2022-07-13
The Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) issued Instruction No. 2022-I-14 to establish the specific information requirements that land credit companies and housing finance companies must submit to obtain authorization for their bond emission programs. The regulation mandates the submission of contractual documentation, activity descriptions, investor protection policies, staff qualifications, and administrative frameworks, while also requiring immediate written notification of any substantial modifications to these elements. These provisions apply to new programs and existing ones, excluding only those where bonds were issued prior to the instruction's effective date and have not yet matured.
Instruction No. 2022-I-14 regarding the information to be transmitted to the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority by land credit companies and housing finance companies in the context of the authorization of an emission program
The Prudential and Resolution Control Authority,
Having regard to the Monetary and Financial Code, in particular Articles L. 513-2 and R 513-1-A;
Having regard to Regulation No. 99-10 of the Banking and Financial Regulation Committee dated July 9, 1999, as amended, regarding land credit companies and housing finance companies;
Having regard to Instruction No. 2022-I-03 regarding the coverage ratio of land credit companies and housing finance companies and the regulatory statements mentioned in Article 10 of CRBF Regulation No. 99-10 of July 9, 1999;
Having regard to the opinion of the Prudential Affairs Consultative Committee of June 23, 2022,
DECIDES
Article 1: The establishments subject to this procedure are credit institutions authorized as land credit companies, within the meaning of Article L. 513-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code, and housing finance companies, within the meaning of Article L. 513-28 of the same Code.
Article 2: To obtain authorization for an emission program of land bonds or housing finance bonds, the establishments subject to this requirement provide the General Secretariat of the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority with the following information:
All contractual documentation related to the emission program to be authorized, including the base prospectus;
For the emission program, a description of the activity program indicating the issuance of land bonds or housing finance bonds;
Documents describing the policies, processes, and methods aimed at ensuring investor protection regarding the authorization, modification, renewal, and refinancing of loans included in the company's assets;
Documents identifying all personnel dedicated to the land bond or housing finance bond program, distinguishing management personnel, as well as documents attesting and justifying that all this personnel, including management personnel, possesses the necessary qualifications and knowledge regarding the issuance of land bonds or housing finance bonds and the management of a land credit company or a housing finance company;
Documents describing the administrative framework and organization applicable to the management and monitoring of the company's assets satisfying the requirements applicable to land credit companies or housing finance companies, as the case may be;
Where applicable, confirmation by a legal opinion that the submission to the provisions of foreign law of land bonds or housing finance bonds issued within the framework of the program to be authorized does not hinder the implementation of the legal and regulatory provisions applicable to land credit companies, housing finance companies of French law, and the establishment mentioned in III of Article 13 of Law No. 85-695 of July 11, 1985, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/2162 of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 27, 2019 concerning the issuance of covered bonds and public surveillance of covered bonds, in particular concerning the legal privilege provided for in Article L. 513-11 of the Monetary and Financial Code;
Where applicable, confirmation that the program covers, or could cover, land bonds or housing finance bonds subject to private placement.
All this information must be transmitted electronically to the General Secretariat of the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority.
Article 3: Upon each submission of the reference documentation corresponding to their emission programs to the Autorité des marchés financiers (or the competent authority of the State in which the reference documentation concerned is registered), in particular the base prospectus if it exists, the establishments subject to this requirement confirm without delay in writing to the General Secretariat of the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority that any modifications made on this occasion to the conditions and characteristics of these programs do not call into question compliance with the conditions under which the authorization to issue covered bonds was granted. They notify in writing to the General Secretariat of the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority, as soon as possible, any substantial modification affecting the elements listed in points 3, 5, and 6 of the first paragraph of Article 2.
Article 4: The provisions of Articles 2 and 3 do not apply to emission programs of land bonds, housing finance bonds, and bonds mentioned in III of Article 13 of Law No. 85-695 of July 11, 1985, in the context of which bonds were issued before the date of entry into application of this instruction and which have not yet reached maturity on that date.
However, the establishments subject to this requirement notify in writing to the General Secretariat of the Prudential and Resolution Control Authority, as soon as possible, any substantial modification made to the conditions and characteristics of the programs mentioned in the preceding paragraph and relating to the elements listed in points 3, 5, and 6 of the first paragraph of Article 2.
Article 5: This instruction enters into application the day following its publication.
Paris, July 13, 2022
The Designated President, Denis BEAU