S.L. 645.1 Art. 5Exercise by Maltese credit servicers of the freedom to provide services.

(1) A Maltese credit servicer may act as a credit servicer in a Member State other than Malta.

(2) The provisions of sub-regulation (1) shall be without prejudice to any restrictions or requirements established in the national law of the host Member State in accordance with the NPL Directive, including, where applicable, a prohibition on receiving and holding funds from borrowers, that are not related to other authorisation requirements of credit servicers, or to those established for the renegotiation of the terms and conditions related to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or of the credit agreement itself.

(3) Where a Maltese credit servicer intends to act as such in a Member State other than Malta, it shall submit the following information to the competent authority:

(a) the host Member State in which it intends to act as a credit servicer and, if already known to the Maltese credit servicer, the Member State where the credit was granted, when such Member State is a Member State other than Malta or the host Member State;

(b) where applicable, the address of its branch established in the host Member State;

(c) where applicable, the identity and address of the credit service provider in the host Member State;

(d) the identity of the persons responsible for managing the provision of credit servicing activities in the host Member State;

(e) where applicable, details of the measures taken to adapt its internal procedures, governance arrangements and internal control mechanisms in order to ensure compliance with the laws applicable to a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or the credit agreement itself;

(f) a description of the procedure established in order to comply with the national law of the host Member State on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing where credit servicers are designated as obliged entities under the said law transposing Directive (EU) 2015/849;

(g) confirmation that it has appropriate means to communicate in the language of the host Member State or in the language of the credit agreement; and

(h) confirmation as to whether or not it is authorised (PASSPORTING)

in Malta to receive and hold funds from borrowers.

(4) The competent authority shall, within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the information referred to in sub-regulation (3), communicate that information to the European regulatory authority of the host Member State, and receipt of such information shall be acknowledged by the said European regulatory authority without delay.

(5) The competent authority shall, following communication of the information referred to in sub-regulation (3) to the European regulatory authority of the host Member State, inform the Maltese credit servicer of the date on which the said information was communicated to the European regulatory authority of the host Member State and the date on which the said European regulatory authority acknowledged receipt of that information.

(6) The competent authority shall also communicate all the information referred to in sub-regulation (3) to the competent authority of the Member state where the credit was granted, when such Member State is a Member State other than Malta and the host Member State.

(7) The Maltese credit servicer shall have the right to appeal before the Tribunal where the competent authority fails to communicate the information referred to in sub-regulation (3) in accordance with sub-regulations (4) and (6).

(8) The Maltese credit servicer shall be able to act as a credit servicer in the host Member State from the earlier of the following:

(a) receipt by the competent authority of the communication from the European regulatory authority of the host Member State acknowledging receipt of the information referred to in sub-regulation (3);

(b) in the absence of receipt of the communication referred to in paragraph (a), after the expiry of two (2) months from the date of communication by the competent authority of all information referred to in sub-regulation (3) to the European regulatory authority of the host Member State.

(9) The Maltese credit servicer shall inform the competent authority of any subsequent change to the information referred to in sub-regulation (3) and, in any such case, the provisions of sub-regulations (4) to (8) shall apply.