Credit Assignment Agreement Mexico (Cesión de Crédito)

A Credit Assignment Agreement Mexico (Cesión de Crédito) is a legal contract governed by Articles 2029 through 2050 of the Código Civil Federal (CCF) — published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 26 May 1928 and in force since 1932 — by which a creditor (cedente) transfers to a third party (cesionario) the ownership of a credit right (derecho de crédito) against a debtor (deudor cedido), along with all its accessories (accesorios), including guarantees, interests, and privileges, unless expressly excluded from the transfer.

Under Article 2030 CCF, the cesión de crédito transfers to the cesionario the credit right as it exists at the moment of assignment, together with all accesorios — including mortgage guarantees (hipoteca), pledges (prenda), fianzas, and accrued interest (intereses vencidos). The assignment does not require the debtor's consent to be valid between the parties (cedente and cesionario), but it is not enforceable against the debtor or third parties until the debtor has been formally notified (notificación al deudor cedido) under Article 2036 CCF.

The legal nature of the cesión de crédito distinguishes it from an endoso (endorsement) of a título de crédito under the Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito. While an endoso transfers a negotiable instrument with full autonomy and abstraction, a cesión de crédito transfers a civil or commercial credit right subject to all defenses (excepciones) that the debtor could raise against the original cedente under Article 2037 CCF. The cesionario acquires no better title than the cedente possessed — a fundamental difference from the holder-in-due-course protection under LGTOC.

The Código Civil Federal distinguishes between assignment of civil credits (créditos civiles) and commercial credits (créditos mercantiles). Commercial credits arising from mercantile acts (actos de comercio) under the Código de Comercio — such as trade receivables, factoring portfolios, or commercial loans — are governed by the Código de Comercio and the Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito as lex specialis, while the CCF rules apply suppletorily. The LGTOC Article 75 provides specific rules for the assignment of non-negotiable instruments (créditos no incorporados a títulos de crédito).

The cedente's warranty obligation is established by Article 2042 CCF: in a onerous (paid) assignment, the cedente warrants the existence and legitimacy (existencia y legitimidad) of the credit at the time of assignment — but not the debtor's solvency, unless expressly agreed or the insolvency was known to the cedente at the time of transfer. If the cedente knows the debtor is insolvent and does not disclose this, the cedente remains liable for the deficit under Article 2044 CCF. In gratuitous assignments (cesiones gratuitas), the cedente only warrants the existence of the credit, not its legitimacy.

For income tax purposes under the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR), a cesión de crédito at a discount (below face value) generates a capital gain (ganancia de capital) or deductible loss for the cedente, which must be reported to the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT). The cesionario who subsequently collects the full face value of the assigned credit recognises income in the amount of the collection, with a cost basis equal to the price paid for the assignment. Financial institutions (instituciones de crédito) regulated by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) must follow specific accounting rules for credit portfolio assignments under the Disposiciones de Carácter General applicable to each institution type.

A Credit Assignment Agreement Mexico (Cesión de Crédito) is required whenever a Mexican creditor — whether a bank (institución de crédito), SOFOM (Sociedad Financiera de Objeto Múltiple), commercial company (sociedad mercantil), or individual (persona física) — wishes to transfer to a third party the legal right to collect a debt or credit obligation from the original debtor.

The agreement is essential in commercial factoring operations where a business (empresa cedente) transfers its trade receivables (cuentas por cobrar) to a factoring company (empresa de factoraje) or SOFOM at a discount in exchange for immediate liquidity. While full factoring is governed by the Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito Articles 419 through 431, a cesión de crédito is the underlying legal mechanism for each individual receivable transferred.

A cesión de crédito is needed when a bank or financial institution sells a non-performing credit portfolio (cartera vencida) to a debt-purchasing company (empresa adquirente de cartera). These bulk portfolio assignments require individual cesión documents for each credit in the portfolio, along with a marco agreement (contrato marco de cesión de cartera) governing the overall transaction, compliance with CNBV regulations, and SAT reporting under Article 76 LISR.

The agreement is required when a private lender — an individual or empresa — wishes to sell a loan receivable to another investor, particularly when the original loan was not evidenced by a pagaré or letra de cambio. Without a título de crédito, the only mechanism to transfer the credit right is a cesión de crédito under CCF Articles 2029–2050.

