Resolution CMN No. 3422 — Regulates Microcredit Operations for Low-Income Populations and Microentrepreneurs

RESOLUTION NO. 3422

Regulates the conduct 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 MONETARY NATIONAL COUNCIL, in a session held on November 30, 2006, having regard to 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,

RESOLVES:

Article 1. Multiple banks with commercial portfolios, commercial banks, and Caixa Econômica Federal must maintain applied in microcredit operations destined for the low-income population and microentrepreneurs, an amount corresponding to at least 2% (two percent) of the balances of demand deposits collected by the institution.

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

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

a) from their respective governments; and

b) from autarchies and mixed-economy companies whose capital is majority-owned by their respective governments;

II - demand deposits collected by state public financial institutions held 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 - natural persons:

a) holders of special deposit accounts as provided in Resolution 3.211 of June 30, 2004;

b) holders of other deposit accounts that, together with other investments held by them in the financial institution, have a monthly average balance of less than R$3,000.00 (three thousand reais);

II - natural persons, to enable professional, commercial, or industrial small-scale enterprises, and with legal entities classified as microenterprises in accordance with current legislation and regulation;

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

IV - natural and legal entity entrepreneurs of small-scale productive activities, whose annual gross income does not exceed the value established by Article 3 of Decree 5.288 of November 29, 2004, or by any other norm that alters or replaces it.

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

I - in the case of natural persons referred to in item I, letter "a", that no other operation of this kind is currently in progress;

II - in the case of natural persons referred to in items I, letter "b", and III, that no other operation of this 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 investments, exceeds R$3,000.00 (three thousand reais);

III - in the case of natural and legal persons referred to in items II and IV, that no other operation of this 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$15,000.00 (fifteen thousand reais), excluding housing credit operations from this limit.

Article 3. Microcredit operations must also observe the following conditions, with the charging of any other fees or expenses prohibited:

I - effective interest rates may not 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 may not exceed:

a) R$1,000.00 (one thousand reais), when referring to the natural persons mentioned in Article 2, items I and III;

b) R$3,000.00 (three thousand reais), when referring to microentrepreneurs mentioned in Article 2, item II;

c) R$10,000.00 (ten thousand reais), when referring to oriented productive microcredit granted in accordance with Article 4;

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

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

a) up to 2% (two percent), when referring to natural persons mentioned in Article 2, items I and III;

b) up to 4% (four percent), when referring to natural or legal persons mentioned in Article 2, item II;

c) up to 3% (three percent) when referring to oriented productive microcredit operations, granted in accordance with Article 4.

§ 1. The following are admitted:

I - exceptionally, the contracting of operations for a term shorter than that provided in item III of the caput, in which case the limits for credit opening fees established in item IV are reduced in the same proportion;

II - installment payment of operations.

§ 2. Any guarantee accepted by financial institutions, including joint and several guarantee in a group with at least three participants, fiduciary alienation, and surety, constitutes security in microcredit operations.

Article 4. The scope of the National Program for Oriented Productive Microcredit - PNMPO, established by Law 11.110 of April 25, 2005, includes microcredit operations granted under the following conditions, cumulatively:

I - by multiple banks with commercial portfolios, commercial banks, Caixa Econômica Federal, 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 as:

a) single credit cooperatives;

b) development agencies;

c) microentrepreneur credit companies;

d) Civil Society Organizations of Public Interest, constituted in accordance with Law 9.790 of March 23, 1999, that develop credit activities destined for microentrepreneurs;

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 a methodology based on direct relationship with the entrepreneur, at the location where the economic activity is carried out, taking into account still:

a) the service to the final borrower of resources must be performed by people trained to conduct 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 utilization 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 borrowing capacity of the final borrower of resources, in close interaction with them and in consonance 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 may 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 interfinancial deposit linked to microfinance operations (DIM), exclusively for applications in microcredit operations, observing the provisions of Resolution 3.399 of August 29, 2006, and complementary regulation;

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

a) other financial institutions;

b) civil society organizations of public interest;

c) non-governmental organizations whose statutes provide for the conduct 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 collected values, under penalty of remitting the unapplied resources to the Central Bank of Brazil, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, sole paragraph.

§ 2. In oriented productive microcredit operations, acquired in the manner provided in item II, the responsibility for providing the services mentioned in Article 4, item III, inherent to these operations, remains with the granting 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 information sent to the Central Bank of Brazil regarding this must be rectified immediately.

§ 4. Overdue and unpaid operations may 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 referred to in this resolution, simplified procedures may be adopted for the preparation of registration forms and the drafting of contracts, with the prohibition contained in item IX of Resolution 1.559 of December 22, 1988, as amended by Resolution 3.258 of January 28, 2005, regarding the requirement of an adequate title representing the debt, not applying.

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

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

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

III - request information regarding the operations referred to in this resolution.

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

Article 10. Resolution 3.310 of August 31, 2005, is revoked, and the regulatory basis and citations to the aforementioned norm, contained in norms issued by the Central Bank of Brazil, shall have this resolution as their reference.

São Paulo, November 30, 2006.

Henrique de Campos Meirelles
President