Technical Standards for the Registration of Natural and Legal Persons Providing Services Related to the Pension System

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Validity: 04/03/2023

THE COMMITTEE OF STANDARDS OF THE CENTRAL RESERVE BANK OF EL SALVADOR,

CONSIDERING:

I. That by Legislative Decree No. 614, of December 20, 2022, published in the Official Journal No. 241 Volume No. 437, of the 21st of the same month and year, the Comprehensive Law of the Pension System was issued.

II. That Article 79 of the Comprehensive Law of the Pension System establishes that deposit and custody societies, both national and foreign, must be recorded in the Public Registry of the Superintendency of the Financial System, who will verify that such societies have the security and control systems required by the System, and in the case of foreign societies, may require certifications from the regulatory or supervisory bodies of the countries of origin.

III. That Article 159 of the Comprehensive Law of the Pension System establishes that the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador must issue the relevant Technical Standards for the application of the legal provisions of said Law.

IV. That Article 3 letter h) of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that it is the competence of the Superintendency of the Financial System to authorize the registrations, registry entries, modifications, and cancellations of persons, institutions, and operations that are subject to such requirement, in accordance with the laws on the matter.

V. That Article 78 letter i) of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System indicates that the Superintendency will organize and keep updated the registries entrusted to it by the laws and those related to societies and persons providing services related to the pension savings system, such as collectors and IT companies.

VI. That Article 80 third paragraph of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that to keep the Registry information updated, pension fund administrator institutions, pension service agents, and societies providing services related to the Pension System must submit to the Superintendency information regarding any changes in what is required by said Registry.

THEREFORE,

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Validity: 04/03/2023

by virtue of the regulatory powers conferred upon it by Article 99 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System,

AGREES to issue the following:

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

CHAPTER I
OBJECT, SUBJECTS, AND TERMS

Object
Art. 1.- These Standards aim to establish the minimum requirements and information for the Registration procedure that natural or legal persons, national or foreign, interested in providing services related to the Pension System must carry out, in accordance with what is contemplated in the Comprehensive Law of the Pension System and in the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.

Subjects
Art. 2.- The subjects obligated to comply with the provisions established in these Standards are natural or legal persons, national or foreign, interested in providing services related to the Pension System.

Terms
Art. 3.- For the purposes of these Standards, the terms indicated below have the following meaning:
a) Administrators: Members of the board of directors, directors or executive presidents and managers, or those exercising their functions, as well as the auditors and liquidators thereof; b) AFP: Pension Fund Administrator; c) Agent: Pension Service Agent; d) Central Bank: Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador; e) Days: Calendar days, unless expressly stated that they are business days; f) Identity Document: Refers to the Unique Identity Document, Minor's Card, Passport, or Resident Card, as applicable; g) Fund: Pension Fund; h) SP Law: Comprehensive Law of the Pension System; i) Supervision Law: Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System; j) NIT: Tax Identification Number; k) Registry: Public Registry of the Superintendency of the Financial System; l) SP: Pension System; and m) Superintendency: Superintendency of the Financial System.

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Validity: 04/03/2023

CHAPTER II
GENERAL ASPECTS REGARDING THE REGISTRY

Art. 4.- The Superintendency will maintain a Registry with information regarding the Societies and natural persons providing services related to the Pension System, in accordance with what is established in the SP Law and the Supervision Law.
The information contained in the Registry is freely accessible to the public, and therefore, any person may consult and request it through the means available at the Superintendency.
Registrations in the Registry will be governed by the provisions established in the SP Law, the Supervision Law, and these Standards.

Update of Information
Art. 5.- In order to keep the Registry information updated, the natural person, the legal representative or attorney-in-fact of the legal person, as applicable, must submit to the Superintendency information regarding any change that modifies what is contained in the Registry, within a period of eight days after the change occurs. If it concerns the appointment or change of an Administrator, the period will be three business days.

CHAPTER III
REGISTRATION OF SOCIETIES AND NATURAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Art. 6.- All societies and natural persons that can provide services to AFPs related to the Pension System are registered in the Registry, including foreign Deposit and Custody Societies of Securities. Registration in the Registry occurs upon request by the interested party, for which they must follow the procedure established in articles 14, 15, 16, and 17 of these Standards.

Application for Registration of Societies
Art. 7.- In the case of societies, registration in the Registry occurs upon their request, for which they must present the following documentation:
a) Certified copy of the Public Deed of Incorporation, duly registered in the Commerce Registry; b) Certified copy of the Public Deed corresponding to the last increase or decrease in Capital, if applicable; c) NIT and copy of the Society's VAT; d) Commercial License; e) List of shareholders and their percentage of participation; f) List of directors and administrators, and their Identity Document;

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Validity: 04/03/2023

g) Data of the society, such as: telephone number, email address or website, as well as physical location and description of the type of infrastructure or equipment available to provide the services; h) Sworn Declaration before a Notary, in which it commits to adhere to the SP Law, its Regulations, and Technical Standards; i) Copy of the Identity Document of the Legal Representative; and j) Certified Copy of the Financial Statements duly audited, corresponding to the last three years. However, when the society has existed for less than three years, it must present the financial statements corresponding to the last month of operations it has at the date.

Regarding Foreign Deposit and Custody Societies of Securities Art. 8.- Foreign Deposit and Custody Societies of Securities that provide deposit and custody services to AFPs must be recorded in the Registry of the Superintendency in accordance with the SP Law.

