Regulatory Alerts2025-06-19
Standardized Information Sheet Regulation (NAP)
The Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe has issued Permanent Application Standard R.D. 99 to establish minimum information duties for authorized financial institutions regarding loan contracts, mandating standardized pre-contractual sheets, contract drafts, and ongoing disclosures to ensure transparency and informed client decisions. The regulation defines key financial metrics—including nominal and effective annual rates, spreads, fees, and charges—and requires institutions to provide complete, accurate, and legible information throughout the negotiation, conclusion, and term of credit agreements. It further specifies delivery timelines, digital communication options, sanction regimes for non-compliance, and transitional rules for existing loans, ensuring harmonized and comparable credit offers across the financial sector.
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 1/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
SUBJECT: STANDARDIZED INFORMATION SHEET
Considering the need to harmonize information provided by financial institutions prior to the conclusion of credit contracts, on one hand, strengthening transparency in access conditions and, on the other, enabling informed client decisions;
It being necessary to ensure minimum information requirements that financial institutions must provide to clients, both during negotiation and upon conclusion of credit contracts, establishing information duties during the term of such contracts;
With a view to guaranteeing harmonization and comparability of information provided by financial institutions, allowing clients to compare different credit offers and evaluate their respective implications;
Therefore, under the powers arising from paragraph 2(f) of Article 8 of its Organic Law, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe determines.
Article 1. Object and Scope
This Standard establishes minimum information duties to be observed by authorized financial institutions operating in São Tomé and Príncipe during the negotiation, conclusion, and term of credit contracts.
Article 2. Definitions
For the purposes of this Standard, the following shall apply:
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 2/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
a) Loan – any credit contract concluded by authorized financial institutions operating in São Tomé and Príncipe;
b) Standard loan – a commercially marketed loan offered on a regular basis, representing the simplest financing option compared to alternatives, with a variable interest rate indexed to a reference rate, plus a base spread attributed to the client, repaid from the outset in constant installments of principal and interest;
c) Loan approval – the financial institution's decision to grant the loan following analysis of necessary elements;
d) Fees – monetary charges payable by clients to financial institutions as remuneration for services provided or subcontracted, within the scope of negotiation, conclusion, and term of credit contracts;
e) Expenses – other costs borne by financial institutions, payable to third parties and passed on to clients, notably payments to Land Registries, Notarial Offices, or of a fiscal nature;
f) Charges – sum of fees and expenses;
g) TAE (Effective Annual Rate) – the effective annual rate, including, where applicable, all promotional conditions associated with the loan and reduction of fees and other costs resulting from optional bundled sales, as well as other situations likely to affect the loan cost;
h) TAER (Revised Effective Annual Rate) – the effective annual rate revised;
i) TAN (Nominal Annual Rate) – the nominal annual interest rate;
j) Fixed interest rate – the interest rate determined by the financial institution for loans under a fixed-rate regime;
k) Contracted fixed interest rate – the interest rate determined by the financial institution for loans under a fixed-rate regime, resulting from optional bundled sales, promotional conditions, or other situations likely to affect loan cost;
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 3/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
l) Base spread – the margin applied over the index, under a variable interest rate regime, or over the reference rate, under a fixed-rate regime (if applicable), attributed to the client after assessing credit risk and offered guarantees;
m) Contracted spread – the margin applied over the index, under a variable interest rate regime, or over the reference rate, under a fixed-rate regime (if applicable), attributed to the client resulting from optional bundled sales, promotional conditions, or other situations likely to affect loan cost;
n) Durable medium – any instrument allowing the client to store information addressed personally to them, so that they can easily access it in the future for a period appropriate to the purposes of such information, and reproduce it fully and unchanged.
Article 3. Duty to Inform
1 - Financial institutions must inform clients about the different elements characterizing the loans they market, as well as about the various charges to be borne by clients.
2 - Information provided by financial institutions regarding negotiation, conclusion, and term of loans must be complete, true, up-to-date, clear, objective, and presented in a legible manner.
