In today’s plenary, the legislators voted in favor of the File No. 11,269-05 and sent the initiative to the Senate to continue with its analysis. The bill stipulates the adaptation of financial system standards to the highest international standards and imposes greater conditions on the entities of the sector – to avoid possible future crises.

The progress of this regulation has been delayed for a long time by the extensive debate to which it has been subjected. It is worth remembering that the passage to the Senate was expected before the presidential election in December and the complexity of the content – together with the impact generated by the electoral campaign – prevented the fulfillment of the previously stipulated deadlines.

The text under consideration modifies Decree with Force of Law N ° 3 (issued in 1997 on the occasion of the General Law of Banks) and Law N ° 21,000 – created by the Commission for the Financial Market (CMF). In summary, the proposal puts an end to the Superintendency of Banks and Financial Institutions (SBIF) and proposes to transfer its responsibilities to the CMF, as a consolidated oversight body.

Some of the main points to take into account are the new capital and reserve requirements (in line with Basel III), added to the possibility of the Central Bank of Chile (BCCh) to activate an additional basic capital demand -correction to the economic situation in which the country is located and of a counter-cyclical nature. All banking institutions authorized to operate will be subject to the new legislation, in order to avoid systemic risks.

The state guarantee of deposits will also be altered, increasing the maximum annual coverage limit per person, and several legal bodies will undergo changes to allow the adequacy of the standard. The analysis of the file will be retaken by the Senate after the recess of the month of February and never before the presidential replacement scheduled for March 11, 2018.