Rural credit requirements for financial institutions in Brazil

Financial Institutions (FIs) play a key role in preventing deforestation, as they finance activities that can lead to forest loss. By applying due diligence, improving data transparency, and monitoring, the financial sector contributes to efforts preventing deforestation. Brazil has advanced by setting minimum requirements to approve rural credit aiming to prevent illegal deforestation and safeguarding its forests.

Our latest factsheet gives an overview of the Brazilian rural lending regulatory framework for preventing illegal deforestation, its evolution and key requirements applicable to FIs providing rural credit. You can read it here.

• It presents the resolutions issued by the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) and the National Monetary Council (CMN), shedding light on current requirements.
• It discusses self-regulation by the Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) and new procedures adopted by the National Development Bank (BNDES) to combat illegal deforestation.

Partner organisations: Amigos da Terra – Amazônia Brasileira, Brazilian Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investments (BRASFI) and Sustainable Finance and Investments Group (gFIS – grupo Finanças e Investimentos Sustentáveis).

The factsheet is a partnership between Climate & Company and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH SAFE (Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems) and co-financed by our project on preventing supply-chain-driven deforestation funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.