Brazil[R$]

Institutional framework

At the beginning of March 1999, the Brazilian Government announced its intention to start conducting the monetary policy based on an inflation targeting framework. Brazil formally adopted the inflation targeting regime as monetary policy guideline with the edition of the Decree 3,088 by the President of the Republic, on 21 June 1999. On 30 June 1999, the National Monetary Council (CMN) issued the Resolution 2,615, which defined the reference price index and inflation targets for 1999 and for the two years thereafter.

In Brazil, the inflation target is set in terms of the year-over-year rate of increase in the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA), one of the Brazilian CPIs. This index is calculated by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The Brazilian regime considers a headline index as reference, in line with most countries that adopt formal targets for inflation.

Most central banks use a short-term interest rate as the main instrument of policy. Likewise, the Brazilian inflation targeting regime uses the Selic rate as the primary instrument of monetary policy. The Selic rate is the average interest rate charged on the daily loans with a maturity of one day (overnight) backed by government securities registered in the Special System for Settlement and Custody (Selic), ie, the interest rate that balances the market for bank reserves. The Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) sets the target for the Selic rate, and it is up to the open market desk operations of the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) to keep the effective Selic rate close to the target.

Key features of the monetary policy implementation framework

1. Open market operations

Open market operations (OMO) comprise purchases and sales of securities in the secondary market, either outright transactions or considering resale and repurchase agreements (repos). On its OMO, the BCB uses exclusively federal public debt securities under custody in Selic.

The BCB manages excess bank liquidity. To manage this excess liquidity, the BCB conducts daily sales operations of federal securities, from its portfolio, with a commitment to repurchase at a future date (reverse repo), through competitive auctions. Nowadays, the term of these operations ranges from 1 to 180 days.

Early in the morning, around 9 am, the BCB conducts overnight auctions to drain excess liquidity. The 45-day reverse repo operation occurs on the day after the Copom's meeting and lasts until the next Committee meeting.

The long-term reverse repo (3 and 6-month) takes place every day, alternately, at the end of the morning.

Still at the end of the day, the open market trading desk injects and/or drains liquidity at punishing rates (standing facility).

To define its strategy for managing bank liquidity, the BCB develops liquidity forecasts for up to 6 months, with daily adjustments.

The main factors affecting bank liquidity in Brazil are US dollar buying/selling, banks' reserve requirements movements and the National Treasury operations (revenues, expenses, redemption/placement of debt securities).

2. Reserve requirements and standing credit facilities.

In order to set a cap on money market rates (repo market) and fine tune liquidity, BCB has standing credit facilities, available in two different terms: intraday and overnight. Liquidity is provided through repo operations, accepting only government securities as collateral. These facilities have "zero" costs and 100 bps over the policy rate, respectively.

Within the monetary policy operational framework, reserve requirements (RR) have also a role for liquidity absorption. They represent an exogenous factor in determining the setup of liquidity absorption OMO. Currently, the RR framework consist of three different types, according to types of financial institutions liabilities. They aim not only at contributing to sterilisation of bank reserves, but also at keeping liquidity buffers for financial stability reasons.

RR on demand deposits have an objective of creating a demand for bank reserves to assure adequate functioning of the money market and of the Brazilian Payment System. It has also a role in monetary policy by limiting the multiplier effect on commercial bank money. RR on demand deposits are met through the average of balances within a two-week maintenance period and reserve balances are not remunerated.

RR on time deposits have the objectives of keeping liquidity buffers that can be used in liquidity shortage situations, and of absorbing liquidity as a secondary instrument. They have neutral effect on market rates, once they are remunerated at the policy rate (Selic). RR on savings deposits work as a liquidity buffer that aids the management of assets and liabilities related to earmarked credit (real estate lending and rural credit) in the financial system. They are remunerated at same rates as those of savings deposits. Both remunerated required reserves are kept in different accounts at BCB, that can be drawn, without cost, for intraday usage.