BANCO CENTRAL DE LA REPUBLIC ARGENTINA Law 26,739 Modify the Organic Charter. Sanctioned: March 22, 2012 Promulgated: March 27, 2012 The Senate and Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation assembled in Congress, etc., sanction with force of
Law:
Part I
Modifications to the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic
ARTICLE 1 — Replace Article 1 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by Article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 1: The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic is an autonomous entity of the national State governed by the provisions of this Organic Charter and the other concordant legal norms.
The national State guarantees the obligations assumed by the bank.
Unless otherwise stated by law, the rules, whatever their nature, which have been or are generally dictated for agencies of the National Civil Service, shall not be applied to the bank, of which the capacity or powers recognized by this Organic Charter are limited.
ARTICLE 2 — Replace Article 3 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by Article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 3: The bank aims to promote, to the extent of its powers and within the framework of policies established by the national government, monetary stability, financial stability, employment and economic development with social equity.
ARTICLE 3o — Replace Article 4 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by Article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 4: These are functions and powers of the bank:
(a) To regulate the functioning of the financial system and to apply the Financial Institutions Act and the rules which, as a result, are issued;
(b) Regular the amount of money and interest rates and regulate and guide credit;
(c) To act as a financial agent of the national State and depositary and agent of the country to the international monetary, banking and financial institutions to which the Nation has acceded, as well as to play an active role in international integration and cooperation;
(d) Concentrate and manage its reserves of gold, currency and other external assets;
(e) Contribute to the good functioning of the capital market;
(f) To execute exchange policy in a whole in accordance with the legislation sanctioning the Honorable Congress of the Nation;
(g) To regulate, to the extent of their powers, payment systems, liquidating and compensating chambers, fund-raising machines and flow-transporting companies, as well as any other activity related to financial and exchange activity;
(h) To provide protection of the rights of financial service users and the defence of competition, coordinating their action with the competent public authorities on these issues.
In the exercise of its functions and powers, the bank shall not be subject to orders, directives or instructions from the national executive branch, nor may it assume obligations of any nature that involve conditioning, restricting or delegating them without express authorization from the Honorable Congress of the Nation.
ARTICLE 4o — Amend article 8 (b) of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, by the following text:
(b) Shareholders, or those who are part of the management, administration, union or service in the financial system at the time of their designation.
ARTICLE 5o — Replace article 10 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 10: The President is the first executive authority of the bank and, in this capacity:
(a) Exercises the administration of the bank;
(b) Acts on behalf of the directory and convenes and chairs its meetings;
(c) Ensure the faithful compliance of this Organic Charter and other national laws and the resolutions of the directory;
(d) Exercises the legal representation of the bank in its relations with third parties;
(e) Directs the performance of the Superintendence of Financial Institutions and Changes;
(f) It proposes to the National Executive the designation of the superintendent and vice-superintendent of financial and exchange entities, which should be members of the board;
(g) Appoints, promotes and separates staff from the bank according to the rules issued by the board, giving subsequent account of the resolutions adopted;
(h) Substantiation of summons to staff, irrespective of their hierarchy, through the competent unit;
(i) It shall submit an annual report on the operations of the bank to the Honorable Congress of the Nation. In turn, it must appear before the Budget and Finance Commissions of both Chambers, the Economy of the Senate of the Nation and the Finance of the Chamber of Deputies, in public and joint sessions of the Chambers, at least once during the regular period or when these commissions convene it, in order to report on the scope of monetary, exchange and financial policies in execution;
(j) Operates in monetary and exchange markets.
ARTICLE 6o — Replace article 11 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 11: Where urgent reasons so require, the President may, likewise, resolve matters reserved to the Board, in consultation with the Vice-President, or who does his or her times, and a Director, or, in the event of the Vice-President ' s absence, impediment or vacance, with two (2) directors, must give account to that Body at the first time when it meets, of the resolutions adopted in this form. The same faculty will enjoy the replacement.
