Control Norms of the Financial System. The resolution incorporates Section I on management immobilizations and temporary overdrafts, and Section II on credit risk limits, substituting Articles 198, 204, and 205 through 209. Key changes include defining included and excluded risks, establishing a 20% general limit on credit risks per entity, allowing up to 25% for financial institutions rated BBB+ or higher, and excluding risks with the State as a legal entity and non-national public sector members. Additionally, a quarterly declaration of compliance with risk limits is mandated, with a 15-business-day submission window.
1 Montevideo, August 21, 2025 Ref: RECOLLECTION OF REGULATORY AND CONTROL NORMS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM - Adjustment of regulations on credit risk limits. The market is informed that the Superintendence of Financial Services adopted resolution SSF No. 2025-402 on August 19, 2025.
JUAN PEDRO CANTERA Superintendent of Financial Services 2025-50-1-01375 Diagonal Fabini 777 - C.P. 11100 - Tel.: (598 2) 1967 - Montevideo, Uruguay - www.bcu.gub.uy
CIRCULAR No. 2485
SUPERINTENDENCE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES – RESOLUTION SUPERINTENDENCE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
VIEWING: The regulations on credit risk limits established in Articles 204 to 218 of the Recollection of Regulatory and Control Norms of the Financial System.
RESULTING: I) That, within the framework of the tasks defined in the 2025 Regulatory Plan, a project was drafted with the objective of adjusting the regulations regarding credit risk limits, taking into account the revisions introduced by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in 2014. II) That, for the elaboration of the proposal, a detailed analysis was made of the current regulations on credit risk limits and the international standard on the matter, in order to identify the gaps between both. III) That it is proposed to reorder the current regulations, first establishing the definitions of included risks, excluded risks, linked entities, and large exposures. Next, a single article on credit risk limits is introduced that includes the general criterion, exceptions, and aggregate limits (non-national public sector, country risk, and global limit). IV) That this project modifies the treatment of admitted guarantees for the calculation of credit risk limits, establishing that when an admissible risk mitigation technique has been applied for the capital requirement for credit risk (Article 160.1.1), the institution must reduce the value of the exposure to the initial counterparty and recognize the exposure to the guarantor or the issuer of the admitted collateral value. V) That, regarding contingent risks and commitments, it is established that they will be converted into credit equivalents through the use of credit conversion factors as provided in Article 160.1, with a minimum limit of 10%. VI) That, regarding the calculation of financial derivatives, it is proposed to clarify that, in the case where a bilateral netting agreement includes contracts with different maturities with the financial sector, for the purpose of calculating the limit, the one corresponding to the operation with the longest maturity will be taken. VII) That this project incorporates values issued by the National Government and credit risks assumed by the State as a legal entity as risks excluded from the credit risk limit regulation.
RR-SSF-2025-402 Date: 19/08/2025 16:23:17 CIRCULAR No. 2485
VIII) That the regulatory proposal incorporates a differential limit for banks and retail financial intermediation cooperatives when granting credits through the salary retention modality. IX) That the proposal was submitted for consultation to supervised institutions and the general public on June 6, 2025, with the deadline for receiving comments expiring on July 18, 2025. X) That consultations and comments were received from the Association of Private Banks of Uruguay, the Bank of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, and Banco Bandes. XI) That the main consultations and comments referred to the following aspects: included and excluded risks, calculation of the admissible capital base, credit risk limits with the private financial sector, credit risk limits with the non-national public sector, and credit risk limits with members of the public sector other than the State as a legal entity.
CONSIDERING: I) That the comments received from the industry provided elements that allowed improving the original proposal, corroborating the value that the consultation process has for the regulator, motivating the following modifications:
ATTENTIVE: To what is provided in letter A) of Article 38 of Law No. 16.696 of March 30, 1995, in the wording given by Article 2 of Law No. 20.345 of September 19, 2024, and to the reports issued by this Superintendence of Financial Services.
IT IS RESOLVED:
ARTICLE 198 (LIMIT ON MANAGEMENT IMMOBILIZATIONS). The amount of management immobilizations of banks, financial houses, and financial intermediation cooperatives shall not exceed 100% of the accounting equity. The following items arising from the individual balance sheet prepared in accordance with Article 507 are considered management immobilizations:
ARTICLE 204 (LIMIT ON TEMPORARY OVERDRAFTS). Temporary overdrafts in current accounts originated in payment orders issued by the customer via checks, as established in letter a. of Article 397, shall not exceed 0.5 per mille of the basic patrimonial liability for banks or 25% of the authorized credit to the respective account holder to draw in overdraft, nor may they be granted for a period greater than ten business days. Temporary overdrafts in current accounts originated in concepts different from those established in the preceding paragraph must be cancelled within a period that shall not exceed thirty days. Those overdrafts that exceed the maximum amount provided for payment orders issued via checks must be based on prior client analysis and require having all the information required by Article 269. These overdrafts may only benefit credit risks categorized as "Debtors with strong payment capacity", "Debtors with adequate payment capacity", and "Debtors with potential payment problems".
RR-SSF-2025-402 Date: 19/08/2025 16:23:17 CIRCULAR No. 2485
ARTICLE 205 (INCLUDED RISKS). Risks assumed with the financial, non-financial, related parties, and public sectors by placements in financial institutions, direct credits, risks and contingent commitments, and investments in securities, net of provisions for credit risks, shall be subject to the limits set forth in Article 209. Likewise, the limits with the non-national public sector, with third countries, and the global limit set forth in the aforementioned Article 209 must be considered. Risks and contingent commitments shall be converted into credit equivalents through the use of credit conversion factors (CCF) as provided in Article 160.1, with a minimum limit of 10%. The total of operations in which the client appears as debtor or co-debtor shall be included in the computable risk. When an admissible risk mitigation technique has been applied for the capital requirement for credit risk (Article 160.1.1), the institution must reduce the value of the exposure to the initial counterparty and recognize the exposure to:
Institutions that must present consolidated financial statements may assume consolidated credit risks with their subsidiaries for each natural or legal person or by each economic group, according to the definition given by Article 271, in accordance with the limits established for each type of exposure. For the purpose of considering risk ratings referred to the credit risk limit, the criteria set forth in Article 160.1 shall apply.
