2025-11-10 | NCF-13Added
Investment banks must ensure credits are guaranteed at over 100% of their amount, classify all credits monthly, and maintain 100% evaluation coverage. They must report restructurings, reclassifications of the 50 largest debtors, and portfolio classifications to the Superintendence within seven business days (ten in March, June, September, December). Cryptocurrency guarantees require real-time valuation and system access sharing. The Board must annually assess reserve sufficiency, while external auditors report compliance within 60 days of each year.
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Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS Approval: 10/11/2025 Validity: 25/11/2025
THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL RESERVE BANK OF EL SALVADOR,
CONSIDERING:
I. That Article 3, paragraph three of the Investment Banks Law establishes that Investment Banks constituted in accordance with this law shall have the status of members of the Financial System in accordance with the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.
II. That Article 43, paragraph one of the Investment Banks Law establishes that Investment Banks must support in their internal policies the criteria for granting financing to Sophisticated Investors and the recovery risk of the funds.
III. That Article 44, paragraph one of the Investment Banks Law establishes that Investment Banks must elaborate and implement control policies and systems that allow them to adequately manage their financial and operational risks; considering, among others, provisions related to the management, destination, and diversification of credit and investments, liquidity management, interest rates, and foreign currency operations, as well as those carried out abroad.
IV. That Article 57, paragraph three of the Investment Banks Law establishes that the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador through its Standards Committee must establish the general standards for the preparation and presentation of financial statements and supplementary information of Investment Banks, determine the principles according to which they must keep their accounting, which must be based on international accounting standards issued by internationally recognized bodies, establish criteria for the valuation of assets, liabilities, and the establishment of provisions for risks.
V. That Article 2, paragraph one of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that the Financial Supervision and Regulation System has the objective of preserving the stability of the financial system and ensuring its efficiency and transparency, as well as ensuring the safety and solidity of the members of the financial system in accordance with what is established by said Law, other applicable laws, regulations, and technical standards issued for this purpose, all in concordance with international best practices on the matter.
VI. That Article 3, letter c) of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that it is the responsibility of the Superintendency of the Financial System to proactively monitor the risks of the members of the financial system and the manner in which they manage them, ensuring the prudent maintenance of their solvency and liquidity.
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS Approval: 10/11/2025 Validity: 25/11/2025
VII. That Article 35, paragraph one and letter d) of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that directors, managers, and other officials holding management or administrative positions in the members of the financial system are obligated to comply with and ensure that in the institution they direct or work for, the adoption and updating of policies and mechanisms for risk management are fulfilled, among other actions, identifying, evaluating, mitigating, and disclosing them in accordance with international best practices.
THEREFORE,
by virtue of the regulatory powers conferred by Article 99 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System,
AGREES to issue the following:
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
CHAPTER I
OBJECT, SUBJECTS, AND TERMS
Object
Art. 1.- These Standards aim to regulate the evaluation and classification of credit risk assets according to the quality of debtors and require the establishment of minimum sanitation reserves in accordance with the expected losses of the respective assets based on the level of risk assumed by the entities.
Subjects
Art. 2.- The subjects obliged to comply with the provisions established in these Standards are:
a) Investment Banks constituted in El Salvador; b) Subsidiaries established abroad of Investment Banks constituted in El Salvador; and c) Subsidiaries and joint venture companies, national, of Investment Banks constituted in El Salvador that possess credit risk assets.
Terms
Art. 3.- For the purposes of these Standards, the terms indicated below have the following meaning:
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS Approval: 10/11/2025 Validity: 25/11/2025
a) Easily liquidated assets: In accordance with Article 4, paragraph four of the Investment Banks Law, these are goods or resources owned by a sophisticated investor that can be used immediately without legal or contractual restrictions, understanding that these assets are free of liens and any restrictions that limit their use or alienation, such as: Bitcoin, Stablecoins, Treasury Bonds, Tokenized Treasury Bonds, Gold, Tokenized Gold, among others. b) Central Bank: Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador; c) Credit: For the purposes of these Standards, this term refers to Credit Risk Assets, which are all operations that in some way signify direct or indirect financing in favor of Sophisticated Investors; d) Entity (ies): Subject obliged to comply with these Standards; e) Sophisticated Investor: In accordance with Article 4 of the Investment Banks Law, these are natural or legal persons, national or foreign, to whom Investment Banks are authorized to offer their services, which must meet the criteria established in said article; f) Board of Directors: Collegiate body in charge of the administration of the entity, with supervisory, directional, and control functions; and g) Superintendency: Superintendency of the Financial System.
