Resolution CMN No. 3110 — Amends and Consolidates Rules on the Hiring of Correspondents in the Country

RESOLUTION No. 003110

Amends and consolidates the rules that provide for the hiring of correspondents in the Country.

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 July 31, 2003, based on Articles 3, item V, 4, items VI and VIII, 17 and 18, § 1, of the aforementioned Law and Article 14 of Law No. 4,728 of July 14, 1965,

RESOLVES:

Article 1. To amend and consolidate, in accordance with this resolution, the rules that provide for the hiring, by multiple banks, commercial banks, the Federal Savings Bank, investment banks, credit, financing and investment companies, real estate credit companies, and savings and loan associations, of companies, whether or not part of the National Financial System, to perform the functions of correspondent in the Country, with a view to providing the following services:

I - reception and forwarding of proposals for opening checking, time deposit, and savings accounts;

II - receipts and payments related to checking, time deposit, and savings accounts, as well as applications and redemptions in investment funds;

III - receipts, payments, and other activities arising from service provision agreements maintained by the hiring party in accordance with current regulation;

IV - active or passive execution of payment orders on behalf of the hiring party;

V - reception and forwarding of loan and financing requests;

VI - credit analysis and registration;

VII - execution of collection services;

VIII - reception and forwarding of credit card issuance proposals;

IX - other control services, including data processing, of the agreed operations;

X - other activities, at the discretion of the Central Bank of Brazil.

§ 1. The privilege referred to in this article may only be exercised with respect to services related to the activities developed by the institutions referred to in the caput, permitted under the terms of current legislation and regulation.

§ 2. The hiring of a company to provide the services referred to in the caput, items I and II, depends on prior authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil, and in other cases, must be communicated to that Autarchy.

§ 3. The functions of correspondent may be performed by notarial and registration services, as provided in Law No. 8,935 of November 18, 1994.

Article 2. It is prohibited for the financial institution to hire, for the provision of the services referred to in Article 1, items I and II, a company whose main or sole activity is the provision of correspondent services.

Sole Paragraph. The prohibition referred to in this article applies to the case of subcontracting the contract to third parties, in whole or in part.

Article 3. Prior authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil is required for the hiring, by a financial institution, for the provision of any of the services referred to in Article 1, of a company that uses the term "bank" in its corporate name or in its trade name.

Sole Paragraph. The provisions of this article apply to the case of subcontracting the contract to third parties, in whole or in part.

Article 4. Contracts regarding the provision of correspondent services under this resolution must include clauses providing for:

I - the total responsibility of the hiring financial institution for the services provided by the contracted company, including in the event of subcontracting the contract to third parties, in whole or in part;

II - the integral and unrestricted access of the Central Bank of Brazil, through the hiring financial institution, to all information, data, and documents related to the contracted company, the subcontracted third party, and the services provided by them;

III - that, in the event of subcontracting the contract to third parties, in whole or in part, the contracted company must obtain the prior consent of the hiring financial institution;

IV - the prohibition, for the contracted company, of:

a) making advances on account of resources to be released by the hiring financial institution;

b) issuing, in its own favor, coupons or titles related to the intermediated operations;

c) charging, on its own initiative, any fee related to the provision of services referred to in the contract;

d) providing any type of guarantee in the operations referred to in the contract;

V - that the financial settlements between the hiring financial institution and the contracted company must occur, at most, every two business days;

VI - that, in loan and financing contracts, the release of resources must be effected by means of a named, crossed, and non-transferable check, issued by the hiring financial institution in favor of the beneficiary or the selling commercial company, or credit in a checking account of the beneficiary or the selling commercial company;

VII - the obligation of the contracted company to disclose, on a panel posted in a location visible to the public, information that explicitly and unequivocally states its status as a simple service provider to the hiring financial institution.

§ 1. In the event of subcontracting the contract to third parties, the provisions of Article 1, § 2, must be observed.

§ 2. Alternatively to the payment scheme provided for in item VI, the release of resources may be processed by means of a named, crossed, and non-transferable check, issued by the contracted company, acting on behalf and order of the hiring financial institution, in favor of the beneficiary or the selling commercial company, provided that, daily, the total value of the issued checks is identical to that of the resources received from the hiring financial institution for this purpose.

Article 5. Companies hired to provide correspondent services under this resolution are subject to the penalties provided for in Article 44, § 7, of Law No. 4,595 of 1964, should they carry out, on their own behalf and order, operations exclusive to financial institutions.

Article 6. The Central Bank of Brazil is authorized to issue norms and adopt measures deemed necessary for the execution of the provisions of this resolution.

Article 7. This resolution enters into force on the date of its publication.

Article 8. Resolution No. 2,707 of March 30, 2000, and Article 2 of Resolution No. 2,953 of April 25, 2002, are repealed, and the regulatory basis and citations to the now-repealed norm, contained in normative acts issued by the Central Bank of Brazil, shall refer to this resolution.

Brasília, July 31, 2003.

Henrique de Campos Meirelles
President