ARTICLE 206 (EXCLUDED RISKS). The following are excluded from the credit risk limit regulation:
RR-SSF-2025-402 Date: 19/08/2025 16:23:17 CIRCULAR No. 2485
ARTICLE 207 (DEFINITION OF LINKAGE). A single risk shall be considered as the sum of those assumed with: a) senior management referred to in Article 261 and natural and legal persons linked to them, considered jointly and provided that they are not risks excluded by the prohibition of Article 257, b) the head office and its dependencies (except in the case of items originated in fund movements) or shareholders whose individual participation exceeds 10% of the integrated capital of the financial intermediary institution, as applicable, and natural or legal persons that form an economic group with them, c) natural and legal persons linked to the aforementioned shareholders. Risks assumed by operations and under the conditions detailed below shall not be treated as a single risk, and limits may be applied independently for each linked financial institution:
ARTICLE 208 (DEFINITION OF LARGE EXPOSURE). Risks assumed by an institution with a natural or legal person or with a group of natural or legal persons linked to each other shall be considered a "large exposure" when its value is equal to or greater than 10% of its admissible capital base defined in Article 209.
ARTICLE 209 (CREDIT RISK LIMIT). Institutions may assume for each natural or legal person or by each economic group, according to the definition given by Article 271, credit risks up to 20% of their admissible capital base. This base corresponds to the core net equity defined in Article 154 that meets the eligibility conditions set forth in items 1) and 2) of Article 154.2 as of the last day of the immediately preceding month. The following are exempt from the application of the aforementioned limit:
RR-SSF-2025-402 Date: 19/08/2025 16:23:17 CIRCULAR No. 2485
will be up to 25%, respecting individual limits for each institution comprising the same.
The risk will be attributed to the country where the debtor is domiciled or from which the return of funds must be obtained, with the following exceptions:
Compilation of Financial System Regulation and Control Norms article 233 with the following: ARTICLE 233 (RISK CAP). Investment banks may assume for each natural or legal person or for each economic group, according to the definition given in article 271, credit risks up to 40% of their eligible capital base, according to the definition given in article 209. For these purposes, the concept of included risks covers those assumed by the financing or placement of securities and the financing of investment projects, as well as through loans, acceptances, sureties, guarantees, bonds, and other direct credits and risks and contingent commitments referred to in article 205. 8. SUBSTITUTE in Title VII – Prohibitions and Limitations of Book II – Stability and Solvency of the Compilation of Financial System Regulation and Control Norms article 266 with the following: ARTICLE 266 (OPERATIONAL RESTRICTIONS FOR RETAIL BANKS AND RETAIL FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION COOPERATIVES). The retail banks referred to in literal b) of article 1 and the retail financial intermediation cooperatives referred to in literal g) of said article shall have their operations restricted, according to the following details: a) they may not carry out the operations provided for in literal a) of article 17 bis of Law N° 15.322 of September 17, 1982, in the wording given by articles 2 of Law N° 16.327 of November 11, 1992, and 14 of Law N° 17.523 of August 4, 2002. They may not receive deposits from non-residents either. b) credits to the non-financial sector will be exclusively in national currency, indexed units, or other authorized indexed instruments by the Superintendence of Financial Services; c) the amounts of credits to natural or legal persons or to economic groups of the non-financial sector may not exceed 2% of their eligible capital base, according to the definition given in article 209, except when it concerns credits granted through the salary retention modality, for which a cap of 20% of said eligible capital base will apply. When an admissible risk mitigation technique has been applied for the purpose of the capital requirement for credit risk (article 160.1.1), the institution must reduce the value of the exposure vis-à-vis the initial counterparty and recognize the exposure vis-à-vis the guarantors and issuers of securities admitted as collateral. d) the amounts of credits to natural or legal persons or to economic groups of the non-financial sector exceeding 1% of their eligible capital base may not exceed collectively three times such capital base. e) they may make placements in foreign currency exclusively in those instruments provided for in article 196, as well as in local banks and financial intermediation cooperatives, in time deposits of 30 (thirty) days or more at the Central Bank of Uruguay, and in national public securities. 9. INCORPORATE in Chapter XVI – Other Information, of Title II – Information Regime, of Part I – Financial Intermediation Institutions, RR-SSF-2025-402 Date: 19/08/2025 16:23:17 CIRCULAR N°2485
of Book VI – Information and Documentation of the Compilation of Financial System Regulation and Control Norms the following article: ARTICLE 582.10 (INFORMATION ON COMPLIANCE WITH THE CREDIT RISK CAP). Institutions must supply quarterly information on the compliance with the credit risk cap referred to in article 209. Such information will be presented to the Superintendence of Financial Services within the first 15 (fifteen) business days following the reported period, in accordance with the instructions to be issued. 10. Validity: The provisions in numerals 1. to 9. above shall govern from July 1, 2026. 11. Communicate the provisions in numerals 1. to 10. above via Circular. JUAN PEDRO CANTERA Superintendent of Financial Services RR-SSF-2025-402 Date: 19/08/2025 16:23:17 Exp. 2025-50-1-01375 Publishable: Yes - Signatory: JUAN PEDRO CANTERA SECTION CIRCULAR N°2485
More like this from BCU
We email you every new BCU publication the day it's published.