National Banking and Securities Commission resumes activities during the contingency derived from SARS Cov-2 (COVID-19)

On July 15, 2020, the National Banking and Securities Commission (the "CNBV") published in the Federal Official Gazette ("DOF")¹ a resolution establishing administrative measures to resume activities during the contingency derived from SARS Cov-2 (COVID-19) (the "Resolution").

On March 26, 2020, the CNBV published in the DOF the Resolution establishing temporary and extraordinary measures and suspending some deadlines applicable to financial entities and persons subject to supervision by the CNBV, due to coronavirus named COVID-19 (Acuerdo por el que se establecen las medidas temporales y extraordinarias y se suspenden algunos plazos para la atención de las entidades financieras y personas sujetas a supervisión de la CNBV, a causa del coronavirus denominado COVID-19)², whereby the CNBV resolved to suspend certain time periods applicable to procedures and proceedings conducted with such Commission, during the period initially between March 23 and April 19, 2020. Such period was extended in various occasions, the last of which was extended until July 15, 2020 (the "Suspension Period") through different resolutions published by the CNBV in the DOF.³ 

In order to continue handling the matters that had been suspended during the Suspension Period, the Resolution contains several administrative measures to be adopted by the CNBV as the contingency continues, which include, among others:

Resumption of terms

Resumption of terms starting on July 16, 2020:

• Resumption of all legal terms applicable to procedures and proceedings initiated before the CNBV, including anti-money laundering (AML) obligations with the Ministry of Finance that are reported through the CNBV.

• Procedures and proceedings related to multiple purposes financial entities (Sociedades Financieras de Objeto Múltiple) in terms of the Law of Credit Organizations and Auxiliary Credit Activities (Ley General de Organizaciones y Actividades Auxiliares del Crédito).

Resumption of terms starting on August 3, 2020:

• Systems and manuals for the reception and allocation of securities transactions (RINOS) by banks and broker dealers.
• Authorizations of methodologies and tariffs submitted by derivatives clearing houses.
•  Authorization of amendments to documents filed in processes for the organization of self-regulatory bodies recognized by the CNBV.
•  Issuance of opinions regarding business continuity plans (BCP) and business impact analysis (BIA) undertaken by derivative clearing houses.

Resumption of terms starting on August 17, 2020:

• All procedures and proceedings initiated after March 29, and those filed between July 16 and August 17, 2020 that, in accordance with the Savings and Loan Associations Law (Ley de Ahorro y Crédito Popular), Law of Credit Organizations and Auxiliary Credit Activities (Ley General de Organizaciones y Actividades Auxiliares del Crédito), Credit Unions Law (Ley de Uniones de Crédito), Law to Regulate the Activities of Cooperative Savings and Loan Entities (Ley para Regular las Actividades de las Sociedades Cooperativas de Ahorro y Préstamo) and Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores) regarding investment advisors registration.
• Applications for the organization and operation of financial technology entities, including those filed before March 29, 2020.
• Requirements of information and documentation, orders to block and unblock bank accounts, transfers or seizure of funds issued by judicial, tax, local and federal administrative authorities, related to transactions executed by the clients of financial entities or users of financial services.
• Authorizations to banks, broker dealers and multiple purposes financial entities affiliated with banks, to outsource services from third parties regarding operative processes or database management and IT systems.
•  Authorizations to banks and multiple purposes financial entities to execute agency agreements (comisiones mercantiles) with third parties.
• Self-correction programs upon breaches to the Banking Law (Ley de Instituciones de Crédito), Securities Market Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores), Mutual Funds Law (Ley de Fondos de Inversión) and their related enabling regulations.
• Resolutions regarding plans upon exceeding the financing thresholds required to be complied with by banks when granting loans to the same person or group of persons.
• Amendments to documents filed in authorizations for the organization of rating agencies, pricing vendors, and brokers (companies that manage systems to facilitate securities transactions).
• Contingency plans submitted by banks not classified as representing systemic risk.
• Authorizations of banks’ internal methodologies for the calculation of their credit and operational risk-weighted regulatory capital.

Resumption of terms after publication of a new resolution by the CNBV:

• Electronic registration renewals in the Registry of Currency Exchange Centers and Money Transmitters (Registro de Centro Cambiarios y Transmisores de Dinero).
• Beginning of operations of new entities.
• Updates to authorizations to act as exchange brokers or securities agents.

Filing of documentation and information

Information required to be filed before the CNBV to integrate the applications, procedures and proceedings, or the fulfillment of obligations by financial entities and others subject to the supervision of the CNBV, which is not required to be filed through the Sistema Interinstitucional de Transferencia de Información (SITI), Sistema de transferencia de Información sobre Valores (STIV), Sistema de Transferencia de Información sobre Valores-2 (STIV-2) or other electronic means, shall be sent via email from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to the email addresses mentioned in the Resolution. The administrative units of the CNBV that receive the information must acknowledge receipt within the following two business days, assigning a folio number for its identification and follow up.

All applications and procedures filed via email shall include a statement by the applicant, accepting that the resolution by the CNBV will be notified by the same means. Such resolution will be recorded digitally and will be granted full legal effects. The resolution will be sent to the applicant’s email address and to all the email addresses provided in the application. The recipient must acknowledge receipt of the email within the two business days following the day the email was received.

Physical submission of information, documentation or reports.

The office for reception and delivery of documentation of the CNBV will remain closed, so no physical documentation will be received during the term of the Resolution. The resuming of activities of such office will be announced through a publication on the CNBV’s website (https://www.gob.mx/cnbv).

Additionally, in accordance with the Resolution, it is not necessary to submit the physical version of the information or reports that were electronically filed during the Suspension Period, unless so expressly required by the corresponding vice-presidency.

Information requirements and inspection visits

Resolutions requiring information issued by the CNBV to financial entities and others subject to its supervision may be notified and requested via email. Inspections visits will remain suspended, provided that the CNBV’s president may order any inspections visits he deems necessary by reason of the particular situation of a financial entity or other entity subject to the CNBV’s supervision.

Click here to download 'National Banking and Securities Commission resumes activities during the contingency derived from SARS Cov-2 (COVID-19)' PDF in Spanish.

_{1 https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5596753&fecha=15/07/2020
2 http://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5590567&fecha=26/03/2020
3 Through resolutions published in the DOF on April 17 and 28, May 29 and June 29, 2020, the suspension period was extended to April 30, May 30, June 30 and July 15, 2020, respectively}.

Shaanty Rubio Gonzalez (Legal Intern, White & Case) assisted in the development of this publication.

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