S.L. 376.10 Art. 18Obligation to assess creditworthinessof consumer.    Cap. 586.

(1) Prior to concluding a credit agreement, the creditor shall carry out a thorough assessment of the creditworthiness of the consumer, which assessment shall take appropriate account of factors relevant to verifying the prospect of the consumer meeting his obligations under the credit agreement.

(2) Credit intermediaries shall accurately submit the necessary information obtained from the consumer to the relevant creditor in accordance with the Data Protection Act to enable the creditworthiness assessment to be carried out.

(3) The assessment of creditworthiness shall be carried out on the basis of relevant and accurate information on the income and expenses of the consumer and other financial and economic circumstances which are necessary and proportionate to the nature, duration, value and risks of the credit for the consumer:

Provided that notwithstanding the fact that the information may include evidence of income or other sources of repayment, information on financial assets and liabilities, or information on other financial commitments, such information shall not include special categories of data referred to in Article 9 of the General Data Protection Regulation and shall be obtained from relevant internal or external sources including the consumer and, where necessary on the basis of a consultation of a database referred to in regulation 19:

Provided further that social networks shall not be considered as an external source for the purpose of these regulations.

(4) The information obtained in accordance with sub-regulation (3) shall be appropriately verified where necessary through reference to independently verifiable documentation.

(5) The creditor shall establish procedures for the assessment referred to in sub-regulation (1) and shall document and maintain such procedures, including the information referred to in sub-regulation (3).

(6) Where the credit application is submitted jointly by more than one (1) consumer, the creditor shall perform the creditworthiness assessment on the basis of a joint repayment capacity of all the consumers involved.

(7) The creditor shall only make credit available to consumers where the result of the creditworthiness assessment indicates that the obligations resulting from the credit agreement are likely to be met in the manner required under such agreement, taking into account the relevant factors described in sub-regulation (1).

(8) Where a creditor concludes a credit agreement with a consumer, the creditor shall not subsequently cancel or modify the credit agreement to the detriment of the consumer on the grounds that the assessment of creditworthiness was incorrectly conducted:

Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply where it is demonstrated that the consumer knowingly withheld or falsified the information referred to in sub-regulation (3) that was provided to the creditor.

(9) Where the creditworthiness assessment involves the use of automated processing of personal data, the consumer shall be informed by the creditor of the right to request and obtain from the creditor, human intervention, consisting of the right to:

(a) request and obtain from the creditor a clear and comprehensible explanation of the assessment of creditworthiness, including on the logic and risks involved in the automated processing of personal data as well as its significance and effects on the decision;

(b) express the point of view of the consumer to the creditor; and

(c) request a review of the assessment of the creditworthiness and the decision on the granting of the credit by the creditor.

(10) Where the credit application is rejected, the creditor shall inform the consumer without delay of the rejection and, where relevant, refer the consumer to easily accessible independent debt advisory services:

Provided that where applicable, the creditor shall be required to inform the consumer of the fact that the assessment of creditworthiness is based on automated processing of data and about the right of the consumer to human assessment and the procedure for contesting the decision.

(11) Where the parties agree to change the total amount of credit after the conclusion of the credit agreement, the creditor is required to reassess the consumers creditworthiness on the basis of updated information before any significant increase in the total amount of credit is granted.

(12) Creditors shall assess the creditworthiness of consumers on the basis of consultation of the relevant database:

Provided that the assessment of creditworthiness shall not be based exclusively on the credit history of the consumer.