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Code of Conduct

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ASSOCIATES OF ASFAC –
ASSOCIATION OF SPECIALISED CREDIT INSTITUTIONS

Foreword

Financial markets and the specialised consumer finance market, in particular, require the sector’s professionals to abide by and comply with certain principles and standards of conduct.

This Code of Conduct sets out key principles and standards of an ethical and deontological nature which institutions specialising in consumer credit are bound to abide by. It is a self-regulatory instrument which establishes an important set of key principles and standards which are binding on the practices of associate members of the Association of Specialised Credit Institutions (hereinafter referred to as “ASFAC”).

The objectives of this instrument are to harmonise standards of conduct among associate members and thereby defend the specific interests of the Portuguese consumer credit market, both from the perspective of borrowers and lending institutions and from the perspective of the supervision authorities. The intention is that the standards of conduct set out in this Code of Conduct be fully understood and strictly adhered to by all associates, which are further expected to inform their customers accordingly, namely by means of its publication in their websites.

This initiative is part and parcel of the so-called behavioural supervision initiative and is being established in conformance with the provisions of Article 77-B of the General Regulations applicable to Credit and Financial Institutions, as approved under the provisions of Decree-Law no. 298/92, of 31 December 1992, as amended by Decree-Law no. 1/2008, of 3 January 2008, which, in turn, stipulates that credit institutions or their representative associations are bound to implement and abide by codes of conduct whose purpose is to regulate on various issues pertaining to their relationships with customers, including their internal mechanisms and procedures for handling client complaints.

In this context, ASFAC has duly compiled and hereby implements this Code of Conduct which is applicable to all associate members.