RCF named Structured Finance Deal of the Year

The Responsible Commodities Facility’s Green CRAs fund was named ‘Structured Finance Deal of the Year’ by IFLR (International Financial Law Review).

At a ceremony held in New York on 18 May 2023, the award was presented to RCF legal counsel Pinheiro Neto Advogados, TozziniFreire, Clifford Chance and structuring partner Opea (formally Planeta Securitizadora).

RCF founder and SIM Director, Mauricio Moura Costa, commented, “Our heartfelt congratulations to the team for this award. We are thrilled that the RCF’s Green CRAs have been recognised in this way. This was the first of a kind, and posed structuring challenges that required a top team to solve.”

Writing on its website, the IFLR wrote;

“The transaction also stands out for its green credentials. There are preconditions for farmers wishing to access the financing, requiring them to commit to zero deforestation of native vegetation, over and above their legal reserves, and prevent negative climate impacts and loss of habitat. An independent Environmental Committee will review and provide input into the environmental management of the facility. Given the greater easing of foreign investment laws in Brazil, this structure’s implications are potentially wide-ranging.”

Read the Judge’s comments in full on the IFLR website

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Eligibility Criteria for Cerrado Programme 1

The following eligibility criteria are required for participation in the Responsible Commodities Facility for Cerrado Programme 1:

Land use

The area of cultivation must not have had any deforestation and conversion of native vegetation since 1 Jan 2020. Preference will be given to areas converted from abandoned pasture land to soy cultivation after 2008.

Forest Code Compliance

Farm land must be registered with the Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR) and be in full compliance with the Legal Reserve and APP requirements of the Code. The farm area must not overlap with public protected areas, indigenous lands and other traditional people and community lands (including ‘quilombolas territories’).

Land title

Farmers must have unquestionable right to use the land, be it as land title, land lease agreement, or another legally recognised form of land tenure (e.g., ‘posse’)

Legal Compliance

Farmers must demonstrate that they and their farms do not contravene any environmental or legal requirements, such as embargoes, environmental irregularities, contraventions of the labour legislation (including slave and child labour), non-compliance with the Soy Moratorium (if applicable), and internationally-accepted rules for the use of agrochemicals.