---
slug: limite-dvida-cfi
lang: en
titulo: Maximum unpaid debt limit for IFC is 4 times subscribed capital + free surplus
resposta: The maximum limit is 4 times the sum of the IFC’s subscribed capital and free surplus, including unpaid debts and guarantees.
curto: Limit: 4x capital + surplus
tema: Free market
revisada: 2026-10-03
proxima: 2027-04-03
---

## Data
| Who               | Criterion                                                                                     | Consequence                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Source                                                                                                                                                                                                 | Data of the data       |
|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| IFC (International Finance Corporation) | Total unpaid debt (including guarantees) exceeds the established limit             | Prohibition of increasing debt or guarantees if, at the time or as a result of it, the unpaid total exceeds 4 times the sum of the IFC’s subscribed capital and free surplus.                     | [Decreto n.º 6.376/2008, Resolução CFI n.º 56 (Art. III, Section 6(i))](https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2008/decreto/d6376.htm) (Planalto, in Portuguese) | 25/08/1965 (amendment) |

Data consulted on 03/10/2026.

## Basis
- [Decreto n.º 6.376/2008 (Planalto, in Portuguese)](https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2007-2010/2008/decreto/d6376.htm): Promulgates amendments to the IFC’s Constitutive Agreement, including Resolution n.º 56/1965, which establishes the 4x subscribed capital + free surplus limit for unpaid debts (including guarantees).

## How it applies
The limit applies automatically to any IFC debt or guarantee operation. If, in an act or as a result of it, the unpaid total (debts + guarantees) exceeds 4 times the sum of the subscribed capital and free surplus, the IFC cannot increase that amount. The rule applies to debts from any source (loans, guarantees, etc.).

## Limits
- Applicable only to IFC: Does not extend to other institutions or the Brazilian private sector.
- Exceptions: Resolution n.º 221/1965 of the World Bank (approved in the same decree) allows World Bank loans to IFC under the same limit but waives some restrictions of the Constitutive Agreement (Art. III, Sections 4, 5(c), and Art. IV, Section 3).
- Primary source: The limit is anchored in the IFC’s Constitutive Agreement, amended by Resolution n.º 56/1965 and promulgated in Brazil by Decreto 6.376/2008. Subsequent changes must be verified directly with IFC or Planalto.
- Does not cover: Paid debts or operations not regulated by the IFC’s Constitutive Agreement.