S.L. 645.1 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 645. Cap. 330.

(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:-

"the Act" means the Credit Servicers and Credit

Purchasers Act;

"borrower" means a legal or natural person who has concluded a credit agreement with a credit institution, including its legal successor or assignee;

"competent authority" means the Malta Financial Services Authority established by the Malta Financial Services Authority Act;

"Conduct of Business Rules" means Rules, other than Credit Servicing Rules, issued by the competent authority in accordance with the Act;

"credit agreement" means an agreement as originally issued, modified or replaced, whereby a credit institution grants a credit in the form of a deferred payment, a loan or other similar financial accommodation;

"credit servicer" means a legal person that, in the course of its business, manages and enforces the rights and obligations related to a creditor’s rights under a non-performing credit agreement, or to the non-performing credit agreement itself, on behalf of a credit purchaser, and carries out at least one or more credit servicing activities;

"credit servicing activities" means one or more of the following activities: (PASSPORTING)

(a) collecting or recovering from the borrower, in accordance with national law, any payments due related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit agreement itself;

(b) renegotiating with the borrower, in accordance with national law, any terms and conditions related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement, or of the credit agreement itself, in line with the instructions given by the credit purchaser, where the credit servicer is not a credit intermediary as defined in Article 3(f) of Directive 2008/48/EC or in Article 4(5) of Directive 2014/17/EU;

(c) administering any complaints relating to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit agreement itself; and, or

(d) informing the borrower of any changes in interest rates or charges or of any payments due related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit agreement itself;

"Credit Servicing Rules" means Rules, other than Conduct of Business Rules, which may be issued by the competent authority under various articles of the Act;

"Directive (EU) 2015/849" means Directive (EU) 2015/ 849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC as may be amended from time to time, and includes any binding legal instruments, guidelines and other measures that have been or may be issued thereunder;

"European credit servicer" means a credit servicer authorised as such in a Member State other than Malta, under the national law of such Member State transposing the NPL Directive;

"European regulatory authority" means a body or bodies designated by a Member State other than Malta in accordance with Article 21(3) of the NPL Directive to carry out the functions and duties provided for under the NPL Directive;

"home Member State" means the Member State in which the registered office of a credit servicer is situated or, if under its national law it has no registered office, the Member State in which its head office is situated;

"host Member State" means the Member State, other than the home Member State, in which a credit servicer has established a branch or where it provides credit servicing activities, and in any event where the borrower is domiciled, or its registered office is situated or, if under its national law it has no registered office, the Member State in which its head office is situated;

"Maltese credit servicer" means a credit servicer authorised as such by the competent authority under the Act;

"Member State" means a Member State of the European Union and includes an EEA State;

"NPL Directive" means Directive (EU) 2021/2167 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2021 on credit servicers and credit purchasers and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU as may be amended from time to time, and includes any binding legal instruments, guidelines and other measures that have been or may be issued thereunder;

"Tribunal" means the Financial Services Tribunal established in terms of the Malta Financial Services Authority Act.

(2) Words and expressions used in these regulations which are also used in the Act but which are not defined herein shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in the Act.