Circular 122 on the Transmission of Financial Statements

Bank of the Republic of Haiti

CIRCULAR

No. 122

TO NON-BANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

For the application of Articles 162 and 163 of the Law of May 14, 2012, on Banks and Other Financial Institutions, and Article 39 of the Decree of November 25, 2020, on Exchange Intermediaries, Development Finance Companies, Credit Card Companies, Leasing Companies, Investment Promotion Companies, Money Transfer Houses, Currency Exchange Offices, and all other financial institutions designated by the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) are required to comply with the provisions of this Circular regarding the transmission of financial statements to the BRH.

1. Certification of Annual Financial Statements

Financial institutions, other than banks, covered by Article 2 of the Law of May 14, 2012, and those covered by Article 2 of the Decree of November 25, 2020, must comply with the provisions of Article 162 of the 2012 Law and Article 39 of the 2020 Decree regarding financial auditing, as well as with the provisions of the Circular on the auditing of annual financial statements concerning the conditions for the designation and intervention of the independent auditor responsible for certifying these statements.

2. Transmission to the BRH of Annual Financial Statements

The institutions covered by this Circular must transmit to the BRH their certified annual financial statements, as well as the opinion letter and the independent auditor's report on the financial statements, no later than one hundred twenty (120) calendar days after the closing date of the fiscal year.

3. Transmission to the BRH of Quarterly Financial Statements

Subject institutions must prepare and transmit to the BRH quarterly financial statements, namely a balance sheet and a provisional income statement, as of December 31, March 31, June 30, and September 30 of each fiscal year. These statements must be prepared in the electronic format made available by the BRH. They must be sent to the BRH no later than fifteen (15) days after the end of the quarter.

4. Availability of Information

The BRH may require, by setting a deadline for their submission, any document, information, clarification, or justification it deems useful for the analysis and assessment of the financial and prudential situation of the institutions covered by this Circular.

5. Sanctions

In the event of non-compliance with the obligations defined in this Circular, the financial institutions covered are subject to the following sanctions:

a) Non-certification of financial statements

If a financial institution fails to have its books and accounts audited pursuant to Section 1 of this Circular, the BRH may, after notice to the institution, arrange for a special audit at the institution's expense.

b) Reliability of information

At all times, the amounts declared in the financial statements transmitted to the BRH must be those appearing in the accounting books of the financial institution.

Failure to comply with this provision may result in the BRH, after an inquiry into the circumstances and nature of the violation, imposing a penalty of 10% of the difference between the amounts declared in said financial statements and the amounts appearing in the accounting books.

c) Late submission

Failure to provide the financial statements required by this Circular within the specified deadline subjects the concerned financial institution to a penalty of fifty thousand gourdes (HTG 50,000.00) per day of violation. The penalty period extends from the day of the violation until the information is made available to the BRH.

d) Other

The BRH may require an institution to rectify any situation related to violations of the provisions of this Circular or identified by the independent auditor. Failure to comply with the corrective actions required by the BRH subjects the institution to a penalty of one hundred thousand gourdes (HTG 100,000.00) per day of violation from the date the violation is notified to it by the BRH.

Any penalty will be deducted from the balance of one of the institution's accounts held at the BRH. In the absence of the concerned institution holding an account at the BRH, payment must be made by a cashier's check payable to the Bank of the Republic of Haiti, no later than five (5) business days after receipt of the notification of the penalty amount. In the event of non-payment within the deadline, additional penalties of two thousand five hundred gourdes (HTG 2,500.00) per day of delay will be applied.

6. Entry into Force

The provisions of this Circular enter into force on February 1, 2022.

Port-au-Prince, January 13, 2022

Jean Baden Dubois
Governor