After greetings,

Following a review of the consumer protection regulatory framework, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank has decided to introduce amendments to the Appendix of the above Regulations and Consumer Protection Standards, as follows:

1. Amendment of Appendix 2 of the Regulations Regarding Bank Loan & Other Services Offered to Individual Customers (Circular 29/2011) amended via Notice No. 3986/2019 (copy enclosed); and
    
2. Amendment of the Consumer Protection Standards issued via Notice No. 1158/2021 dated 24 February 2021 (copy enclosed).

These amendments cancel the requirement for obtaining Central Bank’s approval to impose new fees, or increase existing fees not capped by the Central Bank by more than 5 per cent. The amendments are as follows:

1. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Notice No. 3986/2019 mentioned above are cancelled.
    
2. The text of Paragraph 5.1.1.22 of the Consumer Protection Standards is replaced by the following new text:

“Any increase of Fees that are capped by the Central Bank must not exceed the limit imposed by such caps. Please refer to the Maximum Limits for Fees Annexure contained in the Consumer Protection Standards.”.

In addition, paragraphs 5.1.1.23 and 5.1.1.24 are cancelled.

Licensed Financial Institutions are reminded of their obligations in paragraph 2.1.1.47 of the Consumer Protection Standards which states:

“If the Licensed Financial Institution decides to make Permissible changes to the contract, the Licensed Financial Institution must give Consumers a minimum of 60 calendar days’ notice before changes to the terms and conditions of a Financial Product and/or Service, including changes to Fees, can take effect...”

The above amendments come into effect immediately.

Yours faithfully,