Resolution CMN No. 2681 — Amends and Consolidates Provisions of the RECOOP Program

RESOLUTION NO. 002681

Amends and consolidates the provisions of the Program for Revitalization of Agricultural Production Cooperatives - RECOOP, regarding which the Provisional Measure No. 1,961-17, of 1999, and Decree No. 2,936, of 1999, deal.

THE CENTRAL BANK OF BRAZIL, in accordance with Article 9 of Law No.
4,595, of December 31, 1964, makes public that the NATIONAL MONETARY COUNCIL, in a session held on December 21, 1999, considering the provisions of Articles 4, item VI, of the aforementioned Law, 4 and 14 of Law No. 4,829, of November 5, 1965, 10 of Law No. 9,138, of November 29, 1995, and 2, paragraph 7, of the Provisional Measure No. 1,961-17, of December 9, 1999,

RESOLVED:

Article 1. It is established that in the implementation of the Program for Revitalization of Agricultural Production Cooperatives - RECOOP, the following must be observed:

I - beneficiaries of the Program are cooperatives with projects approved by the RECOOP Executive Committee, according to the list published by the Central Bank of Brazil;

II - the credits are intended for the restructuring and capitalization of cooperatives included in the Program;

III - the operations will be carried out with resources:

a) from the National Treasury, in the amount of up to R$2,100,000,000.00 (two billion and one hundred million reais), of which R$1,238,000,000.00 (one billion, two hundred and thirty-eight million reais) are destined:

1. to the financing of receivables from members;

2. to the refinancing of debts with financial institutions, of debts with members, and of other debts arising from the acquisition of agricultural inputs;

b) from the Constitutional Financing Funds of the North, Northeast, or Center-West, in the case of cooperatives from these regions and according to their location, excluding the portions destined for new investments, which will be financed with budgetary resources;

IV - the credits are limited to coverage, after negotiation of discounts with the respective creditors, of the outstanding balance of obligations with financial institutions existing on June 30, 1997, still outstanding, plus the resources necessary for the payment of the following debts, existing on that date and still unpaid:

a) arising from the acquisition of agricultural inputs;

b) with members;

c) labor-related and arising from fiscal and social obligations;

V - to the amount calculated in the manner of the preceding item, the following may be added:

a) according to the cooperative's revitalization plan, the values destined for working capital and essential investments, and receivables from members, originating from credits established until June 30, 1997;

b) debts with financial institutions existing on June 30, 1997, recognized in the independent audit report provided for in Article 3 of Provisional Measure 1,961-17, of 1999, which, for any reason, have changed accounting classification or financial institution creditor;

VI - the outstanding balances of obligations with financial institutions and receivables from members, referred to in items IV and V, must be updated, until June 30, 1998, by the financial charges agreed upon for the normal situation, and from July 1, 1998, until the date of the effective formalization of the new credit instruments:

a) the receivables from members, by the charges agreed upon for the normal situation of the contract or by interest of up to 12% a.a. (twelve percent per year) plus the Reference Rate - TR, whichever is lower;

b) the obligations with financial institutions, according to the following criteria, by source of resources involved:

1. external borrowing resources: exchange rate variation plus interest of up to 12% a.a. (twelve percent per year) or the rate agreed upon in the contract, if lower;

2. transfers from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development - BNDES: financial charges agreed upon for the normal situation of the contract;

3. own resources or other sources not specified in the previous items: financial charges agreed upon for the normal situation of the contract or interest of up to 12% a.a. (twelve percent per year) plus the TR, whichever is lower;

VII - the following items may be financed, respecting the limit established in item 4.4 of Decree No. 2,936, of January 11, 1999, and the position of the RECOOP Executive Committee:

a) receivables from members;

b) investments, including working capital for the start of activities resulting from these investments;

c) working capital;

VIII - the following may be refinanced, after negotiation of discounts:

a) debts with financial institutions, except those related to operations for the integration of quota shares formalized based on Resolution No. 2,185, of July 26, 1995, and securitized operations under Law No. 9,138, of 1995;

b) debts with members and other debts arising from the acquisition of agricultural inputs;

c) taxes and social and labor charges;

