Regulations, 2024

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta Nru. 21,291, 30 ta’ Lulju, 2024 B 1149

L.N. 173 of 2024

CREDIT SERVICERS AND CREDIT PURCHASERS ACT

(CAP. 645)

Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers Act (Fees)

Regulations, 2024

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 19(1) of the

Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers Act, the Minister responsible

for the regulation of financial services, acting on the advice of the

Malta Financial Services Authority, has made the following

regulations: -

The title of these regulations is the Credit Servicers and Citation.

Credit Purchasers Act (Fees) Regulations, 2024.

(1)

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise Interpretation.

"Act" means the Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers

Act;

"applicant" means a legal person established in Malta

applying to the competent authority to act as a credit servicer in

accordance with article 7 of the Act;

"competent authority" means the Malta Financial Services

Authority established by the Malta Financial Services Authority Cap. 330.

Act;

"credit servicer" means a legal person that, in the course of

its business, manages and enforces the rights and obligations

related to a creditor’s rights under a non-performing credit

agreement, or to the non-performing credit agreement itself, on

behalf of a credit purchaser, and carries out at least one (1) or

more credit servicing activities;

"credit servicing activities" means one (1) or more of the

following activities

(a) collecting or recovering from the borrower, in

accordance with national law, any payments due related to

a creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit

agreement itself;

(b) renegotiating with the borrower, in accordance

with national law, any terms and conditions related to a

creditor’s rights under a credit agreement, or of the credit

agreement itself, in line with the instructions given by the

credit purchaser, where the credit servicer is not a credit

intermediary as defined in Article 3(f) of Directive 2008/

48/EC or in Article 4(5) of Directive 2014/17/EU;

(c) administering any complaints relating to a

creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit

agreement itself;

(d) informing the borrower of any changes in

interest rates or charges or of any payments due related to a

creditor’s rights under a credit agreement or to the credit

agreement itself;

"European credit servicer" means a credit servicer

authorised as such in a Member State other than Malta, under

national law transposing the NPL Directive;

"European regulatory authority" means a body or bodies

designated by a Member State other than Malta in accordance

with Article 21(3) of the NPL Directive to carry out the functions

and duties provided for under the NPL Directive;

"home Member State" means the Member State in which

the registered office of a credit servicer is situated or, if under its

national law it has no registered office, the Member State in

which its head office is situated;

"net revenue" means the gross revenue indicated in the

annual audited financial statements for the preceding year which

is derived from the services which the credit servicer is

authorised to provide in accordance with article 7 of the Act, less

any commissions which have been paid or are to be paid in

connection with the provision of such services to credit service

providers and, or other third parties;

"NPL Directive" refers to Directive (EU) 2021/2167 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2021

on credit servicers and credit purchasers and amending

Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU, as may be amended

from time to time, and includes any binding legal instruments,

guidelines and other measures that have been or may be issued

thereunder.

(2) Words and expressions used in these regulations which are

also used in the Act but which are not defined herein shall have the

same meaning as assigned to them in the Act.

(1) An applicant shall, upon submitting an application to Application fee.

the competent authority for authorisation to act as a credit servicer in

terms of article 7 of the Act, pay to the competent authority an

application fee of thirteen thousand euro (€13,000).

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation (1), with

respect to those applications submitted prior to the coming into force

of these regulations and which remain pending upon the coming into

force of the said regulations, the applicants shall pay to the competent

authority the application fee referred to in the said sub-regulation

within one (1) month from the day of the coming into force of these

regulations.

(1) A credit servicer authorised to act as such under the Annual

Act shall pay to the competent authority an annual supervisory fee of supervisory fee.

ten thousand euro (€10,000) where the net revenue of that credit

servicer for the year does not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand

euro (€250,000)

Provided that, where the net revenue of such credit servicer

for a particular year exceeds two hundred and fifty thousand euro

(€250,000), the annual supervisory fee shall be ten thousand euro

(€10,000) for the first two hundred and fifty thousand euro (€250,000)

in net revenue for that year and an additional one thousand euro

(€1,000) for every additional two hundred and fifty thousand euro

(€250,000) in net revenue or part thereof for the same year

Provided further that, in any case, the annual supervisory

fee shall not exceed twenty thousand euro (€20,000).

(2) Notwithstanding sub-regulation (1), the first annual

supervisory fee due to the competent authority shall be the aggregate

of the following

(a) ten thousand euro (€10,000) prorated according to the

period remaining between the date wherein the applicant is

granted authorisation to act as a credit servicer under the Act and

the end of the calendar year in which such authorisation was

granted; and

(b) ten thousand euro (€10,000) prorated according to the

period between the start of the following calendar year and the

date when the next supervisory fee is due in accordance with

regulation 5(2).

(1) The first annual supervisory fee due in accordance

with regulation 4(2) shall be paid to the competent authority on the

date on which the applicant is granted authorisation to act as a credit

servicer in accordance with the Act.

(2) Every annual supervisory fee following the first annual

supervisory fee which is due in accordance with regulation 4(1) shall

be paid to the competent authority annually on the 1 st September of

each year.

(1) Where a European credit servicer intends to act as a

credit servicer in Malta through the establishment of a branch in

accordance with regulation 3 of the Credit Servicers and Credit

Purchasers Act (Passporting) Regulations, it shall pay to the competent

2024. authority, upon being notified by the European regulatory authority of

the home Member State in accordance with Article 13(3) of the NPL

Directive and regulation 3(4) of the said regulations, a notification fee

of three thousand euro (€3,000).

(2) Without prejudice to sub-regulation (1), where a European

credit servicer intends to act as a credit servicer in Malta through the

establishment of a branch in accordance with regulation 3 of the Credit

Servicers and Credit Purchasers Act (Passporting) Regulations, it shall

pay to the competent authority, on the date as from when such

2024. European credit servicer is able to act as a credit servicer in

accordance with regulation 3(5) of the said regulations and annually

thereafter, an annual supervisory fee of six thousand euro (€6,000).

(1) The fees established and due in terms of these

regulations shall not be refundable.

(2) Without prejudice to regulation 4(2) and sub-regulation (1),

the fees established and due in terms of these regulations shall not be

prorated.

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