FGC Credit Guarantee: What's Covered, Limits, and What's Left Out

Short answer: the FGC (Fundo Garantidor de Créditos, Brazil's Credit Guarantee Fund) covers up to BRL 250,000 per person, per financial institution or conglomerate, with an overall cap of BRL 1 million every four years. Coverage includes CDBs, LCIs, LCAs, savings accounts (poupança), and deposits at member banks — but it does not cover Treasury Direct (Tesouro Direto), investment funds, COEs, or debentures.

If you've already read about how much BRL 1,000 earns in a CDB or about building an emergency fund, you've probably come across the acronym FGC. It always shows up as a safety argument — but few people know exactly what this guarantee protects, where the limits are, and, most importantly, what it does not cover. This guide explains everything in simple terms, based on the Fund's own official regulations.

What is the FGC

The Fundo Garantidor de Créditos is a private, non-profit entity created in 1995 and regulated by the Central Bank of Brazil and the CMN (National Monetary Council). Member banks contribute to the fund periodically, and it is with this money that the FGC pays creditors when a member institution enters intervention or extrajudicial liquidation.

In practice, it works like a "safety net": if the bank fails, you don't lose the money you hold in covered products, within the limits of the guarantee.

Which products are covered by the FGC

According to the FGC's regulations, the ordinary guarantee covers credits represented by:

Note that the covered list is basically the family of bank-issued fixed-income products. If you invest via our complete fixed-income guide, it's worth memorizing this division: products issued by the bank tend to carry the FGC guarantee; products issued by the Treasury, by fund managers, or by companies do not.

Guarantee limits: BRL 250,000 and BRL 1 million

There are two limits that work together:

1. Per-institution limit: the total credits of each person against the same institution (or against all institutions in the same financial conglomerate) are guaranteed up to BRL 250,000.
2. Global cap: the total credits of each creditor against all member institutions combined are guaranteed up to BRL 1,000,000 every consecutive four-year period.

Some important details:

• The BRL 250,000 limit applies per tax ID (CPF/CNPJ), per institution or conglomerate. If you have BRL 200,000 in CDBs at Bank A and BRL 200,000 at Bank B, both amounts are within coverage.
• Banks in the same group count as one. BRL 150,000 at each bank of the same conglomerate adds up to BRL 300,000 — and the excess above BRL 250,000 would not be guaranteed.
• The BRL 1 million cap considers a four-year period, counted from the first payment event to the creditor. This prevents someone from spreading unlimited amounts across many banks and being paid in full during a crisis.
• The applicable limit is the one in force on the date the event is declared — that is, if the regulation changes in the future, the rule in force at the time of the failure applies, not the one from the day you invested.

Practical example

Suppose you have:

• BRL 180,000 in CDBs at Bank A → fully covered;
• BRL 120,000 in LCIs at Bank B → fully covered;
• BRL 300,000 in CDBs at Bank C → covered up to BRL 250,000; the BRL 50,000 excess would be left without FGC protection.

Total guaranteed: BRL 550,000 — within the global cap of BRL 1 million for the four-year period.

What the FGC does not protect

Beyond the list of non-covered products, it's important to understand two conceptual limitations:

• The guarantee covers eligible claims, including principal and interest accrued up to the date of intervention or liquidation, within applicable limits. It does not guarantee additional returns after that event and does not remove market, liquidity or inflation risks.
• Payment is not immediate. The FGC provisions the amounts on the date the event is declared (intervention or extrajudicial liquidation), but payment depends on a formal procedure and does not happen the same day. Historical proceedings have taken months in some cases — which is why the quality and size of the bank also matter, not just the existence of the guarantee.

What about Treasury Direct? It doesn't need the FGC

A common question: if Treasury Direct has no FGC guarantee, is it less safe? Not exactly. Treasury bonds are debt of the federal government and carry the guarantee of the National Treasury itself, through a different mechanism. They are simply different guarantee regimes.

When choosing between CDB, Treasury Selic, or savings accounts, the existence (or not) of the FGC guarantee is one criterion — but not the only one. Yield, liquidity, term, and taxation also weigh on the decision.

How to use the BRL 250,000 limit to your advantage

For those holding amounts above the limit at a single bank, the most common strategy is to spread the money across institutions from different groups, respecting the BRL 250,000 cap per conglomerate. Points of attention:

• Confirm that the banks belong to different conglomerates (the list of member institutions is on the FGC website);
• Remember that the global cap of BRL 1 million per four years limits how many institutions can be triggered in the same period;
• Keep in mind that this strategy makes more sense for large amounts — for a typical emergency fund, the limit is rarely an issue.

Common mistakes about the FGC guarantee

1. Assuming everything in fixed income is covered. Treasury Direct, funds, COEs, and debentures have no FGC guarantee.
2. Adding up the limits incorrectly. Banks in the same conglomerate count as a single institution for the BRL 250,000 limit.
3. Ignoring the BRL 1 million cap. Spreading money across many banks does not eliminate the global limit per four-year period.
4. Treating the guarantee as immediate liquidity. Payment depends on a formal procedure and can take time.
5. Choosing a bank just because "it has FGC." The guarantee is a safety floor, not a certificate of the institution's or the investment's quality.

FAQ

Does the FGC cover checking account balances? Yes. Demand deposits are among the covered instruments, within the limit of BRL 250,000 per institution.

Does the FGC cover savings accounts (poupança)? Yes. Savings accounts are covered, and the BRL 250,000 limit is added together with other credits against the same institution.

Do investments abroad have FGC coverage? No. Funds raised abroad and credits of institutional investors abroad are outside the ordinary guarantee.

If the bank fails, do I get paid right away? No. The FGC provisions the amounts on the date the event is declared, but payment depends on a formal procedure and is not immediate.

Can the BRL 250,000 limit change? Yes. The limits and the list of covered instruments can be changed by CMN resolution. It's worth checking the FGC website before making decisions based on these amounts.

Conclusion

The FGC guarantee is an important protection mechanism for anyone investing in bank fixed-income products — CDBs, LCIs, LCAs, savings accounts, and the like. The essential points: up to BRL 250,000 per tax ID per institution or conglomerate, a global cap of BRL 1 million every four years, and no coverage for Treasury Direct, funds, COEs, or debentures.

If you're starting to build your portfolio, it's worth combining this safety with the other selection criteria — yield, liquidity, and taxation — as we explain in our guide on how to start investing and in the comparison between CDB, Treasury Selic, and savings accounts.

Disclaimer: this content is educational and does not constitute investment advice. The FGC guarantee considers eligible claims, including principal and interest accrued until the intervention or liquidation event, subject to applicable limits and rules. It does not promise future returns or eliminate market and inflation risks. Limits and rules may be changed by CMN resolution — verify current validity on the official FGC website.