Circular 109-1 on the Disclosure and Display of Interest Rates, Tariffs, Fees, Commissions, and Overdraft Charges, and the Management of Inactive Accounts

Bank of the Republic of Haiti
CIRCULAR
No. 109-1
TO BANKS
Pursuant to Articles 83, 192, and 193 of the Law of May 14, 2012, on Banks and Other Financial Institutions, banks are required to comply with the provisions of this Circular regarding the disclosure and display of interest rates, tariffs, fees, commissions, and overdraft charges levied on customers for all products and services provided and/or offered to customers or in connection with all transactions carried out by customers, as well as the management of inactive accounts.

1- Definitions
The following definitions apply to this Circular:
a) Bank Draft: A bank check issued by a bank payable to a natural person or a legal entity. It cannot be issued payable to "cash" or "bearer". b) Inactive Account: A deposit account on which no deposit and/or withdrawal transactions have been carried out for one (1) year for current accounts and for three (3) years for savings accounts. It also refers to non-renewable term deposits that have matured for one (1) year. c) Term Deposit: A deposit with a fixed duration that earns interest provided that the client does not withdraw the funds before maturity. d) Matured Term Deposit: A term deposit whose maturity date has passed. e) Demand Deposit: A deposit, remunerated or not, from which funds can be withdrawn partially or totally at any time by means of a check or transfer. f) Savings Deposit: A deposit, remunerated or not, from which funds can be withdrawn partially or totally at any time. g) Deposits Not Subject to Use: Any deposit account that has not undergone any deposit or withdrawal transaction for three (3) years from the date of the last transaction, as well as all bank drafts and certified checks in circulation for three (3) years. h) Abandoned Funds: Funds and assets received by a bank as a deposit, loan, or other liabilities to be returned or disposed of on behalf of others when, within ten (10) years of the receipt of the funds or assets or, where applicable, the expiration of the notice period or agreed term, the owner has not carried out any deposit, withdrawal, collection, or transfer operation, nor otherwise been in contact with the bank. In other words, abandoned funds consist of any account that has not undergone any transaction for 10 years or more.

2- Disclosure of Information at Account Opening At the opening of a deposit account, any bank must provide in writing, or in electronic format if the client consents to receive information electronically, certain information and documents concerning the deposit account and its operation, including:
a) A copy of the account agreement either before the account is opened or at the time of opening; b) Information regarding the fees applicable to the account; c) Information on how the client will be informed of changes in fees and the imposition of new fees applicable to the account, if applicable; d) Conditions related to the so-called inactive account, in particular:
o The conditions under which an account becomes inactive, o The treatment reserved for an inactive account, o The risks to which a client with an inactive account is exposed, o Management fees related to an inactive account, e) Information concerning so-called abandoned funds; f) Information on the complaint handling procedure at the bank.

3- Rates, Tariffs, and Conditions in Force
In addition to physical registers, banking establishments are required to display electronically in scrolling format on a screen easily visible in all branches, agencies, and service points information concerning the rates, tariffs, and conditions in force relating to their operations. An indicative list of the nature of this information is provided in the annex (Annex IV). Similarly, all products and services offered, as well as the fees and commissions associated with them, must be published and regularly updated in both physical registers and on the websites of banking establishments. This information must be accessible from the homepage and/or the main menu of the website. Furthermore, whether in branches or on their websites, banks are required to visibly display the buying and selling rates for all tranches less than or equal to ten thousand US dollars (USD 10,000.00).

4- Treatment of an Inactive Account
Once an inactive deposit account is transferred to the "Deposits Not Subject to Use" account on the balance sheet, banks must not, under any circumstances and for any reason, deduct inactivity fees from this account. Any reactivation of an inactive account already transferred to the "Deposits Not Subject to Use" account must be authorized according to the internal control procedures of the banking establishment. Furthermore, a banking establishment may not, under any pretext, unilaterally close an inactive account. If a bank decides to close an inactive account, the holder of said account must be notified of the bank's decision by registered letter, either ninety (90) days before the effective date of the account closure.

5- Fees for Counting Cash Deposits in Gourdes (Banknotes and Coins) It is strictly prohibited to charge customers counting fees for any deposit in cash gourdes (banknotes and coins).

