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Article 3: Responsible Conduct

C 1/2021 Effective from 27/2/2021
  1. 3.1 Licensed Financial Institutions must monitor and uphold high ethical standards and practices when dealing with Customers.
     
  2. 3.2 Licensed Financial Institutions must prohibit and prevent abusive sales, marketing and pricing practices.
     
  3. 3.3 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure disclosure, transparency and avoid anti-competitive and discriminatory practices and at all times have the controls in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest.
     
  4. 3.4 Licensed Financial Institutions must provide Customers with accurate, sufficient and consistent information for Customers to easily understand and to be able to compare products and/or services with those offered by other Licensed Financial Institutions.
     
  5. 3.5 Licensed Financial Institutions must not impose practices or barriers that prevent Customers from easily switching their relationship(s) between Licensed Financial Institutions at reasonable and disclosed costs and within a reasonable timeframe.
     
  6. 3.6 Licensed Financial Institutions are encouraged to engage with and put in place appropriate interface mechanisms with all available SME support schemes (such as credit guarantee schemes, movable collateral registry system or SME credit scoring services) provided by any Federal or Emirate-level government agencies and development banks.
     
  7. 3.7 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure that all Authorised Agents comply with the applicable Articles of this Regulation.
     
  8. 3.8 Licensed Financial Institutions must, with due skill, care and diligence, act fairly, honestly and professionally in their relationship with Customers.
     
  9. 3.9 Licensed Financial Institutions must establish and maintain effective policies, procedures, systems and controls to avoid any potential, perceived or actual Conflict of Interest.
     
  10. 3.10 For inherent conflicts of interest, Licensed Financial Institutions must have controls in place and must provide full and proper disclosure to Customers prior to any agreements or commitments.
     
  11. 3.11 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure ethical behavior of staff towards Customers by developing an internal code of conduct for the staff, providing regular relevant training and monitoring Complaints.
     
  12. 3.12 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure that the staff who directly interact with Customers will competently, efficiently and professionally discharge their duties and provide prospective and existing Customers with the information and services they are entrusted to provide or sell.
     
  13. 3.13 Licensed Financial Institutions staff dealing with Customers must have sufficient knowledge of the products and/or services being offered.
     
  14. 3.14 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure that staff dealing with Customers are suitably qualified to provide advice and carry out transactions.
     
  15. 3.15 Licensed Financial Institutions are responsible for the actions of their staff. Licensed Financial Institutions’ must maintain appropriate monitoring of staff in relation to their standards for business conduct and to ensure full compliance with codes of conduct, laws and regulations.
     
  16. 3.16 Licensed Financial Institutions must not adopt abusive or unreasonable contractual terms.
     
  17. 3.17 Licensed Financial Institutions must monitor for misleading or aggressive sales practices and exploitation of Customers due to their vulnerabilities, apathy or lack of knowledge.
     
  18. 3.18 Licensed Financial Institutions must provide impartial credit counselling services to their borrowers/financees who face difficulties with servicing their debt.
     
  19. 3.19 Licensed Financial Institutions must establish clear standards and procedures that prohibit excessive pressure on Customers in collection of repayments or debts due.