On December 5th, the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) and the Central Bank of Brazil (Bacen) approved the Joint Normative Act No. 1, which governs the procedures for efficient cooperation in merger control procedures involving financial institutions and in the investigations of anticompetitive conducts by financial institutions that are subject to the supervision of Bacen.

The Joint Normative Act No. 1 establishes that concentration acts involving financial institutions must be submitted to both Bacen and CADE for independent analysis. The Act also regulates the prudential aspects that could base Bacen's decisions to approve transactions involving a financial institution unilaterally when there are significant and imminent risks to the stability and solidity of the National Financial System (SFN).

The Act regulates the sharing of information and documents submitted by interested parties between the two authorities to facilitate investigations of anticompetitive conducts and for the communication and monitoring of merger control procedures.

The Act regulates the possibility of meetings between CADE and Bacen to discuss topics that could lead the authorities to enact normative acts that may affect competition in the SFN, and for technical cooperation in administrative proceedings involving the SFN.

The Joint Normative Act No. 1 is available on the BACEN website (content in Portuguese).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.