Cap. 656 Art. 17Charter.       Cap. 330.  Cap. 371.

(1) Each lending institution shall draw up a charter which shall be aimed at providing:

(a) guidance on the process which is to be undertaken in connection with the credit application process, including applicable timelines;

(b) an indicative list of initial documentation and data which is expected from the customer or potential customer in support of his credit application, together with a reference to the fact that further information may be required by the lending institution in order to process an application for a credit facility;

(c) to the extent applicable, the lending institutions’ requirements regarding security and, or collateral required in connection with a credit facility;

(d) without prejudice to article 8(5), information on the lending institution’s complaint handling mechanisms in relation to internal appeals or reviews where:

(i) an eligible applicant has received a formal refusal following a request for a credit facility;

(ii) a lending institution has withdrawn or reduced an existing credit facility;

(iii) an eligible applicant has received formal refusal by a lending institution following a request for the restructuring of an existing credit facility; or

(iv) the eligible applicant has not received a final decision by a lending institution within the time period provided by the lending institution in accordance with its charter, following a request for a credit facility or for the restructuring of an existing credit facility by the eligible applicant, regarding the manner how such internal review or appeal process may be undertaken, together with any relevant timings; and

(e) information on the remedy available in certain instances to have a refusal by a lending institution reviewed by the credit reviewer.

(2) Without prejudice to sub-article (1), a lending institution shall include in its charter the time-period within which it shall be required to inform a customer or potential customer of the timeframe within which the lending institution shall revert with its decision following an application made for a credit facility or an application for a restructuring of an existing credit facility.

(3) The information established in the charter shall be made available on the lending institutions’ website and, if so requested by a customer or potential customer of a lending institution, on a durable medium, free of charge. It shall be the duty of the lending institution to keep such information updated at all times.

(4) In cases where a charter is not drawn up and made publicly available by the lending institution in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Charter established in the Schedule shall apply.

(5) The Malta Financial Services Authority shall be responsible for the supervision and enforcement of the requirements relating to the charter as established in this article. For this purpose, the powers assigned to the Malta Financial Services Authority in accordance with the Malta Financial Services Authority Act and the Banking Act shall apply mutatis mutandis.