Consigned CLT: government regulates the use of FGTS as a guarantee; consumer protection entities recommend caution

The Ministry of Labor published this Friday (26) a decree in the "Official Gazette of the Union" with rules for workers to give, as a guarantee, resources from their account linked to the Severance Indemnity Fund (FGTS) to obtain credit with payroll deduction - the so-called Consignado CLT.
Announced since the beginning of the modality, in March last year, the regulation and adaptation of systems for using the FGTS as a guarantee took 15 months to come into effect. force, on the eve of the electoral period. There is still no confirmation as to when the operations can be pursued.
With the regulation, all workers will be able to use up to 10% of the FGTS balance as a guarantee and, also, 100% of the termination fine for dismissal without just cause - which is equivalent to 40% of the deposits made in the linked account.
Loans are deducted from the worker's monthly remuneration, respecting the legal limit of the consignable margin (of up to 35% of net income for loans and financing).
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According to the government, the idea is that the FGTS guarantee will make the interest charged in this operation cheaper, since banks will have more security when granting loans.
Consumer protection entities, such as Procon SP and Idec, however, ask for caution with the use of FGTS as a guarantee (see more here).
Comparison with retirees and civil servants
Without the regulation of the use of guarantees, the average interest rate for the modality to the private sector operated, during this first year of validity, at twice the number of loans granted to public servants and to retirees and pensioners.
➡In April this year, the last information made available by the Central Bank, the interest on the CLT loan amounted to 3.79% per month, compared to 1.8% per month for retirees and 1.8% per month for public servants.
But the loan rate for the CLT line to the private sector was lower than the special check (7.61% per month) and revolving credit card (14.95% per month), both also registered in April.
According to the ranking made available by the Central Bank, on its page on internet, between May 28th and June 3rd, the interest rate for private sector workers varies from 1.61% to 5.62% per month.
➡ The average rates published by the BC do not guarantee that this will be the final interest for workers. The effective value will depend on the risk analysis carried out by financial institutions, considering factors such as the guarantee offered, working time and credit history.
➡ Experts recommend that workers research extensively on the Digital Work Card application, encouraging competition between banks before taking out a loan.
"Using the FGTS as a guarantee creates an additional layer of security for operations and tends to make the market more competitive. When the risk decreases, there is room for more favorable conditions for the consumer, in addition to increasing the access to credit for millions of Brazilians who previously found it more difficult to obtain approval or rates suited to their profile", assessed Alexandre Matos, CEO of Vip Promotora.
Entities recommend caution
Consumer protection entities, however, recommend caution to workers when offering part of their FGTS as a guarantee for bank loans.
Proteste, for example, remembers that, when using the FGTS as a guarantee, workers can compromise their labor rights without realizing it.
➡Under the rules, banks that offer consigned credit to private sector workers, CLT workers, using the FGTS as collateral will be able to execute these guarantees in the case of dismissal without just cause, that is, to take the amounts. from Procon in São Paulo reinforce that interested parties need to understand very well the rules of this new modality and evaluate the real need for the loan, analyzing whether the contract will not compromise the budget and generate a situation of debt.
"This retention of part of the FGTS as a guarantee for a cheaper loan, must be well planned by the consumer, so that it does not become a difficulty, since for workers in the private sector the Fund represents a strategic financial reserve", warned Luiz Orsatti Filho, Executive Director of Procon-SP, last year.

Source: G1