Article 4. Pre-contractual Information
1 - Alongside loan condition simulations, conducted at counters, via websites, or any other communication means, these institutions must make available to clients the Standardized Information Sheet (SIS) prepared based on information provided by them.
2 - Simultaneously with communicating loan approval, financial institutions must deliver to clients an SIS incorporating the approved loan conditions.
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 4/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
3 - Without prejudice to other applicable legal or regulatory provisions, information provided by financial institutions under the preceding paragraphs must include, notably: a) TAN; b) TAE; c) TAER, if applicable; d) Description of loan characteristics; e) Loan costs; and f) Financial plans for the nominal interest rate on the date of simulation or approval, for the nominal interest rate increased by one and two percentage points, and for the standard loan.
4 - The model and information to be provided via the SIS referred to in the preceding paragraphs are contained in the Annex to this Standard, forming an integral part thereof.
5 - The provisions of this article do not preclude financial institutions from providing additional informational elements to clients regarding loan conditions, notably by making available an SIS prior to loan approval, which must comply with the model defined in the Annex.
Article 5. Delivery of Contract Draft
1 - Without prejudice to compliance with other legal obligations and Article 4(2), upon communicating loan approval, financial institutions must also deliver to clients the draft contract to be concluded.
2 - The aforementioned contract draft must contain the elements indicated in Article 6 and reflect the loan conditions described in the respective SIS.
Article 6. Information to be Provided in the Contract
Without prejudice to statutory provisions, the loan contract must specify the following elements: a) Loan amount; b) Purpose of the loan; c) Applicable interest rate regime;
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 5/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
d) Indication of TAN, its components and calculation method, including fixed interest rate, contracted fixed interest rate, base spread, and contracted spread (if applicable); e) Indication of TAE; f) Description of promotional conditions (if applicable); g) Indication of TAER, if applicable; h) Identification of financial products and services acquired by the client, optionally, in association with the loan, description of the effects of such acquisition on loan costs, and explicit statement of maintenance and eventual revision conditions for these effects (if applicable); i) Other situations likely to affect loan cost and explicit statement of their application conditions, possibility of revision (if applicable); j) Loan repayment conditions: i) Repayment modality; ii) Installment regime; iii) Loan term; iv) Number and periodicity of installments; v) Installment amount valid until the first interest rate revision, whenever determinable; vi) Due dates of installments; k) Identification of loan guarantees; l) Identification and quantification of fees applicable at contract conclusion, and conditions under which they may be revised in the future; and m) Identification of charges applicable in case of default, as well as conditions under which they may be revised in the future.
Article 7. Information to be Provided During Contract Term
During the contract term, financial institutions must make available to clients a monthly statement, preferably digitally (email), unless another medium is expressly indicated by the client, including at least the following elements: a) Identification of the loan and capital amount outstanding on the statement issue date; b) Number and due date of the installment subsequent to the statement issue date; c) Amount of the installment subsequent to the statement issue date, with breakdown into principal and interest components;
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 6/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
d) TAN applicable to the installment subsequent to the statement issue date, with identification of its components;
f) Identification and amount of any fees and expenses payable by the client on the due date of the installment subsequent to the statement issue date; g) Total amount payable by the client on the due date of the installment subsequent to the statement issue date, resulting from paragraphs c) and f);
2 - Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, when the monthly statement is not sent with a minimum advance of 15 (fifteen) days relative to the due date of the subsequent installment, institutions must, in case of interest rate alteration as contractually provided, communicate to clients, with a minimum advance of 15 (fifteen) days relative to the due date of the subsequent installment, the following elements: a) Number, due date, and amount of the subsequent installment; and b) TAN applicable to the subsequent installment, with identification of its components.
3 - Whenever contractually granted to the financial institution the right to modify contractual conditions on its own initiative, affecting installment value (not resulting from interest rate alterations as contractually provided), the institution must communicate to clients the content of such alterations, with a minimum advance of 30 (thirty) days relative to the intended application date, without prejudice to other legally or regulatorily fixed deadlines.
