(English) Decades-Old Currency Rules to Face the Chopping Block in Brazil

30 . maio . 2019

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Brazil’s central bank will back the creation of dollar-denominated accounts in the country as part of a push to modernize obsolete currency laws and cut red tape.

Central bank President Roberto Campos Neto on Wednesday said revamping currency rules will be a main focus of the institution’s legislative and regulatory agenda in coming years. As an example, allowing for dollar-dominated accounts in Brazil and real-dominated accounts abroad would make it easier for foreigners to invest in the country.

“A lot of the currency laws we have were created between the 1920s and 1950s,” Campos Neto told reporters at a press conference in Brasilia.

In recent years, Brazil’s central bank has broadened its presence in attempts to tackle economic challenges beyond monetary policy. Under former bank President Ilan Goldfajn, the monetary authority sought to lower lending spreads and credit card rates, as well as to encourage competition. Campos Neto has signaled he will continue those efforts while also including new areas such as fintechs.

Rules governing currency operations are spread out among many individual laws, and that consequently renders the transactions more difficult, Campos Neto said. Central bank efforts will include a legislative proposal that seeks to make Brazil’s real more convertible.

As things currently stand, many foreign products can only be paid for once they’ve arrived on Brazilian soil, he said. In theory, that could hinder the import of goods that are assembled abroad with components from several different countries that would technically have to be paid for in Brazil first.

“The goal is set by the central bank, but there’s still a long way to get there,” said Tiago Severo, a partner at Mattos Engelberg law firm and specialist in financial system regulation. “The first step is having a law that unifies the rules and reduces bureaucracy.”

Source: Bloomberg

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