Debt in Cabo Verde

Before a loan is granted, the credit institution must explain the terms, total costs, obligations and risks of default on a durable medium. The agreement must state at least the financing amount, purpose, repayment method, number and intervals of instalments, term, due date and security. Interest and fees are listed in the continuously updated pricing schedule (Preçário), which credit institutions publish in branches or online. Depending on the agreement, interest may be fixed or variable; security may be provided by a guarantor (avalista), a mortgage (hipoteca) or insurance. The Bank of Cabo Verde (Banco de Cabo Verde) does not decide whether credit is granted, but supervises the market conduct of institutions and handles complaints about information, support and published prices. Complaints may be addressed to the Behavioural Supervision Office (Gabinete de Supervisão Comportamental) or the Consumer Support Office (Gabinete de Apoio ao Consumidor); these bodies do not discharge debts and do not order automatic debt restructuring. The credit risk register (Central de Risco de Crédito (CRC)) is maintained by the Bank of Cabo Verde and contains positive and negative credit data. Credit providers report total obligations of at least 1,000 CVE; the reporting dates are 8, 15 and 22, as well as the last day of each month. A CRC entry alone does not prohibit a new loan, but it may be considered in a lending decision. If default (incumprimento) is imminent, the debtor should contact the lender at an early stage. Formal renegotiation (renegociação) is possible; a renegotiated loan (renegociado) is a loan that has already defaulted and for which a new agreement was concluded without additional security. New instalments, interest, fees and terms should be reviewed in writing. Late payment may trigger default interest, contractual consequences, negative CRC information, enforcement of agreed security and judicial collection (cobrança) or enforcement (execução). The specific deadlines depend on the agreement and the procedure. No standard state debt-advice service or general debt relief is documented in the sources reviewed; negotiations with creditors may also take place out of court and informally. For natural and legal persons in financial difficulty, the Code for Recovery and Insolvency, Law No. 26/IX/2016 (Código da Recuperação e da Insolvência, Lei n.º 26/IX/2016) provides for out-of-court agreements, out-of-court recovery (recuperação extrajudicial) as mediation, judicial recovery (recuperação judicial) and insolvency. Insolvency is a universal judicial enforcement proceeding that primarily serves to satisfy creditors through liquidation or a plan; the Commercial Courts (Juízos de Comércio) have jurisdiction. A separate mechanism for consumer debt discharge is not documented in the sources reviewed. The special moratorium under Decree-Law No. 35/2025 (Decreto-Lei n.º 35/2025) applied only to families and companies affected by the flood event on São Vicente, Santo Antão and São Nicolau and expired on 1 June 2026; it does not establish a general national debt moratorium. Public debt is managed by the Ministry of Finance (Ministério das Finanças) and the General Directorate of the Treasury (Direção Geral do Tesouro) and includes, among other things, domestic and foreign debt, Treasury Bills (Bilhetes do Tesouro), Treasury Bonds (Obrigações do Tesouro) and concessional multilateral and bilateral financing. This public debt administration is not the same as private debt assistance.