4 - The information referred to in the preceding paragraph must be provided, whenever possible, through the monthly statement referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 7/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
5 - In communications regarding default of contractual obligations, financial institutions must inform the client about installments or other values outstanding on the communication issue date, as well as amounts due by way of late payment interest, with identification of the respective rate and calculation basis.
Article 8. Compliance with Information Duties
1 - Financial institutions may comply with information duties under this Standard by providing information digitally (email) or on another durable medium, unless the client expressly requests paper provision.
2 - For existing loans on the effective date of this Standard, information under Article 7 must be provided to the client through the contractually agreed medium and communication channel, or, in absence of contractual provision, through the medium and channel habitually used, unless the client expressly authorizes alteration of the medium and communication channel for this purpose.
3 - Financial institutions bear the burden of proving provision to clients of information under Article 3, Article 4(2), and Articles 5, 6, and 7 of this Standard.
Article 9. Sanction Regime
Violation of provisions under this Standard is punishable under legislation regulating financial institution activities.
Article 10. Temporal Application
1 - Provisions under this Standard apply to loans concluded after its effective date.
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 8/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
2 - For loans already concluded on the effective date of this Standard, Article 3(2) and Articles 7 to 9 above apply.
Article 11. Entry into Force
This Standard enters into force 60 days after its publication date.
Banco Central de São Tomé and Príncipe, on the 19th day of June 2025.
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 9/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
ANNEX I Standardized Information Sheet for Loans
Part I – FINANCIAL CONDITIONS OF CREDIT
A. IDENTIFICATION ELEMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS
| 1. Financial institution identification | |
|---|---|
| Denomination | [Insert] |
| Headquarters | [Insert] |
| Contacts | [Insert] |
| 2. Client(s) and other basic loan elements | |
|---|---|
| [Indicate the informational elements that formed the basis of the loan simulation or approval, provided they are not specifically covered in specific points of the SIS] |
| 3. Date of document preparation | |
|---|---|
| [DD-MM-YYYY] |
| 4. Identification of information provision moment | |
|---|---|
| Simulation | [] |
| Approval | [] |
6. Observations [At loan simulation] The present document does not constitute a legally binding offer nor implies any obligation for the [insert financial institution denomination] to grant the loan. [If provided prior to loan approval, an additional standardized information sheet may include, if the institution so wishes, the following observation: The conditions of this document are valid for [insert number] days] The quantified data constitute a description of the loan conditions that [insert financial institution denomination] would be in a position to propose based on current market conditions and the information presented by the client. For further clarifications, you may visit the counter of [insert credit institution] in [insert locality], or call the telephone line [insert number]. You may also send an email to the following address [insert email address] and consult the website [insert].
6. Observations [After loan approval] The conditions of this document and the attached contract draft are valid for [insert number] days. The fixed interest rate or index value, respectively, under a fixed-rate or variable-rate regime, will be adjusted to prevailing market conditions on the contract conclusion date. For complaint reception and resolution, contact: [insert identification and contacts of the institution's complaints and customer support service]
| 7. Information on loan costs | |
|---|---|
| The loan costs referred to in this standardized information sheet must be consulted in detail in Chapter “C - Loan Costs” |
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 10/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
B. DESCRIPTION OF LOAN CHARACTERISTICS
| 1. Product characterization | |
|---|---|
| 1.1. Purpose | [Insert] |
| 1.2. Commercial designation of the product |
| 2. Promotional campaign [If applicable] | |
