Título V. Relaciones con el Estado

The Central Bank shall act as advisor, in matters within its competence, and as financial agent of the State.

The Executive Branch, the autonomous and decentralized institutions and, in general, the entities and agencies of the State, unless otherwise provided by law, shall carry out their financial operations, in national or foreign currency, both within the country and abroad, through the Central Bank.

If circumstances so advise, the Monetary Board may authorize the entities referred to in this article to carry out financial operations with any banking institution, in accordance with the guidelines determined by said Board.

The financial resources of the Executive Branch, and those of the autonomous and decentralized institutions and, in general, of the entities and agencies of the State, deriving from the General Budget of Revenues and Expenditures of the State, shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be deposited in the Bank of Guatemala.

Guarantee deposits in favor of the State or any of its agencies, and all kinds of judicial deposits, shall also, unless otherwise provided by law, be deposited in the Bank of Guatemala.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Monetary Board shall regulate the conditions under which the entities referred to in this article may make deposits in banks of the banking system, the resources of which are intended to cover their ordinary operating transactions.

The Office of the Comptroller General of Accounts, under its strict responsibility, shall ensure that the State entities under its jurisdiction comply with the provisions of the first two paragraphs of this article.

The Central Bank shall not pay interest on the deposits referred to in this article.

Any State entity that, in accordance with the law, may handle or administer its financial resources outside the Central Bank has the obligation to coordinate its investment policy permanently with the Bank of Guatemala, in order to contribute to the achievement of the fundamental objective of monetary policy.

The Central Bank may hold in custody securities, documents and valuables belonging to the State.

The Bank shall open a general cash account for the National Treasury, in which it shall credit all the available funds of the Executive Branch.

Transfers of funds from this account to other accounts may be made only by order of the competent public official, with the approval (visa) of the Comptroller General of Accounts.

Whenever the Executive Branch or any public entity intends to carry out credit operations abroad, or when they seek to contract loans within the country, they shall request the opinion of the Monetary Board.

The opinion of the Monetary Board shall be based on the impact of the contemplated operation on the balance of payments, on the volume of the money supply, and on the achievement, in the medium and long term, of the fundamental objective of the Central Bank.

When the Central Bank acts as financial agent of the State, it shall not assume any financial obligation, or any obligation of any other nature, arising from the State's default in the payment of principal, interest, commissions, or any other commitment of a financial or other nature.

The State entities, under their strict responsibility, shall provide to the Central Bank, when it so requests and within the time limit it sets for them, the information or documentation that it requests from them for the fulfillment of its fundamental objective and functions. In particular, the Ministry of Public Finance and the other State entities that the Monetary Board deems necessary shall duly report on the cash flow and on other relevant variables for the period that the Monetary Board sets, in order to facilitate the management of monetary liquidity by the Bank of Guatemala.

The authorities or public officials of the State entity concerned who fail to comply with the provisions of this article are subject to the provisions of Article 419 of the Penal Code.