Unrolling can unlock trading of up to BRL 100 billion – 06/07/2023 – Market

The government hopes to unlock the renegotiation of up to R$ 100 billion in debts of negative Brazilians through the Desenrola Brasil program, he tells the Sheet the Secretary of Economic Reforms of the Ministry of Finance, Marcos Barbosa Pinto.

The value represents the potential reach of the program, whose details were announced on Monday (5) by Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance) and formalized in an MP (provisional measure) signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The effective amount to be renegotiated between creditor families and companies will depend on the size of the discounts granted, as the FGO (Operations Guarantee Fund) —which will serve as guarantor in part of the negotiations— has a limited amount of resources. The greater the rebates, the more contracts and families can be contemplated.

The FGO will have between R$ 8 billion and R$ 10 billion to guarantee financing contracted by people in the so-called “tier 1”, which includes Brazilians with an income of up to two minimum wages (R$ 2,640 per month) or who are enrolled in the Single social programs. The contracted funds will be used to pay bank and non-bank debts (such as electricity, water, telephone or store bills), up to a limit of R$ 5,000 per debtor.

According to the secretary, negative debts in this category add up to around R$ 40 billion. To be able to include all of them in the program, the average discount would need to be around 80% – which will depend on the willingness of creditors to concede this amount.

“We have money available, and [o valor negociado] it will depend on the discounts. Maybe we won’t be able to renegotiate all the debts of people in track 1, there will be an auction [de descontos] precisely to select”, says Pinto.

In band 2, which includes the other debtors, there will be no FGO guarantee, but a regulatory incentive already used on other occasions, as in the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial institutions that negotiate bank debts on Desenrola will be entitled to a presumed credit that, in practice, improves the bank’s capital position and opens up space to boost new financing.

The government estimates that around R$50 billion could be traded in this group.

“We would have a total renegotiation of almost R$ 100 billion. This is our expectation, benefiting a potential audience of 70 million who are negative today”, says Pinto. On the side of the companies, 200 thousand creditors today with difficulties to collect the values ​​can reinforce the box from the discharge of the debts.

The publication of the Desenrola MP represents an official kick in the program, which was a campaign promise by Lula. But there are still some phases to be completed before debtors actually feel relief in their pockets.

The implementation schedule varies according to the public to be served. Band 2 debtors will negotiate their debts directly with the banks, which can be done as of July.

Tier 1 people will carry out all negotiations through a platform to be made available within the scope of the program. Access will be made through the gov.br account. The secretary points out that registration with the government will be the only form of access, precisely to curb fraud and coup attempts.

For this group, two important phases begin in early July: creditor companies will be able to register their debts on the platform, and financial agents willing to grant financing to settle debts will be able to demonstrate their interest in participating.

When joining the program, the banks will have to pay a counterpart: remove the negativity of those who had a dirty name for debts of up to R$ 100. active collection of this debt. Banks do not call this forgiveness because it is against banking principles, but, in practice, the debt will not be collected”, explains the secretary.

According to him, 1.4 million people will benefit from this measure.

The discount auctions will start in July and should last until mid-August. The secretary explains that they will be divided into categories, to be defined in regulations by the Ministry of Finance. As examples, he cites credit card, retailers, telephony, electricity and sanitation companies.

“Whoever offers the biggest discount in each category will be contemplated. And then the creditors can put a single discount, or they can change it according to the risk of the debtor. With that, we will have all the debts listed in order of discount”, he says Chick.

This debt x-ray will help the government define how much of the FGO will be allocated to each category. The division will be made, according to him, to stimulate competition between companies that want to receive payments, encouraging discounts, and also to group debts with similar characteristics in auctions.

“Water and electricity companies block consumer supply [em caso de inadimplência]. They have a very powerful collection mechanism that banks don’t have. So, they will probably be willing to give smaller discounts than the banks, which today have the only alternative to file a lawsuit against the customer, which takes a long time”, explains the secretary.

In each category, there will be a kind of queue of debts waiting to be negotiated. Priority will be given to those with the greatest reductions. “If you have BRL 1 billion [do FGO] for the telecommunications category, for example, it is coming in order. The first debt has a 90% discount, the second, 70%. Keep stacking until you use all the money. Once all the money is used, the rest is left out”, he says.

After the rebates, the next phase of track 1 begins. As of the second half of August, debtors will be able to access the platform with their gov.br account and check whether or not there are proposals for their debts. If it exists, he will have two options: pay in cash or finance the amount already reduced in 60 months, with interest of up to 1.99% per month.

