S.L. 371.21 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 330. Cap. 318. Cap. 586. Cap. 376. Cap. 330. Cap. 55.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"advertisement" means any form or medium of marketing activity or communication, other than a prospectus, which promotes the purchase of the Equity Release Financial Product, and which is addressed by a creditor to a consumer. An advertisement shall not include the provision of a personal recommendation but shall include any advertisement which is disseminated to the public via all types of media. The form or medium of an advertisement may include any of the following:

(a) addressed or unaddressed printed matter;

(b) electronic message or advertisement received via a mobile telephone or pager;

(c) standard letters;

(d) press advertising with or without order form;

(e) catalogue;

(f) telephone with or without human intervention;

(g) seminars and presentations;

(h) radio;

(i) videophone;

(j) videotext;

(k) e-mail;

(l) fax;

(m) television;

(n) notice;

(o) billboards;

(p) posters;

(q) brochure;

(r) web posting including internet banners, and the term "advertising" shall be construed accordingly;

"advisory services" means the provision of personal recommendations to a consumer in respect of one or more transactions relating to equity release financial products and constitutes a separate activity from the equity release financial product;

"ancillary service" means a service offered to the consumer in conjunction with the equity release financial product;

"annual percentage rate of charge" or "APRC" means the total cost of the credit to the consumer, expressed as an annual percentage of the total amount of the credit, where applicable, including the costs referred to in regulation 29(2) and equates, on an annual basis, to the present value of all future or existing commitments (drawdowns, repayments and charges) agreed by the creditor and the consumer;

"borrowing rate" means the interest rate expressed as a fixed or variable percentage applied on an annual basis to the amount of credit drawn down;

"bundling practice" means the offering or the selling of an equity release financial product in a package with other distinct financial products or services where the equity release financial product is also made available to the consumer separately but not necessarily on the same terms or conditions as when offered bundled with the ancillary services;

"business day" means a day other than Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays on which creditors are open for business;

"competent authority" means the Malta Financial Services Authority established under the Malta Financial

Services Authority Act;

"consumer" means any individual who has attained pension age, as defined in the Social Security Act, and who is acting for purposes which are not related to and outside his trade, business, craft or profession;

"CRD" means Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/ EC, as amended from time to time, and includes any implementing measures, implementing technical standards, regulatory technical standards, guidelines and similar measures that have been or may be issued thereunder;

"credit" means the equity release financial product consisting of a credit falling within the scope of these regulations in accordance with regulation 3;

"credit agreement" means an agreement whereby a creditor, grants or promises to grant, to a consumer, credit in the form of an equity release financial product, and shall be distinct from the public deed of loan; "creditor" means a legal person who, duly authorised, grants or promises to grant credit in the form of an equity release financial product in the course of his trade, business or profession;

"Data Protection legislation" means the Data Protection

Act and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/ EC, as may be amended from time to time, and includes any implementing measures, implementing technical standards, regulatory technical standards, guidelines and similar measures that have been or may be issued thereunder;

"Directive 2005/29/EC" means Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/ EEC, Directive 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as amended from time to time;

"durable medium" means any instrument which enables the consumer to store information addressed personally to him in a way accessible for future reference for a period of time adequate for the purposes of the information and which allows the unchanged reproduction of the information stored;

"equity release financial product" means the same as the definition assigned to it under regulation 3;

"European creditor" means a credit institution which is authorised in another Member State in terms of the CRD and which has exercised its right to establish a branch or to provide services in Malta in terms of the CRD;

"financial institution" means a financial institution as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Financial Institutions Act;

"Financial Services Tribunal" means the Financial Services Tribunal established under the Malta Financial

Services Authority Act;

"fixed borrowing rate" means that the creditor and the consumer agree in the credit agreement on one borrowing rate for the entire duration of the credit agreement or on several borrowing rates for partial periods using exclusively a fixed specific percentage. If not all borrowing rates are determined in the credit agreement, the borrowing rate shall be deemed to be fixed only for the partial periods for which the borrowing rates are determined exclusively by a fixed specific percentage agreed on the conclusion of the credit agreement;

"group" means a group of creditors which are to be consolidated for the purposes of drawing up consolidated accounts, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, as may be amended from time to time;

"home Member State" means the Member State in which the creditor’s 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;

"host Member State" means the Member State, other than the home Member State, in which the creditor has a branch or provides services;

"Information Document" means the Information Document set out in the First Schedule;

"Member State" means a State which is a contracting party to the agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on the 2nd May, 1992 as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on the 17th March, 1993 and as amended by any subsequent acts;

"Notary Public" means the same as the definition assigned to it under article 2(1) of the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Act;

"public deed of loan" means the legal instrument signed before a Notary Public as part of the security required by the creditor in the credit agreement;

"staff" means:

(a) any natural person working for the creditor who is directly engaged in the activities covered by these regulations or who has contacts with consumers in the course of activities covered by these regulations;

(b) any natural person directly managing or supervising the natural persons referred to in paragraph (a);

"total amount of credit" means the ceiling or the total sums made available under a credit agreement; "total amount payable to the consumer" means the total amount of the credit less the total cost of such credit to the consumer;

"total cost of the credit to the consumer" means all the costs, including interest, commissions, taxes and any other kind of fees and, or charge howsoever described, or to whomsoever it is paid, which the consumer is required to pay in connection with the credit agreement and which are known to the creditor, including the cost of valuation of property where such valuation is necessary to obtain the credit, but excluding:

(a) notarial fees;

(b) Public Registry and Land Registry fees;

(c) costs relating to searches regarding title;

(d) costs related to property valuation, unless such valuation is required by the creditor;

(e) costs associated with the provision of security;

(f) stamp duties;

(g) any other fees ancillary to the publication of the public deed of loan;

(h) any other registration fees for the transfer of ownership of the immovable property; and

(i) any charges payable by the consumer for non- compliance with the commitments laid down in the credit agreement:

Provided that costs in respect of ancillary services relating to the credit agreement, in particular insurance premiums, are also included if, in addition, the conclusion of a service contract is compulsory in order to obtain such credit on the terms and conditions marketed;

"tying practice" means the offering or the selling of an equity release financial product in a package with other distinct financial products or services where the equity release financial product is not made available to the consumer separately;

"variable borrowing rate" means that the creditor and the consumer agree in the credit agreement on a borrowing rate based on an underlying index or reference rate that changes periodically.