INSS payroll: Caixa resumes loan with lower interest – 03/31/2023 – Market

Caixa Econômica Federal resumed this Friday (31) the payroll loan from the INSS (National Institute of Social Security). The bank was waiting for the publication with guidelines on the application of the new interest rate limit to 1.97% in the Official Gazette, which occurred this Friday.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Social Security and the INSS had already made the new limit official. The state-owned company will operate with interest of 1.87% per month, being the only one among 12 banks sought by the Sheet to offer credit below the limit approved at a meeting of the CNPS (National Social Security Council) last Tuesday (28).

Caixa, like other banks, had announced the suspension of payroll on March 16, after the CNPS reduced the rate from 2.14% to 1.70%.

After much discussion, the CNPS approved raising the limit to 1.97%. The decision was approved by 11 members, with three abstentions (all from entities linked to banks) and one vote against (from the National Union of Retirees, Pensioners and the Elderly).

wanted by Sheet, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú, Santander, C6, Mercantil, PagBank, Daycoval and Pan announced that they had resumed INSS payroll. Banrisul has not suspended the service and continues to offer payroll. BMG, on the other hand, said it will not disclose whether it has resumed the loan.

In addition to Caixa, only Itaú, Bradesco, C6 and Mercantil disclosed the interest rates they are operating, but all are at 1.97%.

On credit and benefit cards, the banks announced that the interest rate is 2.89% per month, following the limit stipulated by the CNPS.

Bank	INSS payroll (% per month)	Credit card and benefits (% per month)
Box	1.87	2.89
Bank of Brazil	did not disclose	did not disclose
Bradesco	1.97	did not disclose
Itau	1.97	did not disclose
pan	did not disclose	did not disclose
C6	1.97	Does not work with card
Mercantile	1.97	2.89
PagBank	did not disclose	did not disclose
Santander	did not disclose	did not disclose
Daycoval	did not disclose	did not disclose
Banrisul	did not disclose	did not disclose
BMG	Did not report whether it resumed	Did not report whether it resumed

If a retiree who receives a minimum wage from the INSS (today, R$ 1,302) borrows R$ 1,000 on payroll at 1.97% per month, for example, he will pay 84 installments of R$ 24.45. At the previous rate of 1.70%, each installment in this example would be R$22.45. The calculations were made by Anefac (National Association of Executives), at the request of the Sheet.

Suspension lasted two weeks

The imbroglio began after the reduction of the interest ceiling on the INSS payroll loan from 2.14% to 1.70%, per month in a decision approved by the council on March 13.

As shown to Sheet, the change in interest to 1.70% per month was due to a dispute between Lupi and the Planalto Palace. According to reports from members of the government, the measure was even presented to Lula in a meeting on March 8 and the representative gave the endorsement for the proposal to begin to be processed internally and to hear the ministries involved, in particular the Treasury.

Lupi, in turn, understood —according to interlocutors— that he could keep analyzing the topic at the CNPS meeting on the 13th.

According to estimates made by the financial sector, by offering payroll loans to retirees and pensioners at an interest rate of 1.70% per month, banks would have a negative return of 0.23% on operations. This means that institutions would suffer losses with the modality, which is not allowed by a resolution of the CMN (National Monetary Council).

The rate of 1.97% per month was proposed by the government in a meeting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and ministers Carlos Lupi (Social Security), Fernando Haddad (Finance), Luiz Marinho (Labour), and the secretary – Executive of the Civil House, Miriam Belchior – who represented Minister Rui Costa, away with a strong flu.

According to Haddad, the Minister of Social Security withdrew from the discussion arbitrated by Lula with guidelines from the Chief Executive to take the government’s position to the CNPS.

“We took tables, we took a long explanation about what happened with payroll loans since the last decision, I think the minister [Carlos Lupi] is well armed with arguments to recalibrate the rate and allow both retirees to access credit and the guarantee that it is a cheaper credit than what has been practiced until now”, he said.