Art. 9.- Foreign Deposit and Custody Societies of Securities must submit an application to be recorded in the Registry of the Superintendency, along with what is established in Article 7 letter g) and the following documentation:
a) Public Deed of Incorporation, statutes, or any other document that proves the legal existence of the entity and that it is established in accordance with the Laws of the country in which it was incorporated; b) Credential or other document that legitimizes the legal representation of the entity, attaching a copy of the identity document; c) Public Deed corresponding to the last increase or decrease in capital, if applicable; d) Certificate issued by regulatory authorities of the country of origin or where the entity has operations, stating that the applicant meets the legal requirements to operate as a securities custody entity; and e) Documentation demonstrating that they have security and control systems in the handling of their operations.

Art. 10.- The documentation detailed in Article 9 of these Standards must comply with the apostille procedure, in the case of countries party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, by the Consul, Vice-Consul, or Head of Consular Affairs of El Salvador, or in their absence, by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the country from which the documents originate.

Documentation originating from a foreign country, written in a language other than Spanish, to have legal effect in El Salvador, must be translated into this language, in accordance with the Law on the Notarial Exercise of Voluntary Jurisdiction and Other Proceedings.

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Validity: 04/03/2023

Application for Registration of Natural Persons Art. 11.- Natural persons wishing to provide their services to AFPs, prior to the signing of the service provision contract, must request their inscription in the Registry, attaching the documentation detailed below:
a) Copy of the Identity Document; b) Sworn Declaration before a Notary in which they commit to adhere to the SP Law, its Regulations, and Technical Standards; c) Summary of the curriculum vitae, including experience in the services to be offered to AFPs; and d) Copy of the degree or diploma accrediting them as a professional in the type of service to be offered to the AFP.

Infrastructure and Equipment Requirements for Natural Persons and National Societies Providing Services Related to the Pension System Art. 12.- Societies and natural persons providing services related to the Pension System must detail the type of infrastructure and equipment available to provide their services, information system, communication equipment, transportation and office equipment, and any other information related to the service to be provided that is required by the Superintendency.

Art. 13.- Natural or legal persons, national or foreign, interested in providing services related to the Pension System to AFPs, must present to the Superintendency along with the application, the Sworn Declaration(s) in which they commit to comply with the SP Law, its Regulations, and Technical Standards issued by the Committee of Standards of the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador.

The Sworn Declaration(s) referred to in this article will be valid only if granted before the offices of a Notary of the Republic and presented timely to the Registry. Additionally, declarations granted before foreign notaries or officials must follow what is established in Article 10 of these Standards.

The application and documentation referred to in articles 7, 9, and 11 of these Standards may be presented through the means made available by the Superintendency, which may be electronic. In any case, the period referred to in the first paragraph of Article 14 of these Standards will begin to run from the next business day after the application has been submitted.

Registration Procedure in the Registry
Art. 14.- Upon receipt of the application for registration in the Registry, in accordance with what is established in articles 7, 9, and 11 of these Standards, as applicable, the Superintendency will proceed to verify compliance with the requirements defined in the SP Law and these Standards, having a period of thirty business days to authorize the Registration of the interested natural or legal persons.

If the application is not accompanied by the complete and proper information detailed in these Standards, the Superintendency, due to the lack of necessary requirements, may require the applicants to present the missing documents within a period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification, a period that may be extended at the request of the interested parties when there are reasons justifying it.

The Superintendency in the same notice will indicate to the applicants that, if they do not complete the information within the aforementioned period, it will proceed without further procedure to archive the application, reserving their right to submit a new application.

If after the analysis of the documentation presented in accordance with these Standards, the Superintendency has observations or when the documentation or information presented is not sufficient to establish the facts or information intended to be accredited; the Superintendency will notify the applicants to remedy the deficiencies communicated or present additional documentation or information requested.

Applicants will have a maximum period of ten business days counted from the day following the notification to resolve the observations or present the information required by the Superintendency.

The Superintendency may, through a reasoned resolution, extend by up to another ten business days the period indicated in the previous paragraph, when the nature of the observations or notified deficiencies so requires.

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF NATURAL AND LEGAL PERSONS PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE PENSION SYSTEM

Validity: 04/03/2023

Extension Period
Art. 15.- Applicants may submit to the Superintendency an application for extension of the period indicated in the fifth paragraph of Article 14 of these Standards, before the expiration of said period, stating the grounds for the request and proposing, if applicable, the relevant proof. The extension period may not exceed ten business days and will begin from the next business day following the expiration date of the original period.

Suspension of the Period
Art. 16.- The thirty-business-day period indicated in the first paragraph of Article 14 of these Standards will be suspended for the days that elapse between the notification of the request to complete information or documentation referred to in the second and fifth paragraphs of said article, until the interested parties remedy the observations required by the Superintendency.

Authorization of Registration in the Registry
Art. 17.- Once the information subject to registration has been verified, the Superintendency will proceed to authorize or deny the application.

In the event that the application is authorized, the information will be recorded in the corresponding Registry within a period of five business days, counted from the day following its approval by the Superintendency, and communicated to the interested party within a maximum period of three business days from the date the registry entry was issued.

CHAPTER IV
OTHER PROVISIONS AND VALIDITY

Sanctions
Art. 18.- Non-compliance with the provisions contained in these Standards will be sanctioned in accordance with what is established in the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.

Repeal
Art. 19.- These Standards repeal the Instruction for the Public Registry of the Pension Savings System (SAP 01/2008) approved on May 16, 2008 by the Superintendency of Pensions, whose Organic Law was repealed by Legislative Decree No. 592 containing the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, published in the Official Journal No. 23, Volume No. 390, dated February 2, 2011.

Transitory
Art. 20.- Applications submitted in accordance with the Instruction for [the Public Registry of the Pension Savings System] and which were pending at the time these Standards entered into force, will continue in accordance with said instruction.

Unforeseen Aspects
Art. 21.- Unforeseen aspects in regulatory matters in these Standards will be resolved by the Central Bank through its Committee of Standards.

Validity
Art. 22.- These Standards will enter into force as of April 3, 2023.