CHAPTER II
BOARD OF DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Board of Directors
Art. 4.- The Board of Directors of the entities shall have the following obligations:
a) It shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with these Standards; b) Authorize internal credit granting policies; and c) Establish sufficient internal controls to guarantee compliance with the policies referred to in letter b). The aforementioned policies must include at least the elements indicated in Annexes No. 1 and 2 of these Standards and must be communicated to the Superintendency within a period not exceeding ten business days after approval.
CHAPTER III
CREDIT RISK ASSETS
Art. 5.- For the purposes of these Standards, credits are considered to be operations that in some way signify direct or indirect financing in favor of sophisticated investors, such as the following operations:
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS Approval: 10/11/2025 Validity: 25/11/2025
CHAPTER IV
GROUPING OF CREDIT RISK ASSETS
Art. 6.- For the purposes of classifying credits, they shall be grouped separately into business credits, housing credits, and consumer credits.
At the time of granting, credits must be guaranteed in a proportion greater than 100% of their amount, and once they begin to be amortized, they must always be guaranteed in a proportion greater than 100% with respect to their outstanding balance, in accordance with Article 37 of the Investment Banks Law. The foregoing must be defined in the Credit Risk Management Policy of each entity. Likewise, in the event that the guarantee is deteriorated and loses its value below 100%, entities must define in their Credit Risk Management Policy the mechanisms they will use to mitigate this event. Credits will be classified according to the "Technical Standards on the Procedure for Information Collection from the Central Risk System for Investment Banks" (NRP-92).
Business Credits
Art. 7.- The general majority of credits granted by entities are grouped within business credits, with the exception of housing credits and consumer credits.
Credits granted to the Central Government, Municipalities, and Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Official Institutions that request to be qualified as sophisticated investors and successfully obtain that qualification will also be included in this group. Financing to legal persons arising from the use of credit cards will also be considered as business credits.
Business credits whose destination country is different from El Salvador must be registered solely under the code "12.03.00 Credits for Activities Abroad", in accordance with the "Technical Standards on the Procedure for Information Collection from the Central Risk System for Investment Banks" (NRP-92).
Housing Credits
Art. 8.- Housing credits include loans granted to natural persons for the acquisition of housing, as well as those granted for land acquisition, construction, remodeling, and repair of housing.
Generally, these credits meet the following characteristics:
Housing credits whose destination country is different from El Salvador must be registered solely under the code "09.00.08 Financing for the Acquisition of Housing and Others Abroad", in accordance with the "Technical Standards on the Procedure for Information Collection from the Central Risk System for Investment Banks" (NRP-92).
Consumer Credits
Art. 9.- Consumer credits include personal loans whose purpose is to finance the acquisition of consumer goods or the payment of services, and which have the following general characteristics:
Financing to natural persons arising from the use of credit cards will also be considered as consumer credits.
Consumer credits whose destination country is different from El Salvador must be registered solely under the code "10.00.07 Consumer Loans Abroad", in accordance with the "Technical Standards on the Procedure for Information Collection from the Central Risk System for Investment Banks" (NRP-92).
CHAPTER V
EVALUATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF CREDIT RISK ASSETS Art. 10.- Entities must have 100% of their credits duly evaluated and classified at all times.
To determine the classification of a debtor, entities will gather all credit operations contracted by the debtor with said entity, so that the risk category assigned corresponds to the credit with the highest recovery risk. The Superintendency may require an entity to assign a debtor the category of another debtor when there are well-founded criteria that presume that there are ownership, administration, or business linkages between the two debtors.