6- Declaration and Transfer of Abandoned Funds Banks are required to declare and transfer abandoned funds after a period of ten (10) years in accordance with the provisions of Articles 192 and 193 of the Law of May 14, 2012, on Banks and Other Financial Institutions.

7- Compliance Reports
Banks are required to submit electronically to the BRH the following reports:

• Semi-annual report on inactive accounts by account age (Annex I and II)
  Submission Deadline: 21 days following the end of the second quarter (March 31) and the fourth quarter (September 30).
• List of abandoned funds [Annex III (1 of 2)]
  Submission Deadline: 21 days following the end of the second quarter (March 31) and the fourth quarter (September 30).
• Semi-annual report on the status of abandoned funds [Annex III (2 of 2)]
  Submission Deadline: 21 days following the end of the second quarter (March 31) and the fourth quarter (September 30).
• Semi-annual report on interest rates, tariffs, fees, commissions, and overdraft charges levied on customers for all products and services provided and/or offered to customers in connection with all transactions carried out by customers, and on the management of inactive accounts [Annex IV]
  Submission Deadline: 15 days following the end of the second quarter (March 31) and the fourth quarter (September 30).

8- Sanctions
In the event of non-compliance with the obligations defined in this Circular, banks are subject to the following penalties:
a) Reliability of Information
At all times, the information declared in the reports provided for in Section 7 must match those appearing in the bank's accounting books. Failure to comply with this directive, the BRH may, after an investigation into the circumstances and nature of the violation, impose a penalty of 30% of the difference between the amounts declared in the reports and the amounts appearing in the accounting books. b) Penalty for Non-Display of Rates, Fees, and Commissions Failure to display the information stated in Section 3 of this Circular subjects the bank to a penalty of seventy-five thousand gourdes (HTG 75,000.00) per day of infraction. The penalty period extends from the day the BRH observes the infraction in one or more branches until the situation is regularized, for each branch where the infraction is noted by the BRH. c) Penalty for Non-Transfer of an Inactive Account to "Deposits Not Subject to Use" Failure to transfer an inactive account to "Deposits Not Subject to Use" subjects the bank to a penalty of twenty-five thousand gourdes (HTG 25,000.00) per day starting from the date of the infraction, for each case of infraction noted by the BRH. d) Penalty for Non-Transfer of Abandoned Funds A penalty of 1/1000 per day of the amount of abandoned funds or assets not declared will be applied whenever the bank does not comply with these requirements. It is collected as a claim of the BRH which may debit the bank's account with the amount of the penalty. Any penalty will be deducted from the balance of one of the accounts of the faulty banking establishment at the BRH in accordance with current provisions. e) Penalty for Application of Counting Fees for Cash Deposits in Gourdes (Banknotes and Coins) In the event of verified complaints from a client, the faulty bank is subject to a penalty of one hundred thousand gourdes (HTG 100,000.00) per infraction. In addition to paying this penalty, it must refund the client the amount of the improperly charged fees increased by interest calculated based on the rate practiced on three (3) month term deposits, starting from the date of application of said fees.

f) Penalty for Late Submission of Compliance Reports Failure to provide, within the required timeframe, the compliance reports provided for in Section 5 of this Circular subjects the bank to a penalty of fifty thousand gourdes (HTG 50,000.00) per day of infraction. The penalty period extends from the day of the infraction until the information is made available to the BRH.

9- Repeal and Entry into Force
This Circular repeals Circular # 109 of April 3, 2017, on the disclosure and display of interest rates, bank fees and commissions, as well as the management of inactive accounts. It enters into force on June 3, 2019.

Port-au-Prince, May 10, 2019.
Jean Baden Dubois
Governor

List of Annexes
Annex I: Balance of Inactive Accounts in Gourdes by Account Age
Annex II: Balance of Inactive Accounts in Dollars by Account Age
Annex III (1 of 2): List of Abandoned Funds
Annex III (2 of 2): Status of Abandoned Funds
Annex IV: Interest Rates, Tariffs, Fees, Commissions, and Overdraft Charges Levied on Customers on All Products and Services

