Circular on Controls for Providing Commercial Registry and Documentation Services Through Banks

Cairo: July 6, 2021

To: Mr. / Chairman of the Board of Directors

Greetings,

In light of enhancing cooperation between the banking sector and both the Internal Trade Development Authority under the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, and the Real Estate Registration Department under the Ministry of Justice, with the aim of providing commercial registry and documentation services to customers through bank branches, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt, in its meeting held on June 20, 2021, approved the general framework enabling the provision of Commercial Registry and documentation services within bank branches, as well as the controls detailed in the attachment, as follows:

1. Banks operating in Egypt and registered with the Central Bank of Egypt are permitted to provide commercial registry and documentation services to their customers only as a first phase regarding documentation services, and to everyone regarding commercial registry services, by concluding agreements for providing these services with both the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice.

2. Banks wishing to provide commercial registry and documentation services within their branches must submit an application to the Central Bank of Egypt (Banking Affairs Sector) to obtain approval after fulfilling the controls and procedures outlined in the attachment and before contracting with both the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice, which include the following:

   • Compliance with the commercial registry controls issued by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade.
   • Compliance with notary office controls issued by the Ministry of Justice.
   • Complete separation of commercial registry and documentation activities from the bank's activities.
   • Requirements for isolation and transparency.

Please be advised to take the necessary action effective from this date.

Yours faithfully, Tarek Amer

First: Beneficiary of Commercial Registry and Real Estate Registration (Documentation) Services Within Bank Branches

• Commercial registry services may be provided within branches of banks registered with the Central Bank of Egypt to the general public, while the provision of documentation services is limited to bank customers only as a first phase through branches wholly owned by the state.

• Banks have the right to conclude agreements with both the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, represented by the Internal Trade Development Authority affiliated with the Ministry, thereby facilitating certain services provided by the Authority through the Commercial Registry within bank branches, and with the Ministry of Justice regarding documentation services.

Second: Controls and Procedures That Must Be Followed to Provide Commercial Registry and Real Estate Registration (Documentation) Services:

• Emphasize that the outlets for providing commercial registry and documentation services within bank branches are merely channels for providing these services to customers through employees of the Commercial Registry and Real Estate Registration, and that the bank is not responsible for these services; responsibility lies entirely with the parties comprising the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice in their capacity as service providers.

• Designate a separate space within the bank branch to provide services for both the Commercial Registry and Documentation through employees affiliated with the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice, completely separated from banking products and services within the branch.

• Clearly announce that the services provided through the Commercial Registry outlet within the branch are issued by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, and the services provided through the Documentation outlet within the branch are issued by the Ministry of Justice.

• All documents related to commercial registry and documentation services must be on printed materials of the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice alone, including marketing materials.

• Obtain a separate declaration from the client confirming that they are aware that the services provided through the Commercial Registry outlet and the Documentation outlet at the bank branch belong solely to the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice respectively, excluding the bank.

• The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice shall bear all risks arising from the services provided by the Commercial Registry and Documentation outlets affiliated with them within the bank branch; the bank shall not be considered a party to any contracts or agreements under which services are provided, and thus the bank shall not be liable between any client and the Commercial Registry outlet or the Documentation outlet within the bank branch.

• Obtain a declaration from the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice indicating their full responsibility for resolving disputes and handling any complaints that may arise from the provision of commercial registry and documentation services within bank branches.

• Compliance with what was stated regarding the confidentiality of customer accounts and data in Articles 140 and 142 of Law No. 194 of 2020 concerning the Central Bank and the Banking System.

Third: General Provisions for Contracting Between the Bank and Each of the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice:

General provisions contained in contracts between the two parties (the bank and either of the aforementioned ministries) must be observed, such that the contract signed between the bank and the aforementioned ministries includes as a minimum:

• Services of the Commercial Registry and Documentation intended to be provided through bank branches.
• The bank's share of fees and commissions for the provided services and the basis for calculating them.
• Mechanism for dealing with complaints received from customers.
• Requirement to announce details about employee data, numbers, and replacements authorized to be present within bank branch headquarters to provide the service and obtain the bank's approval thereof.
• Locations for announcing commercial registry and documentation services provided via the Commercial Registry and Documentation outlets within the bank, as well as locations where the presence of employees of these outlets within bank branches is permitted and not permitted.
• Detailed mechanism for dispute resolution between the two parties (the bank and either of the aforementioned ministries), taking into account the requirement to obtain consent from both the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade and the Ministry of Justice as mentioned in clause second.
• A special account must be opened at the bank to provide this service, transactions through which shall be limited to collecting fees for services provided via deposit or transfer, without any cash transactions between customers and employees of both the Commercial Registry and the Real Estate Registration.
• Bank employees are prohibited from promoting banking products and services to customers of the Commercial Registry and Documentation services.
• Banks must announce on their dedicated websites and on branch interfaces where commercial registry and documentation services are available.

Fourth: Banks must submit a request to the Central Bank (Banking Affairs Sector) to obtain its approval to provide commercial registry and documentation services within their branches before contracting with the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade or the Ministry of Justice, after fulfilling all the aforementioned controls and procedures and obtaining security sector approval for these outlets, as well as information technology sector approval for the connection lines between these outlets and the ministries affiliated with them.

Fifth: The Central Bank of Egypt (Banking Affairs Sector) must be notified if the bank decides to cease providing commercial registry and documentation services through its branches or makes any modifications to the terms of the contract concluded between it and the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade or the Ministry of Justice.

Sixth: A request must be submitted to obtain the prior approval of the Central Bank of Egypt to allow the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade or any of its agencies to supervise and monitor commercial registry service outlets in bank branches, or to allow the Ministry of Justice or any of its agencies to supervise and monitor real estate registration service outlets in bank branches.