S.L. 371.21 Art. 18Standards for advisory services.

(1) The creditor shall explicitly inform the consumer, in the context of a given transaction, whether advisory services are being or can be provided to the consumer.

(2) Before the provision of advisory services or, where applicable, the conclusion of a contract for the provision of advisory services, the creditor shall provide the consumer with the following information on paper or another durable medium:

(a) whether the recommendation will be based on considering only their own product range in accordance with sub-regulation (3)(b) or a wide range of products from across the market in accordance with sub-regulation (3)(c) so that the consumer can understand the basis on which the recommendation is made;

(b) where applicable, the exact fee payable by the consumer for the advisory services or, where the amount cannot be ascertained at the time of disclosure, the method used for its calculation:

Provided that the information referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) may be provided to the consumer in the form of additional pre-contractual information.

(3) Where advisory services are provided to consumers, in addition to the requirements set out in regulations 13 and 14:

(a) creditors shall obtain the necessary information regarding the consumer’s personal and financial situation, and objectives so as to enable the recommendation of suitable equity release financial products. Such an assessment shall be based on information that is up to date at that moment in time and shall take into account reasonable assumptions as to risks to the consumer’s situation over the term of the proposed equity release financial product;

(b) creditors shall consider a sufficiently large number of equity release financial products in their product range and recommend a suitable equity release financial product from among their product range for the consumer’s needs, financial situation and personal circumstances;

(c) creditors shall act in the best interests of the consumer by:

(i) informing themselves about the consumer’s needs and circumstances; and

(ii) recommending suitable equity release financial products in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b); and

(d) creditors shall give the consumer a record on paper or on another durable medium of the recommendation provided.

(4) The use of the term "independent advice" and "independent advisor" or similar terms shall be prohibited when the advisory services are being provided to consumers by creditors.

(5) Creditors shall issue a written warning to a consumer when, considering the consumer’s financial situation, an equity release financial product may include a specific risk for the consumer.

(6) This regulation is without prejudice to regulation 16 and to the competent authority’s competence to ensure that services are made available to consumers to help them understand their financial needs and which types of products are likely to meet those needs.