Classification of business, housing, and consumer credits Art. 11.- All credits shall be classified monthly according to the debtor's payment behavior in the categories defined in Article 17, in the manner provided in Annex 1, considering the treatment of guarantees as established in Articles 13 to 15 of these Standards. Additionally, entities must maintain a specific record of the evaluation and classification of their fifty largest business debtors.
Art. 12.- A file containing all documents related to the request, analysis, and approval must be opened for each debtor, in accordance with what is established in Annex No. 2.
Treatment of Guarantees
Art. 13.- For the purposes of the requirement of sanitation reserves, the risk of a debtor will be determined by subtracting from the total balance of obligations the value of the guarantees backing them that correspond to those detailed in the following article; in addition, the criteria for their acceptance must be in conformity with the policies approved by the Board of Directors.
In cases where the same guarantee backs the granting of one or more credits to different debtors, the value to be considered for said guarantee, for the purpose of establishing sanitation reserves, will be proportional to the outstanding balances of the credits granted to the debtor.
Art. 14.- For the purposes of the previous article, the guarantees that may be considered are the following:
| TYPE OF GUARANTEE | Percentage to Consider |
|---|---|
| Cash deposits in legal tender currency. | 100% |
| Monetary deposit certificates in legal tender currency duly pledged and opened in local banks (both commercial and investment banks) or in first-line foreign banks or other financial intermediaries supervised by the Superintendency of the Financial System. | 100% |
| Guarantees and Bonds from local banks (both commercial and investment banks) or first-line foreign banks in legal tender currency. | 100% |
| Pledges on fixed-income securities, issued in the country or abroad, with a high degree of liquidity and that have an international classification of "investment grade". | 100% |
| Stablecoins or "Stablecoins", whose underlying asset is a currency issued by a Central Bank or an asset traded in organized securities markets with similar or superior supervision requirements compared to El Salvador and that has an active market. | 90% |
| First mortgages on real estate, duly registered; however, for those guarantees with preventive annotation and sufficient documentation for registration, a maximum period of six months is granted to conclude the registration process, from the date of granting the guarantee. | Ranges of Categories: Percentage to Consider |
| From A2 to C2 | 70% |
| D1 and D2 | 60% |
| E | 50% |
| Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency with an active market. | Ranges of Categories: Percentage to Consider |
| From A2 to C2 | 75% |
| D1 and D2 | 65% |
| E | 55% |
An "active market" is understood to be one in which transactions of an asset take place with sufficient frequency and volume to provide price information on a continuous basis.
Art. 15.- Mortgage guarantees must meet the following requirements:
a) The value of the property to be subtracted from the balance of obligations will be the lesser between the updated appraisal value and the contractual appraisal value; b) The appraisal of the guarantee must be carried out by an independent appraiser, duly registered with the Superintendency; c) The appraisal of mortgage guarantees must not be older than 24 months in business credits and 36 months in housing credits, and must be carried out by an independent appraiser, duly registered with the Superintendency; d) In the case of construction credits, the added value in the progress of the work will be considered part of the guarantee, provided that:
i) The entity adequately documents and verifies the progress of the work related to the credit disbursements; ii) There is an annual progress report prepared by an independent appraiser registered with the Superintendency; and iii) Pre-sale and reservation reports of housing are included in the respective file, where applicable. e) Guarantees granted by persons related to the obligated entity to cover third-party risks will not be considered for the calculation of sanitation reserves.
Art. 16.- Guarantees constituted with stablecoins, Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrency in accordance with Article 15 of these Standards must be valued at market value. For this purpose, entities must use a valuation methodology that provides real-time information.
For the valuation of the guarantees referred to in the first paragraph of this article, entities must share with the Superintendency access to the information system used for the real-time monitoring of the value of said guarantees, which must include at minimum the fields included in Annex No. 4 of these Standards.
Prior to the start of operations, entities must submit to the Superintendency the methodology they will use to value the guarantees and the international source of financial information they will use for valuation, both of which must have the approval of the Superintendency, which will have a maximum period of 20 business days to issue a resolution.