ANNEX I
BALANCE OF INACTIVE ACCOUNTS BY ACCOUNT AGE
Banking Establishment: ……………………..………. As of ……………….………… TYPE AND AGE OF INACTIVE ACCOUNTS BALANCE GOURDES NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS NUMBER OF CLIENTS Inactive accounts less than 3 years Inactive current accounts less than 3 years Matured term accounts less than 3 years Total Deposits Not Subject to Use Inactive current accounts from three (3) to nine (9) years Inactive savings accounts from three (3) to nine (9) years Inactive matured term accounts from three (3) to nine (9) years Inactive accounts (current, matured term, and savings) from nine (9) to ten (10) years Total TOTAL INACTIVE ACCOUNTS Signature of two authorized executives: ……………………….. …………………….. Position/Title: …………………….… ………………………

ANNEX II
BALANCE OF INACTIVE ACCOUNTS BY ACCOUNT AGE
Banking Establishment: …………………………….. As of:……..………………….
TYPE AND AGE OF INACTIVE ACCOUNTS
FOREIGN CURRENCIES CONVERTED TO GDES
NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS
NUMBER OF CLIENTS
Inactive accounts less than 3 years
Inactive current accounts less than 3 years
Matured term accounts less than 3 years
Total
Deposits Not Subject to Use
Inactive current accounts from three (3) to nine (9) years Inactive savings accounts from three (3) to nine (9) years Inactive matured term accounts from three (3) to nine (9) years Inactive accounts (current, matured term, and savings) from nine (9) to ten (10) years Total TOTAL INACTIVE ACCOUNTS Signature of two authorized executives: ……………………….. …………………….. Position/Title: ………………………. …………………………..

Annex III (1 of 2)
LIST OF ABANDONED FUNDS
Banking Establishment: ……………………..……….. As of:……….…………….
CLIENT NAME
TYPE OF ACCOUNTS
ACCOUNT NUMBER
BALANCE GOURDES
BALANCE DOLLARS
TOTAL
Signature of two authorized executives: ……………………….. ……………………..
Position/Title: ……………………… ……………………………..

Annex III (2 of 2)
STATUS OF ABANDONED FUNDS
Banking Establishment: ……………………..……… As of: …….…………………… NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS NUMBER OF CLIENTS TOTAL GOURDES TOTAL DOLLARS Abandoned funds (not yet transferred to the BRH) Abandoned funds (transferred to the BRH) TOTAL Signature of two authorized executives: ……………………….. …………………….. Position/Title: …………………………………. ……………………………..

ANNEX IV
LIST (NON-EXHAUSTIVE) OF INTEREST RATES, FEES, COMMISSIONS, AND OVERDRAFT CHARGES LEVIED ON CUSTOMERS ON ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Banking Establishment: ……………………..……… As of: …….…………………… CATEGORY RATE OR AMOUNT I- ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT FEES Account Opening Minimum account opening Account opening fees Minimum to earn interest Account Statements Bank statement retention Copy of account statement Interim account statement Management fees and interest rates Account management fees Credit interest rate Inactivity fees Account closure fees Returned Checks Checks Other local banks returned for insufficient funds (NSF) Checks Other local banks returned for unavailable funds (FND) Checks Other local banks returned for Other reasons Checks Foreign banks returned Others Stop Payment Order Checkbook orders Proxy fees Replacement of savings booklet Bank certificate Internal transfer

II- OTHER BANKING SERVICES
Issuance of check(s)
Fees on bank draft
Fees on check drawn on foreign country
Stop payment on bank draft
Stop payment on check drawn on foreign country Fees on foreign transfers Received transfers Sent transfers Others (to be specified) Fees on local transfers Transfers to local bank (SPIH) Others (to be specified) Credit Card(s) Issuance of credit card(s) Issuance of additional credit card(s) Change of credit card(s) Blocking of credit card(s) Annual fee Cash withdrawal Late fees Overdraft fees Other services (to be specified) Credit Operations Interest rates on loans (range) File fees Commissions Interest rates on accidental overdrafts Issuance of letter(s) of credit Use or draw/letter of credit Guarantee and aval Documentary credit (shipment) Documentary credit (receipt) Issuance of letter(s) of guarantee Other services (to be specified) Foreign Exchange Operations Buying rates for all transaction tranches without exception Selling rates for all transaction tranches without exception Others Safe deposit box rental

Safe deposit box deposit
Cash transport (armored van)
Night window
Account reactivation fees
Cancellation of signatory fees
Cancellation of proxy fees
Electronic payroll
Payroll under envelope
Cash withdrawal (ATM)
Others (to be specified)