S.I. No. 70/2017 - Credit Guarantee Scheme 2017.

1. the Acts;

2. this Scheme; and

3. the Operating Manual.

Participating finance providers will be required to provide to the Operator all information deemed necessary by the Operator so as to allow the Operator to administer the Scheme, and shall further be subject to the reporting requirements set out in the Participating Finance Provider’s Legal Agreement. Finance providers will be subject to the review process detailed in Section 5.2, and for the purposes of Section 5.2 will be deemed to be those finance providers who provide (or seek to provide) a financial product to a participating enterprise pursuant to a qualifying finance agreement.

5.2 Review Process

Before being approved by the Minister pursuant to Section 2(3)(b) of the Acts, finance providers must provide all information requested by the Operator so as to allow the Operator to undertake a review of the said finance provider, which review shall focus on the appropriateness of the prospective qualifying finance provider and its systems in the following areas:-

a) In order to determine the finance provider’s strategic positioning in the relevant market, its related ancillary business support services, and how it will use this Scheme to support the availability of credit over and above that currently being achieved by it, details as to its policies and practices as regards:-

(i) the provision of financial products generally;

(ii) the provision of financial products to qualifying enterprises;

(iii) the assessment of the credit risk or financial stability of qualifying enterprises;

(iv) the recovery of sums owing to the finance provider by a qualifying enterprise or property provided to a qualifying enterprise by the finance provider under a qualifying finance agreement; and

(v) the provision by qualifying enterprises of security for financial products provided to qualifying enterprises under qualifying finance agreements;

b) the sources from which the finance provider obtains its finance or funding;

c) the credit history of the finance provider;

d) where relevant, confirmation of adherence to the Central Bank of Ireland’s Code of Conduct for Business Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (as revised from time to time) and/or the

Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013

(Section 48) (Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) Regulations 2015, as amended by the

Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013

(Section 48) (Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) (Amendment) Regulations 2016;

e) the accounts and financial performance of the finance provider;

f) the legal structure, ownership, regulation and governance procedures of the finance provider;

g) the administration and management of the finance provider;

h) the financial product or financial products to which this Scheme applies including:-

(i) the information and documentation to be provided by the finance provider to the Minister in relation to the provision of such financial products;

(ii) the information and documentation to be provided by the finance provider to qualifying enterprises in relation to the provision of such financial products;

(iii) the interest, charges and other costs (if any) that may be applied in relation to the provision of such financial products to qualifying enterprises;

i) the procedures in relation to the supervision of finance agreements entered into on the finance provider’s behalf by members of staff of the finance provider; and

j) where applicable, the capital reserves of the finance provider.

5.3 Recommendation by Operator

4. 7.3 Subject to the maintenance of the Cap, the Minister reserves the right to instruct the Operator at any time during the continuance of this Scheme to increase and/or decrease the Premium imposed from the then current level to such other level as the Minister shall determine, at his or her sole discretion, as being necessary to address the then prevailing economic conditions. Any such change to the level of the Premium as aforesaid will only be instructed by the Minister following consultation with the Operator, and shall be subject to the considerations set out in Section 4.7.1.

4.8

De Minimis

State Aid

The assistance provided through this Scheme is regarded in part as State Aid and this Scheme is governed by the European Commissions

de minimis

State Aid regulations

1

. The State Aid attributable to the provision of a guarantee pursuant to Section 4.2.1, contributes towards the rolling three-fiscal-year de minimis limit to which SMEs are subject. Therefore the State Aid arising from any guarantee given pursuant to Section 4.2.1, in conjunction with all other

de minimis

State Aid received by the qualifying enterprise in the current and the previous two fiscal years, must not cause the qualifying enterprise’s particular limit to be exceeded.

4.9 DPA

The Minister, the Operator and each participating finance provider must take all requisite steps to ensure that Personal Data will be treated in accordance with the requirements of the DPA at all times during the continuance of this Scheme. In addition, the Minister, the Operator and each participating finance provider must take all requisite steps to ensure that only information about participating enterprises relevant to the operation of this Scheme is collected and retained, and that this information is held securely, and in any case in accordance with the obligations in that regard set out in the DPA.

5. 3.2 Notwithstanding whether the Operator issues either a Positive Recommendation or a Negative Recommendation pursuant to Section 5.3.1, the Minister in his sole discretion shall decide as to whether or not he is satisfied that a finance provider has met the criteria set out in Section 2(3)(b) of the Acts, and the Minister shall advise the finance provider in writing of his decision accordingly, and shall further simultaneously copy the Operator on such decision in writing.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform consents to the making of the foregoing Scheme.

GIVEN under my Official Seal

7 February 2017.

PASCHAL DONOHOE,

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

The Minister for Finance consents to the making of the foregoing Scheme.

GIVEN under my Official Seal

24 February 2017.

MICHAEL NOONAN,

Minister for Finance.

GIVEN under my hand

3 March 2017.

PAT BREEN,

Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

__________________1Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013.