CHAPTER VI
ESTABLISHMENT OF SANITATION RESERVES
Risk Categories
Art. 17.- Entities must establish minimum sanitation reserves for their credit risk assets, subtracting from the balance of each debtor the value of the guarantees backing them established in Articles 13 to 15 of these Standards, classifying said debtors and applying reserve percentages in accordance with the following detail:
| Classification | Sanitation Reserve Percentage |
|---|---|
| Normal | |
| Category A1 | 0% |
| Category A2 | 1% |
| Subnormal | |
| Category B | 5% |
| Deficient | |
| Category C1 | 15% |
| Category C2 | 25% |
| Difficult to Recover | |
| Category D1 | 50% |
| Category D2 | 75% |
| Unrecoverable | |
| Category E | 100% |
Restructurings and Refinancings of Debts
Art. 18.- An extension is understood as the prolongation of the payment term of an obligation, without issuing a new contractual document and without a change in the credit reference.
A reprogrammed credit is understood as a modification in the amortization conditions of the original credit, possibly including a modification of the term, without issuing a new document and without a change in the credit reference.
Credits that have been extended, reprogrammed, or that have been subject to any other legal or financial arrangement that modifies the originally agreed conditions will be referred to as restructured credits.
Art. 19.- A refinanced credit is understood as a credit granted that cancels in whole or in part other credits with delinquency or payment capacity problems and that changes the conditions of the previous credits.
Art. 20.- Debtors whose original credits are restructured or refinanced will retain their risk category in accordance with the criteria defined in Annex 1, provided that the debtor satisfies by their own means, before the restructuring or refinancing, the total of the interest owed as of the date of the transaction, without these latter being the product of new financing, direct or indirect.
Debtors with restructured or refinanced credits that do not meet the aforementioned condition will be classified in category C2 or a higher risk category, in accordance with the symptoms presented.
If the restructured or refinanced operation that does not meet the payment of the total interest owed continues with delays in the payment of the established installments,
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
for reasons of prudent and sound risk assessment practice, it will be classified as D1 or a higher risk category, in accordance with the symptoms it presents, provided that:
a) Six months have not elapsed from the new agreed term, for credits intended for investment, and three months from the new agreed term for credits intended for working capital; or, b) Six months have not elapsed from the new agreed term in credits for housing or consumption.
Likewise, for qualification purposes, the file of these debtors must show the accumulated delinquency of said credits, as of the date the restructuring or refinancing is carried out.
Reclassification of restructured or refinanced credits
Art. 21. - Debtors with credits that have been restructured or refinanced may be reclassified to a lower risk category if they meet the conditions of said category and additionally:
a) In the case of business credits, the debtor:
i) Demonstrates regular service of its debts for at least six months of the new agreed term for credits intended for investment, and at least three months of the new agreed term for credits intended for working capital; and ii) Cancels at least five percent (5%) of the principal. b) In the case of housing and consumption credits, until the debtor demonstrates normality in its capital and interest payments, in the last six months.
Regular service of its debts and normality in payments are considered the service of the debt, capital and interest, with a delay no greater than seven calendar days for housing and consumption credits. Regular service of its debts and normality in payments are considered the service of the debt, capital and interest, with a delay no greater than fourteen calendar days for business credits.
The above conditions will be required in the first reclassification carried out to the risk category corresponding to the debtor, according to the criteria described in these Standards.
Art. 22. - Debt consolidation will be understood as credits granted to pay obligations that the client has with the granting entity or with another entity in the financial system, to take advantage of better market conditions.
When one or more of the credits to be consolidated have been granted by the same entity and presents delinquency greater than 30 days in the last 90 days, the consolidation will be considered as refinancing.
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Art. 23. - Restructured or refinanced credits must be adequately identified in the entities' accounting and in their computer systems. The entities' information systems must allow for the monitoring of said risks, segregate the products effectively received by them credited to results, identify their origin, as well as facilitate the control of their payment behavior.
Art. 24. - The Superintendence may require the establishment of additional sanitation reserves in those cases where, due to a restructured or refinanced credit, the entity recognizes in Products the uncollected and unprovisioned interest.
Art. 25. - Entities must inform the Superintendence of the restructurings or refinancings of their credit assets that they carry out during the month, in the first seven business days after the end of the same, except in March, June, September, and December, in which case they will do so in the first ten business days following said months.
