The Central Bank of Uruguay published a public statement in response to media reports alleging institutional omissions, setting out the supervisory work it has carried out since 2018 on companies marketing “livestock investment” products. It said its supervision has focused on whether the arrangements are genuine livestock contracts or instead amount to deposits, individual loans, investment funds or public offerings of securities without the required registration. Across 11 supervisory actions, the Superintendency of Financial Services required firms to provide corporate and accounting information, customer lists, template contracts and full documentation for a sample of customers and executed contracts. Where the documentation did not demonstrate an investment in cattle and was considered closer to a general and impersonal solicitation of financial investment, firms were instructed to stop advertising to potential investors, with the underlying resolutions published on the central bank’s website; some firms then modified their business models and refiled contracts to address supervisory observations. The statement also clarified that businesses exclusively engaged in cattle breeding, fattening or livestock capitalization that do not exhibit the above issues are not regulated or supervised by the central bank, citing Article 34 of its organic charter on the non-financial, productive nature of such activity. Central bank president Washington Ribeiro added that bringing these products within the central bank’s legal framework would require a change in law, while reiterating that the institution can act against entities conducting financial activities without authorization and has done so.
Central Bank of Uruguay 2025-01-23
Central Bank of Uruguay details 11 supervisory actions on livestock investment offerings and reiterates limits of its remit
The Central Bank of Uruguay addressed media allegations of oversight failures, detailing its supervisory actions since 2018 on companies marketing "livestock investment" products. The bank assessed whether these were genuine livestock contracts or unregistered financial products, leading to 11 actions requiring firms to provide documentation. The statement clarified that businesses solely in cattle breeding or livestock capitalization are not regulated by the bank, and legal changes to include these products would require legislative action.