Regulation (NAP) – Interbank Clearing System Regulation – SICOI

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 1/29

Regulation (NAP) – Interbank Clearing System Regulation – SICOI (Tele-clearing)

Whereas it is desirable to gradually improve the payment system serving the banking sector, and in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph K) of no. 2 of Article 8 of its Organic Law; the Administrative Council of the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe resolves:

Artigo 1°. 1 - The Clearing House for cheques and other documents is established. 2- The organization and operation of the Clearing House shall comply with the provisions of the Interbank Clearing System Regulation.

Artigo 2°. The Interbank Clearing System Regulation, abbreviated as SICOI, is approved and enters into force, forming an integral part of this NAP.

Banco Central de São Tomé and Príncipe, 16 March 2010 Vistos Revocation Data:

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 2/29

Regulation (NAP) – Interbank Clearing System Regulation – SICOI (Tele-clearing)

In accordance with the powers conferred by its Organic Law to regulate the creation and operation of the Clearing House for cheques and other documents, the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe establishes an Interbank Clearing System (SICOI), with the objective of improving payment services for the country's banking system clients.

CAPITULO I - AMBITO DE APLICACAO (SCOPE OF APPLICATION)

ARTIGO 1°. Destinatarios (Recipients) These instructions apply to all participants in the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI), namely: a) Central Bank; and b) Banks;

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 3/29

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CAPITULO II - APLICACAO GERAL (GENERAL APPLICATION)

ARTIGO 2°. Objecto (Object)

1. The Interbank Clearing System (SICOI) performs, through clearing, the financial settlement of cheques, payment orders, and related documents issued in dobras, Mares, and euros, and in the standardized form defined by the Central Bank, hereinafter abbreviated as "documents".
2. The following documents are excluded from clearing: a) Those containing corrections or erasures in any of the pre-printed fields on their physical support. b) Those previously subject to two returns by the drawee bank due to lack or insufficiency of funds. c) Those subject to an "alongue" (endorsement), regardless of the underlying reasons. d) Those not in standardized form. e) Those with a value exceeding one billion five hundred million dobras (Dbs 1,500,000,000.00), one hundred fifty thousand Mares (USD 150,000.00), and one hundred thirty thousand euros (EUR 130,000.00).

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 4/29

f) When the presenting institution presents cheques on which it is itself the holder, and the drawee is the BCSTP. Such cheques must be forwarded to another banking institution for payment. g) When there is a discrepancy between the currency of the cheque and the currency of the draw.

ARTIGO 3°. Participacao (Participation)

1. Participants in SICOI are commercial, investment, and development banks, hereinafter referred to as "banks", licensed by the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Central Bank itself.
2. The Central Bank participates in SICOI for clearing its own documents or documents presented to it for payment.
3. New banks are required to participate in SICOI and must request participation, which shall be authorized by the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 5/29

4. A new member's participation shall commence on the first business day of the month following the authorization date.
5. The Banking Supervision Directorate shall determine whether an institution is authorized to operate as a commercial, development, or investment bank, in accordance with Law No. 8/92.
6. Any bank authorized to operate by the Central Bank must request SICOI participation through a formal document signed by authorized administrators, expressly declaring that the requesting bank is aware of and agrees to this Regulation. A condition for granting authorization is that the bank maintains a current account in dobras, Mares, and euros at the Central Bank.
7. Participating banks must operate at least one counter in São Tomé city. Other branches shall be represented in SICOI by the bank's headquarters counter.
8. A bank whose operating authorization is cancelled or suspended may not participate in SICOI.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 6/29

ARTIGO 4°. Responsabilidades do Banco Central de Sao Tome e Principe (Responsibilities of the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe) The Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, in addition to being a SICOI member for document exchange, shall ensure participants: a) A system enabling receipt, processing, and exchange of information via computerized support; b) Determination of values to be cleared and settled; c) Updating of respective deposit accounts; d) Communication of settled balances; e) Preparation of necessary statistics, such as the number and value of cleared documents on a daily basis, and information on returned unpaid documents, without publishing or disclosing bank-specific information to other banks; f) Facilities for physical document exchange; g) Retention of exchanged information for five years post-presentation to resolve disputes between presenting and receiving participants.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 7/29

ARTIGO 5°. Administracao (Administration)

1. The Central Bank shall appoint a staff member to act as Superintendent of SICOI clearing sessions.
2. In case of conflict between participating members regarding delivered/received documents or payable/receivable values, the Superintendent's decision shall be provisionally accepted, subject to ratification by the Central Bank Government. If the conflict persists after financial settlement, involved banks shall resolve it or accept the prevailing Central Bank decision.
3. SICOI management is supported by an Operations Committee composed of representatives from each participating institution and chaired by a representative selected by BCSTP. The chair holds a one-year term.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 8/29

4. The Operations Committee shall: 4.1. Assist the Central Bank in improving services. 4.2. Regulate representative conduct. 4.3. Propose penalties to participants per Article 20. 4.4. Undertake other assigned activities.
5. The Operations Committee shall meet at least four (4) times annually or upon formal request by a minimum of two participants, specifying discussion topics.