A cesión de crédito is also used in corporate restructurings (reestructuras corporativas) when intercompany loans are transferred between related parties (partes relacionadas) — for example, when a holding company (empresa tenedora) assigns a loan receivable from a subsidiary to another group entity. These transactions must comply with transfer pricing rules under Article 76 LISR and OCDE guidelines to avoid tax adjustments by the SAT.

Under CCF Article 2036, the debtor must be notified of the assignment to make it enforceable against the debtor — failing to notify allows the debtor to make payments in good faith to the original cedente with full discharge effect. The notification must be in writing and, for real property mortgages, must be registered with the Registro Público de la Propiedad under Article 2040 CCF.

A valid Credit Assignment Agreement Mexico under Código Civil Federal Articles 2029 through 2050 must contain the following key elements to be enforceable and to transfer the credit right effectively to the cesionario:

Identification of the Parties: Full legal names, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) numbers, and domiciles of the cedente (original creditor) and cesionario (assignee). For personas morales, include corporate name, corporate domicile, RFC, and authority of the representative signing under a poder notarial. The deudor cedido (debtor) is not a party to the cesión but must be identified and notified.

Description of the Assigned Credit: Precise identification of the credit right being transferred — including the original obligation that gave rise to it (loan agreement, purchase invoice, judicial judgment, or other source), principal amount in MXN (pesos mexicanos), accrued interest to the date of assignment, and any guarantees (hipoteca, fianza, prenda) that travel with the credit under Article 2030 CCF. The credit must exist (existencia) and belong to the cedente (legitimidad) at the time of assignment.

Consideration (Precio de Cesión): The price or consideration paid by the cesionario for the credit right — whether at face value (a valor nominal), at a discount (con descuento), or gratuitously (a título gratuito). If the assignment is onerous, the cedente warrants the existence and legitimacy of the credit under Article 2042 CCF; for gratuitous assignments, only existence is warranted. The price and any discount percentage must be expressed in MXN and the effective date of the transfer stated.

Warranty Provisions: Clauses establishing whether the cedente warrants the debtor's solvency (garantía de solvencia) in addition to the statutory warranty of existence and legitimacy. Under Article 2043 CCF, the solvency warranty is limited to the insolvency existing at the time of assignment and known to the cedente — parties may expand or restrict this warranty by express agreement.

Notice to the Debtor (Notificación al Deudor Cedido): The agreement must include a mechanism for notifying the deudor cedido of the assignment. Under Article 2036 CCF, the debtor is bound by the assignment only after receiving notification — any payment made by the debtor to the cedente before notification has full discharge effect. The notification should be in writing (notificación por escrito), ideally by notarial act (notificación notarial) or by certified mail (correo certificado con acuse de recibo), to establish the notification date with certainty.

Accessory Rights (Derechos Accesorios): Express confirmation that the assignment includes all accessories of the credit — accrued interest (intereses devengados), agreed future interest (intereses futuros), mortgage guarantees (hipotecas), pledges (prendas), fianzas, and any other security — unless specific accessories are expressly excluded. Under Article 2030 CCF, accessories transfer automatically unless excluded.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction: Identification of the applicable law (CCF and Código de Comercio as applicable) and the jurisdiction (fuero competente) — typically the federal courts (tribunales federales) for commercial assignments or the civil courts (juzgados civiles) of the cedente's or debtor's domicile state for civil credits. Many Mexican commercial contracts elect Mexico City courts (Tribunales de la Ciudad de México) for convenience.

SAT and Tax Declarations: Representations by each party regarding tax compliance — the cedente declaring the credit originated from a taxable transaction properly reported to SAT, and the cesionario acknowledging the tax treatment of the assigned credit. For portfolio assignments by regulated entities, CNBV accounting rules apply.

Forms-legal.com provides this Credit Assignment Agreement Mexico template as a reference document for understanding the CCF requirements. Credit assignments involving amounts above $500,000 MXN, secured credits with registered guarantees, or portfolio sales by regulated financial entities should be prepared and reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho with expertise in derecho financiero and, where guarantee registrations are affected, notarised (protocolizado ante Notario Público) and registered with the Registro Público de la Propiedad or Registro Público de Comercio as applicable.