ARTICLE 7o — Replace article 14 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 14: Corresponds to the directory:
(a) To intervene in decisions affecting the monetary and exchange market;
(b) Prescribing lace requirements, subject to the conditions set out in article 28;
(c) Fix interest rates and other general terms of bank credit operations;
(d) Establish technical liquidity and solvency relations for financial entities;
(e) Establish the information and accounting system for entities subject to the supervision of the bank;
(f) To determine the amounts to be allocated to capital and reserves in accordance with article 38;
(g) Establish general policies that make the economic system and the expansion of the financial system;
(h) Revoke the authorization to operate from financial and exchange agencies, either on their own or at the request of the superintendent;
(i) To exercise the powers assigned to the bank by this law and its concordant rules;
(j) Regulate the creation and operation of cheque and other compensatory chambers organized by financial entities;
(k) Establish the denominations and characteristics of the notes and currencies;
(l) To have the demonetization of banknotes and coins in circulation and to set the deadlines for their exchange;
(m) To establish the rules for the organization and management of the bank, to take note of the operations decided in accordance with these rules and to intervene, according to the regulations it dictates, in the resolution of the cases not envisaged;
(n) To resolve all matters which, not explicitly reserved for other bodies, the chairperson of the bank submits for consideration;
(ñ) Authorize the opening of new financial or exchange entities and that of subsidiaries or branches of foreign financial entities;
(o) To authorize the opening of branches and other units of the financial entities and the merger projects of the financial entities, by proving to expand the geographical coverage of the system, to address areas with lower economic potential and lower population density and to promote universal access of users to financial services;
(p) To approve transfers of shares required by the Financial Institutions Act;
(q) To determine the level of reserves of gold, currency and other external assets required for the implementation of the exchange policy, taking into account the evolution of external accounts;
(r) To regulate the conditions of credit in terms of risk, timelines, interest rates, commissions and charges of any kind, as well as to guide their destination by means of reservations, differential lace or other appropriate means;
(s) To issue rules applicable to the activities referred to in article 4 (g);
(t) To issue rules that preserve competition in the financial system;
(u) To issue rules for obtaining, by financial entities, resources in foreign currency and through the issuance of bonds, obligations and other titles, both in the local and external markets;
(v) Declaring the extension of the application of the Financial Entities Act to persons not covered by it when advised by the volume of its operations or reasons for monetary, exchange or credit policy;
(w) Establish differentiated policies aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises and regional economies.
ARTICLE 8o — Amend article 15 (e) of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, by the following text:
(e) To prepare and submit for approval by 30 September of each year the annual expenditure budget, the calculation of resources and the salaries of the staff of the bank.
ARTICLE 9o — Amend article 17 (f) of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, by the following text:
(f) To make advances to financial entities with caution, assignment in warranty, pledge or special impact of: I) credits or other financial assets whose debtor or guarantor is the national State, or II) debt or participation certificates issued by financial trusts whose assets are composed of credits or other financial assets whose debtor or guarantor is the national State, to promote the medium- and long-term supply of credit for productive investment. In the case of advances for productive investment, the directory may accept that, of the total guarantees required, up to twenty-five per cent (25%) is integrated by the assets mentioned in the first paragraph of subparagraph (c) of this article, taking into account the time limit of the operator.
In the cases provided for in this subparagraph, the restrictions set out in paragraphs (b) and (c) above shall not be governed.
ARTICLE 10. - Amend article 18 (a) of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Act No. 24.144 and its amendments, by the following text, and defer subparagraph (g) of that article:
(a) Buying and selling at market prices, in cash and term operations, public securities, currency and other financial assets for monetary, exchange, financial and credit regulation purposes.
ARTICLE 11. - Replace article 20 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 20: The bank may make temporary advances to the national government up to an amount equivalent to 12 percent (12%) of the monetary base, constituted by the monetary circulation plus deposits in the view of the financial entities in the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, in current accounts or in special accounts. It may also grant advances to an amount that does not exceed ten percent (10%) of the cash resources that the national Government has obtained in the last twelve (12) months.
Advances referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be reimbursed within the twelve (12) months. If any of these advances remain unpaid after the end of that period, this authority may not be used again until the amounts due have been refunded.
As an exceptional one, and if the situation or prospects of the national or international economy so warranted, temporary advances may be granted for an additional amount equivalent to, at most, 10 per cent (10 per cent) of the cash resources that the national Government has obtained in the last twelve (12) months. This exceptional faculty may be exercised for a maximum period of eighteen (18) months. Following this deadline, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic will not be able to grant the national Government advances to increase the latter concept.
Advances referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be reimbursed within eighteen (18) months. If these advances were to be unpaid after the end of that period, this authority may not be used again until the amounts owed for this claim have been refunded.
ARTICLE 12. - Replace article 26 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 26: The bank shall report to the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance on the monetary, financial, exchange and credit situation.