ARTIGO 6°. Credenciais (Credentials) SICOI participants shall credential themselves in writing with the Central Bank, while employees (permanent and substitute) with representation powers shall credential themselves at the physical exchange center.

ARTIGO 7° Compensacao Electronica (Electronic Clearing)

1. Banks maintain records of conveniently packaged documents regarding the values stated in properly completed documents, as defined by the Central Bank.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 9/29

ARTIGO 8°. Entrega de documentos fisicos aos bancos destinatarios (Delivery of Physical Documents to Receiving Banks)

1. Session participants shall exchange documents among themselves, delivering to receiving banks the documents presented/cleared, accompanied by triplicate remittance slips, with the original retained by the Central Bank.
2. The duplicate returned immediately to the presenting bank, duly signed, shall certify document receipt.
3. A stamp (per Model 1 of Article 18) shall be affixed to the reverse of documents without requiring a signature; once completed, it must show the presenting bank's name.
4. Completion of the aforementioned slips shall observe: a) Identification of the presenting bank; b) Identification of the receiving bank; c) Listing of document numbers and amounts; d) Total amount to be cleared.
5. If no documents are delivered, participants remain obligated to receive documents destined for them.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 10/29

6. The Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe or designated entity is not responsible for analyzing exchanged documents or verifying them against remittance slips.

ARTIGO 9°. Procedimentos em casos anormais (Procedures in Abnormal Cases) In adverse or exceptional situations notably affecting the banking sector, such as public calamities, general power/communication failures, civil disturbances, epidemics, storms, and earthquakes, clearing and financial settlement shall be carried out, provided the Central Bank considers the number of participating banks presenting themselves and transmitting information to be reasonable.

ARTIGO 10°. I - Horario de Compensacao Electronica (Electronic Clearing Hours)

1. Clearing and financial settlement in SICOI shall comply with schedules defined by the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe. Outside these hours, settlement may occur the following day according to a pre-established period.
2. Daily clearing occurs in two sessions on the same day: a digital document registration session from 09:00 to 11:00, and a return/confirmation session from 14:00 to 16:00. If punctuality tolerance applies in the second period, clearing shall be conducted from 09:00 to 11:00 in a single combined period for both sections.
3. In case of interbank communication infrastructure network failures, clearing shall be conducted in a presencial/traditional manner, with prior notice from the Central Bank.

II - Horario de Troca Fisica (Physical Exchange Hours)

1. Physical document exchanges shall occur at BCSTP on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 14:00 to 15:00.
2. If punctuality tolerance applies in the second daily period, document exchange shall occur from 09:00 to 10:00. If tolerance applies to both daily periods, exchange shall be deferred to the following business day.
3. All participants must be present at session start; any participant arriving more than five minutes late may be excluded from the session.
4. Any changes to the aforementioned schedules shall be published by the Central Bank at least eight (8) days in advance.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 11/29

ARTIGO 11°. Compensacao e Liquidacao Financeira (Clearing and Financial Settlement)

