Resolution CMN No. 3310 — Microcredit Operations for Low-Income Populations and Microentrepreneurs

RESOLUTION NO. 3310

Dispenses with the carrying out of microcredit operations destined for the low-income population and microentrepreneurs.

The CENTRAL BANK OF BRAZIL, in accordance with Article 9 of Law 4.595, of December 31, 1964, makes public that the National Monetary Council, in a session held on August 31, 2005, having in view the provisions of Laws 10.735, of September 11, 2003, and 11.110, of April 25, 2005, and Decree 5.288, of November 29, 2004,

R E S O L V E D:

Article 1. Establish that multiple banks with commercial portfolios, commercial banks, and the Federal Savings Bank must maintain applied in microcredit operations destined for the low-income population and microentrepreneurs, a value corresponding to, in the minimum, 2% (two percent) of the balances of demand deposits captured by the institution.

Sole Paragraph. The following are not considered in the calculation of the requirement:

I - demand deposits captured by federal and state public financial institutions:

a) from their respective governments; and

b) from autarchies and mixed-economy companies whose capitals are predominantly participated by their respective governments;

II - demand deposits captured by state public financial institutions titled by municipal public entities of the respective federative unit.

Article 2. For the purposes of this resolution, microcredit operations are considered those carried out with:

I - individuals, holders of special deposit accounts as provided in Resolution 3.211, of June 30, 2004, or holders of other deposit accounts that, together with other applications maintained by them in the financial institution, have a monthly average balance lower than R$1,000.00 (one thousand reais);

II - individuals, to enable professional, commercial, or industrial small-scale enterprises, and with legal entities classified as microenterprises in accordance with the legislation and regulations in force;

III - low-income individuals, holders or not of deposits and small-value financial applications, who fall under Article 3, item I, of Complementary Law 111, of July 6, 2001;

IV - individual and legal entity entrepreneurs of small-scale productive activities, with a gross annual income of up to R$60,000.00 (sixty thousand reais).

Sole Paragraph. The credit beneficiary must sign a written declaration or electronic signature stating:

I - in the case of individuals referred to in items I and III, that no other operation of the kind is currently in progress, as well as that they do not hold a monthly average balance in a deposit account that, together with other applications, exceeds R$1,000.00 (one thousand reais);

II - in the case of individuals and legal entities referred to in item II, that no other operation of the kind is currently in progress, as well as that the sum of the operation and the balance of other credit operations does not exceed R$10,000.00 (ten thousand reais).

Article 3. Microcredit operations must also observe the following conditions, prohibiting the collection of any other fees or expenses:

I - effective interest rates cannot exceed:

a) 2% p.m. (two percent per month); and

b) 4% p.m. (four percent per month) in oriented productive microcredit operations granted in accordance with Article 4;

II - the credit value cannot exceed:

a) R$600.00 (six hundred reais), when referring to individuals referred to in Article 2, items I and III;

b) R$1,500.00 (one thousand five hundred reais), when referring to microentrepreneurs referred to in Article 2, item II;

c) R$5,000.00 (five thousand reais), when referring to oriented productive microcredit granted in accordance with Article 4;

III - the term of the operation cannot be less than 120 days;

IV - the value of the credit opening fee cannot exceed the following percentages of the value of the credit granted:

a) up to 2% (two percent), when referring to individuals referred to in Article 2, items I and III;

b) up to 4% (four percent), when referring to individuals or legal entities referred to in Article 2, item II;

c) up to 1% (one percent) for operations up to 30 days, up to 2% (two percent) for 31 to 119 days, and up to 3% (three percent) for terms equal to or greater than 120 days, when referring to oriented productive microcredit operations, granted in accordance with Article 4.

§ 1. The following are admitted:

I - exceptionally, the contracting of operations in a term shorter than that provided in item III, provided that the credit opening fees referred to in item IV, letters "a" and "b", are charged proportionally to the term;

II - the installment payment of operations.

§ 2. The following alternatives constitute guarantee in microcredit operations:

I - joint guarantee in a group with, in the minimum, three participants;

II - fiduciary alienation;

III - suretyship;

IV - other guarantees accepted by financial institutions.

§ 3. It is permitted to contract the operations referred to in the caput, item II, letter "c", in the value of up to R$10,000.00 (ten thousand reais), provided they are limited to 20% (twenty percent) of the total, in the manner to be defined by the Central Bank of Brazil.