When choosing the financing option, the citizen will be able to choose the most attractive offer among the banks. “We are setting a maximum rate of 1.99% per month, but banks, if they want, can offer better rates on the platform”, says the secretary.

The expectation is that the platform will remain open for two or three months for the conclusion of these negotiations. “I don’t know if it will be necessary to stay open until the end of the year, but for us it would be open for at least two, three months for people to have time to access the platform”, he says.

Time also helps to make the queue for discounts move. If any person contemplated is not interested in the renegotiation, the benefits will be passed on to other people — still within the debts registered at the beginning of the implementation.

The government plans to launch an advertising campaign to attract creditors and also inform debtors about the possibility of negotiation. The team also wants to provide a messaging service, to support those who have questions and help them complete the negotiation (mainly low-income people).

“There is a challenge: it is a completely voluntary process. We cannot force any creditor to offer a discount. So, it may be that the person fits the criteria of the program, but the creditor to whom he owes did not want to give a discount, did not want to join the program […]. It will break on both sides. There will be debtors who [também] won’t be interested”, says Pinto.

According to the secretary, the program can help the economy at a time of more expensive credit and financial difficulties experienced by some companies. He emphasizes that, in the negotiations of band 1, many small creditors and large retailers will receive the outstanding amounts in cash. “This can help them in this moment of credit restriction and high interest rates”, he says.

For the population in general, the reorganization of debts can bring relief and allow a more consistent resumption of consumption. The Ministry of Finance is still working on a specific study on the potential impact of Desenrola, which will be completed based on the initial thermometer of the level of adherence of companies.

“We imagine a very significant impact on the economy”, says Pinto.

HOW THE DEVELOPMENT WILL WORK

The program will facilitate the renegotiation of debts for two categories of debtors:

Track 1

People with a monthly income of up to two minimum wages (R$ 2,640) or enrolled in the CadÚnico, with debts of up to R$ 5,000 negative until December 31, 2022.

Debtors will be able to renegotiate debts with banks, retailers, water, electricity and telephone companies. Debts that have a real guarantee, such as rural credit and real estate financing, will not be included.

Track 2

Includes other debtors that do not fit into band 1.

In track 2, only bank debts may be renegotiated.

HOW THE GOVERNMENT WILL FACILITATE THE RENEGOTIATION

Track 1

The government will reserve between R$ 8 billion and R$ 10 billion from the FGO (Operations Guarantee Fund) to serve as a guarantee in new credit operations, whose resources will be used to pay off debts at a discount. In case of default, the fund covers the losses of the banks.

Track 2

There will be no FGO coverage, but the government will grant a regulatory incentive that, in practice, frees up space on the balance sheets of financial institutions so that they can expand the offer of credit to consumers.

SEE THE SCHEDULE

early july

• Creditor companies register the debts of debtors in tier 1 on the program’s own platform
• Financial agents (banks and financial institutions) join the program to offer credit to debtors interested in renegotiation
• The accession of the banks foresees, in return, the ‘denegativation’ of those who have a bank debt of less than R$ 100. The government estimates that 1.4 million people will no longer have a bad name with this measure
• For debtors in band 2, the renegotiation of debts will begin directly with the banks

Throughout the month of July and early August

• Tier 1 debt discount auctions will be held
• Auctions will be done by debt category (such as credit card or phone company)
• The biggest discounts will have priority in the queue for contemplation in the program

second half of august

• The platform will be open to debtors, who must access it with their gov.br user
• Citizens should check whether there is a discount offer for their debt (remembering that companies are not required to join)
• If there is an offer to reduce the debt, the debtor will be able to negotiate it on the platform itself
• The government estimates that the platform will be available for at least two or three months

STEP BY STEP FOR RANGE 1 DEBTORS

• Tier 1 debtors will be able to access the Desenrola Brasil platform with their user gov.br
• On the platform, the debtor will be able to view the debts registered by the creditor companies and the discount offers
• If the offer is considered attractive, the citizen will have two options: pay the reduced amount in cash or finance it in up to 60 months, with an interest rate of up to 1.99% per month
• When choosing the financing option, the debtor will be able to select which bank he will contract the new credit with. Institutions can give interest rate discounts to attract a greater number of operations
• Payment of installments can be made by debit account, bank slip or Pix. The first installment will be charged 30 days after the renegotiation