Comoros Central Bank Regulatory Texts 2012

CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 006/2012/COB/BDC .................................................................. Circular Letter regarding money transfer operations between the Union of the Comoros and Foreign Countries, carried out by the Comoros Development Bank. ..................................................................

Having regard to the Framework Law No. 80-08 of May 3, 1980, relating to currency and the role of the Central Bank of the Comoros in the control of Banks and Financial Institutions;

Having regard to Law No. 80-07 of June 26, 1980, regulating Banks and Financial Institutions;

Having regard to Law No. 81-026/PR establishing the statutes of the Comoros Development Bank;

Having regard to Decree No. 87-005/PR of January 16, 1987, regulating financial relations between the Comoros and foreign countries;

Having regard to Ordinance No. 09-002 of March 6, 2009, relating to money laundering, confiscation, and international cooperation regarding proceeds of crime;

Having regard to Circular No. 006/2011/COB of September 6, 2011, relating to the appointment of the Comoros Development Bank as an authorized intermediary for financial relations between the Union of the Comoros and foreign countries;

Article 1 The Comoros Development Bank is authorized to perform money transfer operations between the Union of the Comoros and foreign countries at its counters in partnership with MONEYGRAM.

Article 2 Money transfer operations to foreign countries, carried out by the Comoros Development Bank, are limited to 1,000,000 FC (one million Comorian francs) per operation and per person. Any transfer of funds exceeding 1,000,000 FC (one million Comorian francs) is subject to prior authorization from the Central Bank.

Article 3 The Comoros Development Bank must justify the nature of these operations at all times and must provide the Central Bank with corresponding statistics quarterly, in accordance with the attached reporting model and foreign exchange regulations.

---

Article 4 This Circular Letter cancels and replaces Circular Letter No. 007/2011/COB/BDC of September 15, 2011. It is revocable at any time and enters into force upon its signature.

Moroni, August 10, 2012

The Vice-Governor, MADI AHAMADA

---

CIRCULAR LETTER NO. 005/2012/COB .................................................................. Circular Letter regarding the mandatory reserve ratio for Banks, Decentralized Financial Institutions, and other financial establishments ..................................................................

Having regard to Law No. 80-07 of June 26, 1980, regulating banks and financial institutions;

Having regard to Law No. 80-08 of May 3, 1980, relating to currency and the role of the Central Bank of the Comoros in the control of banks, financial institutions, credit, and foreign exchange, particularly Article 14;

Having regard to Decree No. 04-069/PR regulating the activity of Decentralized Financial Institutions, particularly Article 34;

Having regard to Circular No. 008/2004/COB of December 14, 2004, relating to the calculation and declaration of mandatory reserves for Banks, Decentralized Financial Institutions, and other financial establishments, particularly Article 2;

Having regard to the decision of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the Comoros in its session of June 24, 2011;

Article 1 The mandatory reserve ratio for Banks, Decentralized Financial Institutions, and other financial establishments is set at 20% of the base used for the calculation of reserves.

Article 2 This circular letter cancels and replaces Article 2 of Circular No. 008/2004/COB of December 14, 2004, and Circular Letter No. 005/2011/COB of July 12, 2011.

It enters into force as of July 1, 2012.

Moroni, July 9, 2012

The Governor, Mze Abdou Mohamed Chanfiou

---

CIRCULAR NO. 04/2012/COB .................................................................. Circular regarding loans granted by Banks and Financial Institutions to directors, executives, and staff. ..................................................................

Having regard to Law No. 80-07 of June 26, 1980, regulating banks and financial institutions, particularly Articles 26 on risk division and 27 on loans granted to directors, executives, and staff of Banks and Financial Institutions;

Having regard to Instruction No. 007/2004/COB, relating to the Risk Division of Banks, Decentralized Financial Institutions, and other Financial Establishments;

Article 1 Loans granted to directors, executives, and staff of banks and financial institutions under the conditions defined by Articles 26 and 27 of Law No. 80-07 of June 26, 1980, must be subject to semi-annual declaration to the Central Bank, according to the format attached to this circular letter.