Article 4. Operations of microcredit granted under the following conditions, cumulatively, are included in the scope of the National Program of Oriented Productive Microcredit - PNMPO, instituted by Law 11.110, of April 25, 2005:

I - by multiple banks with commercial portfolios, commercial banks, Federal Savings Bank, which have their own structure for the development of these operations, and by institutions of oriented productive microcredit, defined in Law 11.110, of 2005, thus understood:

a) single credit cooperatives;

b) development agencies;

c) microentrepreneur credit companies;

d) civil society organizations of public interest;

II - destined for the financing of goods, services, and working capital, essential to the enterprise, including the credit opening fee, to meet the financial needs of the entrepreneurs mentioned in Article 2, item IV;

III - use methodology based on direct relationship with the entrepreneur, at the location where the economic activity is carried out, it must also be taken into consideration:

a) the service to the final borrower of resources must be carried out by people trained to carry out the socioeconomic survey and provide educational guidance on business planning, to define credit needs and management focused on the development of the enterprise;

b) contact with the final borrower of resources must be maintained during the contract period, for monitoring and guidance, aiming at their best use and application, as well as the growth and sustainability of the economic activity;

c) the value and conditions of the credit must be defined after the evaluation of the activity and the borrower's debt capacity, in close dialogue with them and in accordance with the provisions of this resolution.

§ 1. The institutions referred to in item I, to operate in the PNMPO, must qualify themselves before the Ministry of Labor and Employment, through registration, term of commitment, and work plan, discriminating the methodology of oriented productive microcredit to be used, the form of monitoring of financing, with the respective instruments to be used, and performance indices.

§ 2. Development banks, development agencies, cooperative banks, and central credit cooperatives may act in the intermediation of resources between financial institutions and oriented productive microcredit institutions provided they are qualified by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, with registration and term of commitment.

§ 3. Oriented productive microcredit operations can also be carried out by the oriented productive microcredit institutions referred to in item I, through a service provision contract, in the name of the financial institutions subject to the requirement referred to in Article 1.

Article 5. For the fulfillment of the application requirement referred to in Article 1, the following will be considered:

I - resources transferred to other financial institutions, through interbank deposit linked to microfinance operations (DIM), exclusively for applications in microcredit operations, observing the provisions of Resolution 1.647, of October 18, 1989, and complementary regulation;

II - credits arising from advances, loans, and financing operations that meet the conditions established in this resolution, acquired from:

a) other financial institutions;

b) Civil Society Organizations of Public Interest, constituted in accordance with Law 9.790, of March 23, 1999, that carry out credit activities destined to microentrepreneurs;

c) non-governmental organizations whose statutes provide for the carrying out of microcredit operations;

d) entities, funds, or programs focused on microcredit.

§ 1. It is the responsibility of the institution depositing the resources referred to in item I to prove the application of the captured values, under penalty of remitting the unapplied resources to the Central Bank of Brazil, in the terms provided in Article 6, sole paragraph.

§ 2. In oriented productive microcredit operations, acquired in the manner provided in item II, the responsibility for the provision of services mentioned in Article 4, item III, inherent to these operations, remains with the ceding entity.

§ 3. The verification, at any time, of non-compliance with the conditions for characterization of an operation, own or acquired from third parties, as oriented productive microcredit, will imply its disqualification for the purposes of fulfilling the application requirement in microcredit operations, and the information sent to the Central Bank of Brazil regarding this must be rectified immediately.

§ 4. Overdue and unpaid operations can be computed for the fulfillment of the requirement, observing the following percentages:

I - 100% (one hundred percent) in the first year after maturity;

II - 50% (fifty percent) in the second year.

Article 6. For the verification of compliance with the application requirement in microcredit operations, carried out monthly on the 20th of each month or on the first subsequent business day, when the 20th is a non-business day, the following must be considered:

I - the application requirement, which corresponds to the average of the values resulting from the application of the minimum percentages required on the daily balances of demand deposits in the twelve months prior to the month immediately preceding the month in which the verification is being carried out;

II - the average of the daily balances of eligible operations in the twelve months immediately prior to the month in which the verification is being carried out.

Sole Paragraph. The value of the deficiency of applications relative to the required, if any, must be remitted to the Central Bank of Brazil, in the manner established by it, in current currency, remaining unavailable until the date of verification of compliance with the requirement in the following month.

Article 7. In the contracting of microcredit operations provided for in this resolution, simplified procedures can be adopted for the preparation of registration forms and drafting of contracts, the prohibition contained in item IX of Resolution 1.559, of December 22, 1988, with the wording given by Resolution 3.258, of January 28, 2005, regarding the requirement of an adequate title representative of the debt, not applying.

Article 8. The Central Bank of Brazil is authorized to:

I - dispose on the terms and negotiability of the DIMs, referred to in Article 5;

II - adopt the measures and issue the norms judged necessary for the execution of the provisions of this resolution;

III - request information regarding the operations provided for in this resolution.

Article 9. This resolution enters into force on the date of its publication.

Article 10. Resolutions 3.109, of July 24, 2003, 3.212, of June 30, 2004, 3.220, of July 29, 2004, and 3.229, of August 26, 2004, are repealed, and the regulatory basis and citations to the aforementioned norms, contained in normative acts issued by the Central Bank of Brazil, shall have this resolution as reference.

Brasília, August 31, 2005.

Henrique de Campos Meirelles
President