STR (Sistema de Transferência de Reservas)
Brazil’s Real Time Gross Settlement System
The STR – Sistema de Transferência de Reservas, Reserves Transfer System, is the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system for funds transfers in Brazil, managed and operated by Banco Central do Brasil – BCB. The STR was established and is regulated by Circular 3100, effective March 28th, 2002, available at http://www.bcb.gov.br/?BUSCANORMA.
The funds transfers are settled by STR in the accounts held at BCB. STR is the heart of the Brazilian financial system, as it settles transactions in the monetary, foreign exchange and capital markets between the financial institutions that hold accounts at BCB.
In addition to these financial flows, the net positions of the clearing and settlement systems are settled through the STR.
STR’s direct participants can issue funds transfer orders on their own behalf or on behalf of a third party. The receiver can be other STR’s direct participants or their clients. Funds transfers are final, that is, irrevocable and unconditional, as soon as the corresponding entries occur in the accounts held in BCB, which is conditioned to the existence of sufficient balance in the account of the sending participant.
The box below displays the types of accounts held at BCB by the institutions that constitute the Brazilian financial system and whether holding an account is mandatory or optional.
|
Bank Reserves Account |
Settlement Account | ||||
|
Mandatory |
- Commercial banks
- Universal banks with commercial banking activities
- Saving banks |
- Clearing and settlement service providers deemed systemically important | |||
|
Optional |
- Development banks
- Investment banks
- Foreign exchange banks
- Universal banks without commercial banking activities |
- Clearing and settlement service providers not deemed systemically important
- Other non banking institutions authorized by BCB |
The list of the STR participants is available at: http://www.bcb.gov.br/?STRPARTICIPANTS.
The participants’ access to STR is made through the RSFN – Rede do Sistema Financeiro Nacional (National Financial System Network) and also by internet, through the STR-Web application.
The diagram below displays an overview of the STR structure, with the two means of access, via RSFN and internet:
The use of the STR subjects its participants to the payment of fees, whose values are set by BCB with the exclusive objective of reimbursing the expenses incurred by STR’s operation. The STR allows participants to schedule their funds transfer orders up to three days in advance. In that case the fees are reduced, as scheduling is seeing as a tool for liquidity management and risk mitigation. The table of current fees (in portuguese) is available at: http://www.bcb.gov.br/htms/novaPaginaSPB/tarifasstr.asp?IDPAI=STRACESSOPART.
The table of current fees (in english) is available here: click here.
For the purpose of settlement of funds transfer orders, STR is available to participants on every bank working day, from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (local time in Brasília).