|---|---|
| 2.1. Campaign identification | [Commercial designation of the promotional campaign] |
| 2.2. Campaign conditions | [Access conditions and validity period of the promotional campaign] |
| 2.3. Long-term effects of the campaign on the loan | [Describe the financial effects of the promotional campaign, application period during contract term] See also table “5. Promotional conditions” in chapter “C. Loan Costs”. |
| 3. Loan amount and denomination currency | |
|---|---|
| [0,00] [currency] |
| 4. Term | |
|---|---|
| [number] [insert no. months] [[insert no. years)] |
| 5. Loan repayment | |
|---|---|
| 5.1. Repayment modality | [[no.] installments with principal grace period/[no.] constant installments of principal and interest/[%] capital deferral/other] |
| 5.2. Installment regime | [Constant/progressive/mixed/other] |
| 5.3. Number and periodicity of installments | [Number] installments [periodicity] |
| 5.4. Installment amount | See financial plans in Part II. |
| 5.5. Loan characterization | [Indicate whether the loan is repaid, from the outset, in constant installments of principal and interest. If not, briefly describe the main effects of the repayment modality and installment regime adopted during contract term.] |
| 6. Required guarantees | |
|---|---|
| [Indicate required guarantees for the operation: property mortgage, guarantee bond, or other] |
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 11/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
| 7. Insurances required by financial institution (if applicable) | |
|---|---|
| 7.1.1. Insurer identification | [Insert] |
| 7.1.2. Identification and commercial designation of the product | [Insert] |
| 7.1.3. Coverage [minimum required] | [Insert] |
| 7.1.4. Other minimum requirements | [Insert] |
| 7.1.5. Contract update method (of insured capital) | [Insert] |
| 7.1.6. Premium payment periodicity | [Insert] |
| 7.1.7. Total insurance premium value (annual basis) | [Total annual insurance premiums payable by the client] See also financial plans in Part II. |
| 7.1.8. Other contracting costs | [Insert] |
| 8. Early repayment | |
|---|---|
| 8.1. Fee applicable for partial or total early loan repayment | [Indicate the applicable early repayment fee] |
| 8.2. Exemptions from fee collection | [Indicate exemptions provided in applicable legislation] [Indicate other exemptions, if any] |
| 8.3. Conditions for exercising partial repayment right | [Description of conditions established in applicable legislation for exercising partial repayment right] |
| 8.4. Conditions for exercising total repayment right | [Description of conditions established in applicable legislation for exercising total repayment right] |
| Vistos | Revocation Data: |
|---|
| NAP | CÓDIGO |
|---|---|
| PERMANENT APPLICATION STANDARD | R.D. 99 |
| PROPONENT(S) | ENTRY INTO FORCE | ISSUE DATE | DOC NO. | FL 12/26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G.I.F. | 19/06/2025 | 19/06/2025 | 08/2025 |
C. LOAN COSTS
| 1. Nominal annual interest rate (TAN) | |
|---|---|
| 1.1. Value and interest rate regime | |
| 1.1.1. Nominal annual interest rate | [0,000%] ([fixed interest rate [contracted]: 0,000% or reference rate/index: 0,000% + spread [base or contracted]: 0,000%]) |
| 1.1.2. Interest rate regime | Fixed interest [rate/variable] during [no. of] installments [followed by a period of [no. of] installments at fixed/variable rate (if applicable)] |
| 1.2. Decomposition and calculation method of interest rate | |
| 1.2.1. Fixed interest rate | [0,000%] [Identification of fixed interest rate, calculation method and determination mode for application on contract signing date, if applicable] |
| 1.2.2. Contracted fixed interest rate | [0,000%] See table “4. Optional bundled sales”, regarding costs and conditions for optional acquisition of other financial products and services, and impacts on interest rate. See table “5. Promotional conditions”, regarding impact of promotional conditions on interest rate. See table “7. Other situations likely to affect loan cost” for situations likely to impact interest rate. |
| 1.2.3. Index | [0,000%] [Identification of index, convention, calculation formula, rounding, revision and determination mode for application on contract signing date] |
| 1.2.4. Base spread | [0,000%] |
| 1.2.5. Contracted spread | [0,000%] [Indicate applicable base spread] [0,000%] See table “4. Optional bundled sales”, regarding costs and conditions for optional acquisition of other financial products and services, and impacts on spread. See table “5. Promotional conditions”, regarding impact of promotional cond |