Article 2 The limitation provided for in Article 27 of Law No. 80-07 of June 26, 1980, does not apply to credits guaranteed by the pledge of assets with a generally recognized or bank-verified market value, limited to only 80 percent of said value.

This instruction enters into force as of its date of signature.

Moroni, February 22, 2012

The Governor, Mzé Abdou MOHAMED CHANFIOU.

---

CIRCULAR NO. 03/2012/COB .................................................................. Circular Letter regarding the registration of clients of Banks and Financial Institutions (BEF), and Decentralized Finance Institutions (IFD) using a uniform identifier by client type ..................................................................

Having regard to Law No. 80-08 of May 3, 1980, relating to currency and the role of the Central Bank of the Comoros in the control of banks, financial institutions, credit, and foreign exchange, particularly Article 15 on the attachment of the Risk and Payment Incident Central Office to the Central Bank of the Comoros;

Having regard to Law No. 80-07 of June 26, 1980, regulating banks and financial institutions, particularly Article 45 on the reporting of mandatory information by BEFs to the Central Bank, and Article 91 on the protection of personal data by the BCC;

Having regard to Ordinance No. 03-002/PR relating to money laundering, confiscation, and international cooperation regarding proceeds of crime, in its Article 2-2;

Having regard to Decree No. 04-069/PR regulating the activity of Decentralized Financial Institutions (IFD);

Article 1 Banks, Financial Institutions (BEF), and Decentralized Financial Institutions (IFD) are required to register each of their clients with a unique identifier. This identifier is based on each type of client:

Client Type	Unique Identification Method
National Individuals	National Identity Number (NIN)
Non-national Residents	Passport Number
Non-residents	Passport Number
Companies	Commercial and Movable Credit Register Number (RCCM)
Artisans, Merchants, and Liberal Professions	Commercial and Movable Credit Register Number (RCCM)
Non-profit Associations	Receipt Number from the Ministry of the Interior

BEFs and IFDs must retain supporting documents for identification, which may be subject to subsequent controls by the Central Bank.

Article 2 Through this instruction, the Central Bank aims to:

• Enable Banks, Financial Institutions (BEF), and Decentralized Financial Institutions (IFD) to better know their clients within the framework of anti-money laundering efforts;
• Facilitate information exchange between BEFs, IFDs, and the Central Bank. In particular, the registration of these identifiers in the systems of BEFs and IFDs is essential to allow the functioning of the risk and payment incident central office.

Article 3 The implementation of this system may be done gradually:

• The registration of identifiers for new clients must be carried out as soon as possible, but no later than June 1, 2012.
• The updating of data concerning existing clients must be completed no later than December 31, 2012.

This circular letter enters into force as of its date of signature.

Moroni, February 22, 2012,

The Governor, Mzé Abdou MOHAMED CHANFIOU.

---

CIRCULAR NO. 001/2012/COB .................................................................. Circular regarding the approval of the Union of Sanduk of Moheli and its affiliated Institutions ..................................................................

Having regard to Decree No. 04-069/PR regulating the activity of Decentralized Financial Institutions, particularly Articles 5 and 10;

Having regard to Order No. 069/11/VP-MFEBICE of the Minister in charge of Finance dated December 29, 2011;

Having regard to the resolution of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the Comoros in its session of December 8, 2011;

Article 1 The Union of Sanduk of Moheli and the affiliated Institutions are approved and authorized to exercise on national territory the activity provided for by Decree No. 04-069/PR of June 22, 2004, regulating the activity of Decentralized Financial Institutions.

Article 2 The inscription on the register of Decentralized Financial Institutions is made today under the number:

2012-001/AG/IFD

Moroni, January 9, 2012

The Governor, Mzé Abdou Mohamed Chanfiou