ARTICLE 13. - Replace article 28 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 28: The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic may require financial entities to maintain available certain proportions of different deposits and other liabilities, expressed in national or foreign currency. The integration of reservations requirements may not be constituted except in deposits at the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, in national currency or in currency account, as the liabilities of the financial entities denominated in national or foreign currency, respectively.
In general circumstances, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic may provide that the integration of reserve requirements is partially carried out with public titles valued at market prices.
ARTICLE 14. - Replace article 34 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 34: The financial period of the bank shall last one (1) year and shall be closed on 31 December. The bank's accounting states should be prepared in accordance with generally accepted rules, taking into account their status as monetary authority.
ARTICLE 15. - The second paragraph of Article 36 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by Article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments.
ARTICLE 16. - Amend the second paragraph of Article 38 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by Article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, by the following text:
The losses experienced by the bank in a given period shall be attributable to reservations that have been constituted in previous periods and if this is not possible, they shall affect the capital of the institution. In these cases, the bank's directory may affect the profits generated in exercises following the recomposition of capital levels and pre-loss reserves.
ARTICLE 17. - Replace article 42 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 42: The bank shall publish before the start of each year its objectives and plans for the development of monetary, financial, credit and exchange policies. If significant changes occur in its objectives and plans, the bank must disclose its causes and the measures taken accordingly.
The bank is also responsible for regularly compiling and publishing monetary, financial, exchange and credit statistics.
The bank may conduct research and promote financial education and activities on topics of interest related to the purpose assigned to it by this Organic Charter.
ARTICLE 18. - Amend the first paragraph of Article 44 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, adopted by Article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, by the following:
Article 44: The administration of the Superintendency of Financial and Change Entities shall be exercised by a (1) superintendent and a (1) deputy superintendent, who shall be assisted by the general managers of the areas that integrate it.
ARTICLE 19. - Replace article 47 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 47: The powers of the superintendent:
(a) To monitor compliance with the information and accounting system for financial and exchange entities;
(b) Provide the publication of the monthly balance sheets of financial entities, debtors ' statements and other information that will serve to analyse the situation of the system;
(c) Order entities to cease or desist from carrying out loan or financial assistance policies that endanger their solvency;
(d) Apply the penalties established by the Financial Entities Act for offences committed by individuals or entities, or both at the same time, to its provisions, which, without prejudice to the power of avocation of the President, shall be challenged only by the means provided for in article 42;
(e) To exercise the other powers that the laws grant to the bank concerning superintendence, except those expressly assigned by this law to the bank ' s directory;
(f) Apply the legal provisions regarding the operation of the so-called credit cards, purchase cards, electronic money or similar ones, dictate the Honorable Congress of the Nation and the regulations that the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic dictates in use of its powers.
ARTICLE 20. - Replace article 48 of the Organic Charter of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic, approved by article 1 of Law 24.144 and its amendments, with the following:
Article 48: As an administrator, it is up to the superintendent to establish rules for the organization and management of superintendence.
Part II
Amendments to the Law
Convertibility 23.928
ARTICLE 21. - Refer to articles 4 and 5 of Law 23,928 and their amendments.
ARTICLE 22. - Replace Article 6 of Law 23.928 and its amendments, as follows:
Article 6: The goods that integrate the reserves of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic are inembargable. To the level determined by its directory, they shall apply exclusively to the end provided for in article 14 (q) of the Organic Charter of the said institution. The surplus reserves shall be called free availability.
Where neutral monetary effect results, free availability reserves may apply to the payment of obligations owed to international financial agencies or bilateral official external debt.
When reserves are invested in deposits or other operations in interest, or in national or foreign public securities payable in gold, precious metals, US dollars or other similar solvency currencies, their compute for the purposes of this law shall be made at market values.
ARTICLE 23. - Transitional provision. The Fund for the Argentinian Indebtedness, created by article 1 of Decree 298 of 1 March 2010, shall continue to comply with the purpose for which it was instituted.
ARTICLE 24. - Contact the National Executive.
IN THE SESSION OF THE ARGENTINE CONGRESS, IN GOOD AIRES, TO THE SECOND DAYS OF THE YEAR DOS MIL DOCE.
# 26,739 #
LOVE BOUDOU. - JULIAN A. DOMINGUEZ. — Juan H. Estrada. - Gervasio Bozzano.