IX - the operations are subject to the following financial charges:

a) for the portions related to the financing of receivables from members and investments, including working capital for the start of activities resulting from these investments, as well as for the portions related to the refinancing of debts with financial institutions, except securitized ones, of debts with members, and other debts arising from the acquisition of agricultural inputs, and of debts related to taxes and social and labor charges, the following will apply in the month of competence for the calculation:

1. the variation of the General Price Index - Internal Availability (IGP-DI), published by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, referring to the month prior to the month of competence for the calculation;

2. interest, at an effective rate of 4% a.a. (four percent per year);

b) for resources destined for working capital: interest, at an effective rate of 8.75% a.a. (eight and seventy-five hundredths percent per year);

X - the operations may be formalized:

a) until March 31, 2000;

b) with a maturity period:

1. of up to two years, for the portion destined for working capital;

2. of up to fifteen years, for the portion destined for other items financed, except when it concerns securitized operations;

XI - the operations will have a grace period:

a) of twenty-four months for the principal and six months for interest, when it concerns the portion of resources applied in the settlement of debts with financial institutions, of debts with members, and other debts arising from the acquisition of agricultural inputs, and of debts related to taxes and social and labor charges, as well as in the financing of receivables from members;

b) equivalent to the maturity period of the enterprise provided for in the project, for the portion of resources applied in investments;

XII - the operations are subject to the following repayment schedule:

a) principal, plus the variation of IGP-DI: according to the cooperative's cash flow;

b) interest: due on the last day of the civil semester, at maturity, and upon settlement of the debt;

XIII - the financial institution is entitled to a remuneration commission, incident on the balances of loans supported by resources from the Budget of Official Credit Operations, deducted from the interest received from the beneficiaries of the credits:

a) of 2% a.a. (two percent per year), in the case of the credit portion destined for payment of debts to the National Institute of Social Security - INSS;

b) of 3% a.a. (three percent per year), in other cases;

XIV - the operational risk is that of the financial institution, which must prove the borrower's ability to pay and require the necessary guarantees from the credit taker, in accordance with rural credit regulation, with the exception of the portion destined for payment of debts to INSS, for which the risk is attributed to the National Treasury.

Sole Paragraph. In the case of cooperatives located in the North, Northeast, and Center-West regions, only the portions destined for new investments, respecting the provisions of Article 5, paragraphs 3 and 4, of Provisional Measure No. 1,961-17, of 1999, may be included among the items financed with resources from the National Treasury, referred to in item VII.

Article 2. In the formalization of the operations referred to in the previous article, the following provisions must also be observed:

I - authorization is granted to grant a period, until March 31, 2000, for the payment of overdue or due installments of operations the responsibility of cooperatives included in RECOOP;

II - the application of the facility provided for in the preceding item covers operations formalized outside the scope of rural credit;

III - operations the responsibility of cooperatives included in RECOOP, extended under Law No. 9,138, of 1995, and Resolution No. 2,238, of January 31, 1996, for a period of up to nine years, may be renegotiated for payment within a maximum period of ten years;

IV - the following are also admitted:

a) the granting of credits to a cooperative by more than one financial institution;

b) the financing of resources necessary for the acquisition of National Treasury securities, referred to in Article 1, paragraph 2, of Resolution No. 2,471, of February 26, 1998, whose face value will be considered for the purpose of the limit referred to in Article 5 of Provisional Measure No. 1,961-17, of 1999, respecting also the issuance limit provided for in Article 21, paragraph 3, item I, of Decree No. 2,701, of July 30, 1998;

V - operations related to the integration of quota shares, formalized based on Resolution No. 2,185, of 1995, and securitized under Law No. 9,138, of 1995, when extended in the manner provided for in RECOOP, may continue to be computed for the purpose of compliance with the exigibilities of their respective resource backing sources;

VI - contracts for the transfer of resources from the Coffee Economy Defense Fund (FUNCAFÉ) and Constitutional Funds, when backing credit operations under RECOOP, will have their return periods and financial charges duly adjusted to these operations, with the burden falling on the respective Fund;

VII - it is the responsibility of the financial institution to deal with the STN regarding the formalization of the contract for the transfer of budgetary resources.

Article 3. This Resolution enters into force on the date of its publication.

Article 4. Resolutions Nos. 2,665, of November 3, 1999, and 2,672, of November 26, 1999, are revoked.

Brasília, December 21, 1999

Arminio Fraga Neto
President