1. Balance determination for each participant is performed based on information received electronically at the Central Bank, according to defined schedules. 1.1. The presenting institution bears exclusive responsibility for the consistency between this information and the actual values of documents/operations. 1.2. Subsequent discrepancies must be promptly regularized by involved participants in the manner they deem most appropriate.
2. Determined balances after the verification period are settled via movements of respective current accounts in dobras, Mares, and euros held at the Central Bank. 2.1. The Central Bank shall prepare a daily report with total values in dobras, Mares, and euros for payments made by banks in SICOI. 2.2. If total delivered documents exceed total received documents, the participant's account is credited. If total received documents exceed total delivered, the account is debited.
3. Clearing and financial settlement sessions occur from Tuesday to Friday, except on national holidays or days with punctuality tolerance in both daily periods.
4. If a receiving bank lacks sufficient funds, it must mobilize funds from another bank and deposit them into its Central Bank account within the clearing period.
5. If a participant fails to cover its net clearing liability within the clearing period, the Superintendent shall notify the Central Bank Government, triggering corrective measures. If a participant is declared insolvent, the Central Bank shall inform other participants. The session remains open until all accounts are satisfactorily debited.
6. If insolvency is announced during a session, the Central Bank shall reverse all credits in favor of and debits against the insolvent bank, recalculating each participant's net position post-reversal. The insolvent bank may no longer participate in clearing sessions.
7. If the Central Bank is notified by the courts after financial settlement that a bank has been declared bankrupt, each participant shall bear any losses from documents forwarded to it.
8. The Central Bank is not liable for losses incurred by banks due to SICOI participation, except in cases of Central Bank negligence or error. 8.1 All pending cases due to misrouting, delayed/non-return of documents, participant insolvency, or others shall be resolved directly between participants, unless they agree to use their current accounts in dobras, Mares, and euros at the Central Bank for transaction registration.
9. The Central Bank shall, in accordance with this Regulation's terms and conditions, be responsible for its own documents presented at clearing sessions and for the financial settlement of a net position, just like any other participant.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 12/29

ARTIGO 12°. Caracter definitivo e irrevogavel das operacoes (Definitive and Irrevocable Nature of Operations)

1. Only the receiving user with an operator profile may validate a document.
2. Subsequently, documents validated by the receiving user but with an authorizer profile shall be cleared.
3. SICOI operations are considered definitive and irrevocable from the moment financial settlement is executed at the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe.
4. The Central Bank shall provide participants with account statements immediately upon completing financial settlement.

Vistos Revocation Data:

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 13/29

ARTIGO 13°. Custo (Cost) Fixed amounts established by the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe are due for interbank clearing services.

ARTIGO 14°. Procedimentos e responsabilidades do participante (Procedures and Participant Responsibilities)

1. Banks must mandate SICOI through an operations list from which payments to other participants are processed.
2. Any bilateral agreement for exchange and payment execution outside SICOI is permitted only with the consent of all participating members.
3. For clearing sections, each bank shall have three staff members with different responsibility levels: a) Operator, b) Authorizer, c) Representative for physical document exchange.
4. Each participating bank is also responsible: a) For detecting situations referred to in Article 2(2); b) For affixing the presentation stamp (Model 1, per Article 18) to all cheques, payment orders, and related documents; c) For presenting physical exchange center documents/remittance slips and delivering electronic support (per Art. 7(1)); d) For receiving all returned cheques/related documents within return periods.
5. By forwarding documents to the clearing session, the presenting bank authorizes the Central Bank to debit its current account in dobras, Mares, and euros for subsequent returns of delivered documents due to unpaid obligations.
6. If a receiving bank fails to honor payment due to insolvency, it must return documents in its possession to SICOI; remitting banks shall accept the returns and authorize the Central Bank to debit their respective current accounts. Remitting banks must then debit client accounts seeking conflict resolution.
7. The presenting bank's stamp on documents guarantees endorsements or their absence, regardless of value. The presenting bank must indemnify the receiving bank for any assumed liability arising from endorsements. This guarantee remains valid for five years post-settlement.
8. The presenting bank shall maintain records necessary to reconstruct any payment for one year from presentation date.
9. Physical documents must be scanned by a cheque reader or traditional scanner, with JPEG format images archived for five years.
10. Document images must be presented on both front and reverse sides.

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Banco Central de S. T. P. PROPONENTE (S) P.O.G. NAP - NORMA DE APLICACAO PERMANENTE ENTRADA EM VIGOR 01/05/2010 | DATA DA EMISSAO 16/03/2010 CODIGO RD 09 | N° DOC 07/2010 | FL. 14/29

ARTIGO 15°. Procedimentos e responsabilidades do participante destinatario/sacado (Procedures and Responsibilities of the Receiving/Drawee Participant)

1. Receiving banks are obligated to accept all presented documents during clearing sessions and perform their processing and control.
2. Documents destined for a bank but not received by the participant (due to representative absence, exclusion, or late arrival) are considered delivered that day for financial settlement and return period purposes.
3. Documents remain the property of the presenting bank until settled or returned. The receiving bank retains them as a fiduciary depositary until values are received via client account debits in its books.
4. Receiving banks must maintain funds in their current accounts in dobras, Mares, and euros at the Central Bank to settle their net obligations.

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