The program marks the government’s attempt to address record household debt
Novo Desenrola Brasil, a debt renegotiation program launched this Monday (4) by the Ministry of Finance, could lead to average discounts of 65% on family debts, according to the information in the folder. To make discounts possible with financial institutions (FIs), the government will offer guarantees from the Operations Guarantee Fund (FGO) that can reach up to R$15 billion.
The program marks an attempt by the government to address record household debt – 49.9% in February, according to the most recent data from the Central Bank – as presidential elections approach. In the AtlasIntel survey released last Tuesday (28), the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), appeared with 47.5% in the second round simulation, numerically behind Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) (47.8%).
At the launch of Novo Desenrola, this Monday morning, Lula said the program will make negative people “breathe again.” “It’s not right for a citizen to have a bad name at Serasa because of a debt of R$100, R$150, R$200, there’s no logic to that. The market turns this citizen into a clandestine person because he can no longer buy anything, he can no longer have a bank account”, he commented.
The program was structured around four axes: for families, companies, debtors of the Student Financing Fund (Fies) and small family farmers. In addition, the government also announced a series of changes in INSS and public servants’ payroll loans.
In the action with the greatest scope, aimed at family debts, the government defined that there will be discounts between 30% and 90% on debts made until January 31st with special, revolving and installment checks on credit cards and personal credit without consignment for people who earn up to five minimum wages, or R$8,105, per month. The older the debt, the greater the reduction granted. Renegotiations take place over the next 90 days, directly on the platforms of participating banks.
After discounts, each CPF may owe up to R$15,000 per financial institution (FI). The maximum interest rate on debt after renegotiation is 1.99% per month, or 26.68% per year. The maximum term of the new debt is 48 months, or four years. Each person who joins Novo Desenrola for families will also have their CPF blocked in online betting houses, bets, for 12 months.
The FGO will guarantee up to 50% of the default rate of FIs that join the program, calculated on the renegotiated debt portfolio, as a way of encouraging discounts. The government allocated R$2 billion in resources from the fund to the action, and intends to use between R$5 billion and R$8 billion of resources forgotten in the financial system to boost the available funds. These expenses have no primary impact.
Additionally, the National Treasury could still contribute up to an additional R$5 billion to the FGO to guarantee renegotiations, if necessary. This expense would be counted as a discretionary expense and would have a primary impact. In the first edition of Desenrola, only R$1.8 billion was spent in resources from the fund, which also served to guarantee operations.
According to the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, each R$8 billion in FGO resources is enough to lead to a renegotiation of R$42 billion in debt, or R$16 billion considering the discounts granted. He assured that the large banks are ready to operate the program from Tuesday (5).
To join the program, interested FIs agree to clear the name of anyone with debt up to R$100, in addition to allocating the equivalent of 1% of the amount guaranteed by the FGO to financial actions. They must also prohibit sending bets any resources via credit card, installment credit, Pix Parcelado or Pix Crédito.
Recurrence
Durigan and the Minister of Planning and Budget, Bruno Moretti, said that there is currently no primary impact with the measure and that this policy will not be something common and repeated. It is a single structure, according to them. The first version of Desenrola was launched in 2023, for negative debts from 2019 to 2022, and whose updated value was less than R$20 thousand
“This is not something permanent or something routine. This is being done based on a precise diagnosis at a very localized moment. So it is not something that has to be done at other times”, said Durigan.
According to Moretti, the authorization to invest resources in the FGO will only have a primary impact if it happens. The expenditure, he said, would be counted as a discretionary expense. This means that the expense will be in the Budget and will need to be compensated, but not necessarily with a recipe that wasn’t planned. It is possible that resources will be reallocated to accommodate the new expense.
Furthermore, the two ministers said that the possible inflationary impact of the measure is not a concern, because the program is to restructure the population’s debt and not stimulate consumption.
“What is being done here, including these various structuring restrictions, does not automatically allow people to take credit again and increase their spending. People today are in a difficult situation in terms of credit. It is an improvement that does not involve affecting or deregulating monetary policy”, stated Durigan after his colleague’s explanation.
Companies
O government also launched specific renegotiations for small businesses. At Procred, which serves micro-enterprises with annual revenue of up to R$360,000, the limit on the value of operations went from 30% of revenue to 50% of revenue, with a ceiling of R$180,000 (or 60%, also with a ceiling of R$180,000, for companies led by women). The grace period increased from 12 to 24 months, and the maximum term of operations, from 72 to 96 months.
To serve micro and small companies, with annual revenues of up to R$4.8 million, the Pronampe rules were updated, with: increasing the total value of the credit (R$250 thousand to R$500 thousand), the grace period (12 to 24 months), the maximum term of the operation (72 to 96 months), and the tolerance for delays in granting new credits (14 to 90 days).
Fies
In Desenrola Fies, aimed at student debt with the program, the government announced the idea of benefiting more than one million students. Debts overdue and unpaid for more than 90 days would have fines and interest zero. If the remainder is paid in cash, there will be an additional 12% discount on the principal. The other option would be to pay the debt in up to 150 installments, without the discount on the principal.
For debts that are overdue and unpaid for more than 360 days, there would be a discount of 77% of the total amount of the debt (including principal, interest and fine), with full settlement of the outstanding balance. If the debtor is a student enrolled in the Single Registry (CadÚnico), the discount can reach up to 99% of the total amount of the debt (principal, interest and fine), with full payment of the outstanding balance.
O government also decided to renegotiate rural debts, with the Desenrola Rural deadline reopening until December. The idea is to benefit more than 800 thousand family farmers.
