Resolution CMN No. 4976 — Regulates the organization and operation of leasing companies

RESOLUTION
CMN NO. 4,976, OF DECEMBER 16, 2021

Regulates the organization and operation of leasing companies.

The Central Bank of
Brazil, in accordance with Art. 9 of Law No. 4,595, of December 31, 1964, makes public that the National Monetary Council, in a session held on December 16, 2021, based on the provisions of items VIII, XI, and XIII of Art. 4 of Law No. 4,595, of 1964, § 1 of Art. 2, and Arts. 7, 8, and 23 of Law No. 6,099, of September 12, 1974, and considering the provisions of Decree No. 10,139, of November 28, 2019,

R E S O L V E D :

Art. 1 This Resolution regulates the organization and operation of leasing companies.

Art. 2 The operation of legal entities whose main business activity is the practice of leasing operations, known as leasing companies, requires authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil, in accordance with specific regulation.

Art. 3 The same conditions established for the operation of financial institutions by Law No. 4,595, of December 31, 1964, and by subsequent legislation relating to the National Financial System, apply to leasing companies, insofar as applicable.

Art. 4 Leasing companies must be incorporated as joint-stock companies, and the expression "Leasing" must obligatorily appear in their corporate name.

Sole Paragraph. The expression "Leasing" in the corporate name or trade name is exclusive to the companies referred to in this
article.

Art. 5 Leasing companies must permanently observe minimum limits of paid-in capital and net equity of R$7,000,000.00 (seven million reais).

Art. 5 (Revoked by Joint Resolution No. 14, of 3/11/2025.)

Art.
6 Leasing companies must maintain:

I

• a director responsible for the leasing area and inform their name
  to the Central Bank of Brazil; and

II

• a specialized technical department in leasing properly
  structured and supervised directly by the director mentioned in item I of the main text.

Art. 7 It is prohibited for leasing companies to enter into loan contracts with natural and legal persons that are not financial.

Art. 8 The liquidity of leasing companies, when not held in cash, may be freely invested in the market, observing the limits and other relevant regulatory norms for each type of financial investment.

Art. 9 Leasing companies may employ in their activities, in addition to own resources, those derived from:

I - resources raised abroad;

II - loans and financing from national financial institutions, including in the form of pass-through of external resources;

III - official financial institutions, intended for pass-through of specific programs;

IV - issuance of Leasing Notes, in accordance with specific regulation;

V - public or private issuance of debentures;

VI - issuance of promissory notes intended for public offering;

VII - assignment of leasing contracts, as well as the credit rights arising from them;

VIII - interbank deposits, in accordance with specific regulation; and

IX - other forms of resource raising authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil.

Sole Paragraph. The raising of resources abroad referred to in item I of the main text, when carried out through a loan, may only have the following purposes:

I - obtaining resources for the acquisition of assets for leasing purposes;

II - acquisition of credit rights arising from leasing contracts that contain a foreign exchange variation clause; and

III - acquisition of leasing contracts that contain a foreign exchange variation clause.

Art. 10. Leasing companies may obtain loans, financing, resource pass-throughs, and guarantees from affiliated or interdependent financial institutions, provided that the corresponding charges must be those normally charged in operations of the same kind carried out with third parties.

Sole Paragraph. For the purposes of this Resolution, it is considered:

I - affiliated: the entity over which the institution has significant influence, as defined in the specific regulation on accounting measurement and recognition of investments in affiliates, controlled entities, and jointly controlled entities held by financial institutions and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil; and

II - interdependent: the person, natural or legal, that is a related party of the institution, as defined in the specific regulation that sets forth the conditions and limits for the realization of credit operations with related parties by financial institutions and by leasing companies, for the purposes of Art. 34 of Law No. 4,595, of 1964.

Art. 11. Leasing companies may offer, as collateral for loans contracted in the domestic or foreign markets, the pledge of credit rights from leasing contracts.

Art. 12 . The Central Bank of Brazil is authorized to issue norms and adopt measures necessary for the execution of the provisions of this Resolution.

Art. 13. This Resolution enters into force on January 1, 2022.

Roberto de
Oliveira Campos Neto
President of the Central Bank of Brazil