Reclassifications of credit assets
Art. 26. - The classification of credits and, consequently, the amount of sanitation reserves required may vary month to month due to the granting and payment of credits, the receipt of extraordinary assets, the write-off of credits, the reclassification of debtors, and other circumstances. However, entities will make the corresponding adjustments in the classifications and sanitation reserves established at the end of each month.
Art. 27. - Entities must inform the Superintendence of the reclassifications to a lower risk category and the reasons on which they are based, of the 50 largest debtors of the respective institution in the first seven business days of each month, except in March, June, September, and December, in which case they will do so in the first ten business days following said months.
Art. 28. - When the Superintendence establishes that a debtor is inadequately classified, it will order their reclassification and the corresponding adjustment in the sanitation reserves. The Superintendence will carry out the necessary verifications by the means and dates it deems convenient.
Information to the Superintendence
Art. 29. - Without prejudice to the information required in other articles of these Standards, entities must send to the Superintendence the classification of the portfolio of all their credit assets and the respective sanitation reserves referred to the balances at the end of the month, in the first seven business days following, except in the months of March, June, September, and December, in which case they will do so in the first ten business days following said months. This information must also allow for the support of the information service on credit users as indicated in article 61 of the
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Banking Law and its regulated application in article 71 of the Investment Banks Law.
CHAPTER VII
OTHER PROVISIONS AND VALIDITY
Art. 30. - The Board of Directors of the entities subject to these Standards must pronounce itself at least once a year and, in any case, on the occasion of the closing financial statements of the fiscal year, regarding the sufficiency of the sanitation reserves established in accordance with these Standards. Said pronouncement must be recorded in the corresponding minutes book.
Art. 31. - The external auditors of the entities must document in their working papers the compliance with the internal credit policies and report it to the Superintendence in the first 60 days of each year or in the first ten business days, when it determines any non-compliance with said policies.
Art. 32. - Entities that grant credits with the guarantee of a reciprocal guarantee society shall not qualify or establish sanitation reserves for said credits, an exception that does not imply undermining the internal procedures and controls that are necessary for the granting of credits.
Art. 33. - For the purposes of the obligations of Reciprocal Guarantee Societies with the entities regulated in these Standards, they must observe what is established in the "Standards for Classifying Credit Risk Assets and Establishing Sanitation Reserves" (NCB-022).
Sanctions
Art. 34. - Non-compliance with the provisions contained in these Standards will be sanctioned in accordance with what is established in the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.
Unforeseen Aspects
Art. 35. - Aspects not provided for in regulatory matters in these Standards will be resolved by the Central Bank through its Standards Committee.
Validity
Art. 36. - These Standards will enter into force as of November 25, two thousand twenty-five.
Modifications:
(1) Modification in Annex No. 3, approved by the Central Bank through its Standards Committee, in Session No. CN-04/2026, of May 25, two thousand twenty-six, with validity as of June 9, two thousand twenty-six.
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Annex 1
GENERAL CRITERIA FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF DEBTORS
Entities will establish the policies, methods, and procedures that they will apply in the granting, study, and documentation of their credit risks and contingent commitments (hereinafter, operations), as well as in the identification of their deterioration and the calculation of the amounts necessary to cover their credit risk of insolvency attributable to the client. The Board of Directors of financial holding companies will ensure that said policies, methods, and procedures are homogeneous for all entities belonging to the same group.
