The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) is considering increasing the limit for microcredit operations per borrower from the same financial institution from R$21,000 to R$30,000.
The proposal that deals with the rules for access to the National Guided Productive Microcredit Program also suggests raising the total debt limit in the financial system from R$80,000 to R$120,000, excluding housing credit operations.
Microcredit is aimed at formal entrepreneurs —such as MEIs (individual microentrepreneurs)— and informal entrepreneurs seeking small-value loans. It is a form of targeted credit, in which institutions must allocate part of their resources from demand deposits (corresponding to 2% of the average balance).
Defender of measures to encourage investment and stimulate the economy, the Lula government promoted the expansion of targeted credit in an election year, which has lower interest rates than the lines freely agreed between banks and customers.
The proposed adjustment is contained in a technical note prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, to which Folha had access.
The request was forwarded to the Ministry of Finance on September 21 and needs to undergo evaluation and deliberation by the CMN (National Monetary Council) to come into force. The board is made up of the Ministers of Finance (Dario Durigan) and Planning (Bruno Moretti) and the President of the Central Bank (Gabriel Galípolo).
The next ordinary meeting of the CMN is scheduled for October 22, three days before the second round of elections. The board, however, can call extraordinary meetings if necessary.
Asked by Folha if it intended to take the demand for analysis by the CMN, the Ministry of Finance said it would not comment. According to a member of the economic team, the topic has not yet been evaluated by Durigan.
If carried forward, the discussion will take place at a time when the Lula government seeks to react after seeing Flávio Bolsonaro take the lead in the first round, with 47.03% of valid votes against 45.16% for the PT member.
In the ministries' internal document, the Ministry of Labor argues that there has been a "significant loss of purchasing power" since March 2019, when the program's limits were set in a CMN resolution. It also says that, since then, there has been an increase in the costs of inputs, equipment and other expenses related to the maintenance and expansion of small businesses.
In the year to August, inflation measured by the INPC (National Consumer Price Index) reached approximately 49%.
According to the Ministry of Labor, the readjustment of credit and debt limits seeks to keep the program "compatible with the current reality of micro-entrepreneurs and the financing needs of their activities".
"The increase in production costs, the need for working capital and the demand for investments meant that the values defined a few years ago became insufficient for some of the entrepreneurs covered by the policy", he states.
The adjustment, according to the ministry led by Minister Luiz Marinho, will allow "a more appropriate relationship" between the value of the credit and the needs of the enterprises, especially for working capital, acquisition of inputs and equipment and expansion of activities.
The proposal is restricted to updating financial parameters and does not change the purpose, the beneficiary public or the methodology of the National Oriented Productive Microcredit Program. According to the technical analysis, the change in the debt limit does not modify the other requirements necessary to fit the operations into the program.
Debated at the National Microcredit Forum, the proposal was presented to institutions that operate in the microcredit modality, such as BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Banco do Nordeste, Itaú Unibanco and Santander.
Also according to the Ministry of Labor, the institutions consulted expressed agreement with the updated values.
