BC fines Caixa BRL 29 million for improper charges

The Central Bank (BC) fined Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) R$ 29.3 million for improperly charging fees to customers. In all, the financial institution received around BRL 229 million between 2008 and 2019, of which 92% has already been returned.

The decision was taken by the Sanctioning Administrative Process Decision Committee (COPAS) on May 19. The municipality identified irregular collection of 13 charges. Among them, withdrawal fees, TED, issuance of bank slip and duplicate debit and credit card that did not occur.

The majority of irregular collections are the revaluation fees for goods received as collateral (R$97 million) and withdrawal fees (R$99 million). The largest portions of the fine are also related to the two tariffs, with R$ 3.7 million each. The fines related to the other 11 charges are approximately R$ 2 million each.

In a note, Caixa stated that the process refers to the collection of fees initiated in previous administrations and discontinued in the current management. The institution also said that it has started to return the amounts. For those who are no longer customers or have not been located, the amounts will be made available by the BC’s Value Receivable System.

The bank can still appeal to the CRSFN (Council of Resources of the National Financial System), an agency of the Ministry of Economy responsible for ultimately judging penalties applied by the BC.

See the list of undue charges:

• Revaluation fee for goods received as collateral

• Credit card revolving credit charges with no prorated refund of overcharged amounts

• Transfer fee via TED (Electronic Transfer Available)

• 2nd way debit card fee

• Fee on deposit account in excess of the available balance, which also includes any credit limit agreed between the parties

• Fee for providing a spreadsheet with a statement of debt evolution related to real estate financing, in disagreement with current regulations

• Fee for withdrawal in disagreement with the current regulation

• Transfer fee between accounts at the institution itself in disagreement with current regulations

• Fee for issuing a 2nd ticket

• 2nd way credit card fee

• Tariff in an amount above that disclosed in the tariff table

• Fee for photocopying documents in disagreement with current regulations

• Collection of valuation of goods received as collateral in disagreement with current regulations