Based on the size of the entities' operations, considering their volume and complexity, the policies, methods, and procedures must:
a) Be approved by the Board of Directors and ratified by the controlling entity in the case of entities dependent on financial conglomerates; b) Be adequately justified and documented. Among the necessary documentation, proposals and opinions from the corresponding internal departments of the entity, such as Internal Audit, Risk Management, and Legal and Regulatory Compliance, must be included; c) Detail, among other issues:
i) The criteria for granting operations, which will include aspects such as the markets, products, type of clientele, etc., in which the entity will operate, as well as the global limits of the risks to be assumed for each of them, and the requirements that clients and guarantees must meet to be granted operations, specifying the minimum review period of the evaluation, both of information, solvency and indebtedness, capacity to service its debts, as well as liquidity and other relevant factors, according to the business segment and type of operation; ii) The pricing policy to be applied; iii) The responsibilities and delegated powers of the different bodies and persons in charge of granting, formalizing, monitoring, valuing, and controlling operations, including the delegation of policy authorization; iv) The requirements that studies and analyses of operations to be carried out before their granting and during their validity must meet; v) The minimum documentation that different types of operations must have for their granting and during their validity; vi) The definition of criteria to classify operations based on their credit risk and the way to quantify individual estimates and, if applicable, group estimates of impairment losses, including in the latter case the parameters to be used in the estimate; vii) The limit parameters corresponding to financial ratios and other factors that objectify each analyzed risk category. d) The Risk Unit that has authorized the Board of Directors will ensure that the policies, methods, and procedures are adequate, effectively implemented, and reviewed at least once a year and adjusted if necessary. It will also have the responsibility of evaluating the risk of the operations for which it must have adequate means and experience to the complexity and volume of credit activities; the evaluation it carries out must be independent of the Unit that granted the credit and the respective responsible credit officer; e) The documentation referred to in this section will be available to the Superintendence and external auditors.
The Boards of Directors will be responsible for ensuring that the following criteria are applied in entities at all times:
a) They will exercise maximum care and diligence in the rigorous and individualized study of the credit risk of operations, not only at the time of their granting, but also continuously during their validity, and will not delay their reclassification to a higher risk category due to deterioration in credit quality, nor their adequate coverage through sanitation reserves, which must be carried out as soon as the existence of an abnormal situation or deterioration of credit risk is appreciated. Likewise, they will implement mechanisms that allow the adequate application of the criteria in cases of reclassification to lower risk categories; b) They will adequately document all operations; c) The methods or procedures they use to estimate impairment due to credit risk will be integrated into the entities' risk management system and must take into account, in addition to all the factors listed, past experience, the geographic or business areas in which the entity's and group's activity takes place, risk levels, and all available information as of the date the estimate is made, including the sensitivity of estimates to the phase of the economic cycle, as well as reasonable fluctuations in interest rate levels, input prices, and variations in demand; d) In the analysis of credit risk and in the estimation of losses, the cash disbursed by the entity pending amortization, as well as the amounts likely exposed to risk in contingent operations, including the amounts in which there is an irrevocable commitment to disburse by the institution, will be considered.
In overdrafts and other debit balances on demand, the term to compute the age of unpaid amounts will be counted from the first repayment request made by the entity, or from the first interest settlement that results unpaid.
The Board of Directors will establish policies for the granting, documentation, and control of revolving credit lines and will be responsible for ensuring that disbursements are used in accordance with the destination for which they were originally agreed. In cases of non-compliance with the respective policies, the debtor will be classified in category D.
In operations with periodic amortization installments, the date of the first maturity for the purposes of classifying the operations will be the one corresponding to the oldest installment of which any amount for principal or interest remains unpaid as of the evaluation date.
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Categories and Criteria for the Classification of Debtors
| Category | Delinquency in calendar days of amortization installments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | Consumption | Business | |
| A1 | Up to 7 days | Up to 7 days | Up to 14 days |
| A2 | Up to 30 days | Up to 30 days | Up to 30 days |
| B | Up to 90 days | Up to 60 days | Up to 60 days |
| C1 | Up to 120 days | Up to 90 days | Up to 90 days |
| C2 | Up to 180 days | Up to 120 days | Up to 120 days |
| D1 | Up to 270 days | Up to 150 days | Up to 150 days |
| D2 | Up to 360 days | Up to 180 days | Up to 180 days |
| E | +360 days | +180 days | +180 days |
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Annex 2
THE CREDIT FILE MUST CONTAIN AT MINIMUM, WHERE PERTINENT, THE DOCUMENTS DETAILLED BELOW
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SANITATION RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS
Approval: 10/11/2025
Validity: 25/11/2025
Annex 3
PRUDENTIAL ASPECTS TO CONSIDER IN THE ISSUANCE OF GUARANTEES
Entities must consider the following prudential aspects of risk management and necessary documentation before the issuance of guarantees.
The board of directors of the entity will define and approve:
a) The policies and standards in matters of underwriting of guarantees and obtaining guarantees, marketing, monitoring of guaranteed obligations, risk management, re-guaranteeing in the case of insurance companies, as well as the strategic objectives in these matters and the mechanisms to monitor and evaluate their compliance; b) The constitution of consultative committees that report, directly or through the general manager or their substitute, to the board of directors and whose purpose is to assist in the determination of policy and strategy in matters of risk management, underwriting of guarantees, and obtaining of guarantees; c) That in the granting of guarantees, the entity without prejudice to collecting the necessary guarantees, must reasonably estimate that the guarantor will comply with the guaranteed obligations considering the economic viability of the projects related to the obligations to be guaranteed, the technical and financial capacity of the guarantor to comply with the obligation, their credit history, as well as their administrative and moral qualification;
Risk Management
The objectives, guidelines, and policies in matters of guarantees must generally contemplate the following aspects:
a) The functions and responsibilities of the different organizational areas and personnel involved in the issuance and administration of guarantees; b) The powers of authorized personnel for the issuance of different types of guarantees, establishing the levels of authorization or granting both by amount and by type; c) The strategies and policies for the issuance of guarantees, which, in addition to being consistent with the characteristics and capacity of the entity, may consider the following elements:
Entities must have a guarantee manual that contains the processes, methodologies, procedures, and other necessary information for the issuance and administration of guarantees.
The risk committee will be responsible for reviewing that the guarantee manual is in accordance with the objectives, guidelines, and policies in matters of issuance and administration of guarantees, approved by the board of directors.
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SOLVENCY RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS Approval: 10/11/2025 Validity: 25/11/2025
Annex 3
Entities must provide periodic follow-up, in accordance with their policies, to each of the guarantees, requesting all relevant information indicating the situation of the guarantor in relation to the covered event and the situation of the guarantees obtained, if any.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, entities must establish stricter evaluation and follow-up procedures for those guarantees whose coverage object shows symptoms indicating that the terms and conditions agreed upon between the guarantor and the beneficiary will not be fully complied with.
Entities must include in their policies and procedures regarding guarantees, the requirements for the integration and maintenance of the files that they must have for each type of guarantee they issue.
These requirements must provide for the incorporation of relevant information and documentation based on the stages of the guarantee process, relating to the evaluation, approval, and issuance of the guarantee, as well as follow-up, control, and recovery.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, entities must integrate a file by guarantor containing the information and documentation of all guarantee operations concluded with the same party.
The file must contain, as applicable and in accordance with the entity's own policies, the following information:
a) Guarantee application; b) Record of customer evaluation, financial analysis, selection of covered risk, etc.; c) Minute of the guarantee committee or equivalent body in which the issuance of the guarantee was approved; d) Digital copy of the issued guarantee document; e) Sworn declaration for compliance with the Special Law for the Prevention, Control, and Sanction of Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction; (1) f) Audited financial statements of the guarantor, if it is a legal entity; if it is a natural person not required to have external auditing, they must present financial statements certified by an external auditor; g) Digital copy of the contract between the guarantor and the beneficiary that gave rise to the guarantee; h) Digital copy of the document of the guarantee received for the issuance of the guarantee.
The information and documentation contained in the file must be kept updated as required by the entity's policies.
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Tel. (503) 2281-8000 www.bcr.gob.sv
CNBCR-09/2025
NCF-13
TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFYING CREDIT RISK ASSETS AND ESTABLISHING SOLVENCY RESERVES FOR INVESTMENT BANKS Approval: 10/11/2025 Validity: 25/11/2025
Annex 4
Information on Guarantees for the Superintendency of the Financial System
Credit Reference
Outstanding Balance
(in US$)
Type of Guarantee
Asset Name
Digital
Units
Real-time market value
(in US$)
% Coverage
(Market Value in US$
/ Outstanding Balance)
Monitoring Date
1
Time
Source of Information for Market Value
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Source: Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador — original document · Summary generated with machine assistance and reviewed before publication; the authoritative text is the regulator's original document. How RegAlert works
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