4.1 Responsible Market Conduct

4.1.1 General Provisions for Responsible Market Conduct

Appropriate Market Conduct

4.1.1.1 To encourage Consumers’ trust in the safety and the integrity of the financial marketplace, Licensed Financial Institutions must conduct themselves with integrity and in a fair, honest, competent and transparent manner at all times.

Appropriate location for carrying out Business

4.1.1.2 When meeting Consumers in person on any location/premise for carrying out any business, the Licensed Financial Institution must ensure that the location/premise provides an appropriate physical space and environment that ensures confidentiality of the exchange of personal information and security in carrying out transactions.

Qualified Retail Staff

4.1.1.3 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure that their Staff do not have any past criminal record for fraud or financial crimes or have been previously terminated for misconduct. Stated qualifications by Staff must also be verified.

4.1.1.4 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure that Staff are appropriately qualified to fulfil their duties and remain at all times fit & proper.

Disclosure of Employer

4.1.1.5 Licensed Financial Institutions must ensure that their Staff clearly disclose their employee identification and whom they work for to the Consumer.

4.1.1.6 Licensed Financial Institutions must require Authorized Agents to ensure that their representatives disclose and explain to Consumers the relationship between the Licensed Financial Institution and the Authorized Agents.

Sales, Pricing and Financial Promotional Activities

4.1.1.7 Licensed Financial Institutions must act with integrity and in a fair, honest, transparent manner, and must take into account the best interests of Consumers in their sales and financial promotional activities. This Section must be read in conjunction with Article 5: Business Conduct of these Standards.

Monitoring of Market Conduct by Management

4.1.1.8 Licensed Financial Institutions must monitor their marketplace behavior of sales, marketing, financing / lending and advisory services. They must conduct and document, at minimum, monthly call backs on a sample of Consumers to detect any inappropriate conduct by Staff.

4.1.1.9 Licensed Financial Institutions must conduct regular mystery shopping and site visits of locations where the Licensed Financial Institution’s business is carried out in order to monitor and ensure that the Advertising, sales, financing / lending and advisory practices are conducted in line with their internal standards and control framework.

4.1.1.10 Monitoring must include collection and analysis of Consumer Complaints. Trend analysis reports from all monitoring activities must be reported monthly to Senior Management.

4.1.1.11 Licensed Financial Institutions must document their control framework for the monitoring activities described above. The findings and management reporting on monitoring must be documented and available to Central Bank for inspection on a demand basis.

4.2 Promoting Competition

4.2.1 General Provisions for Promoting Competition

Competitive and Level Playing Field

4.2.1.1 Licensed Financial Institutions must not collude to limit competition in any manner including the fixing of prices, fees, or limiting contract terms or financial product features which are not in the best interest of the Consumers. This provision does not include any Fee, tariff or premium/takaful contribution rates or policy/takaful certificate terms that have been approved by the Central Bank or any other lawful authority.

4.2.1.2 Collusion that results in detriment to Consumers must not be undertaken including actions such as:

a. Agreements between Licensed Financial Institutions to restrict the rate of interest/profit offered on Deposit Products for Consumers;

b. Setting lending/financing rates;

c. Setting currency and foreign exchange Fees, spreads and rates; and

d. Coordinated efforts among Licensed Financial Institutions to charge maximum allowable Fees regardless of differences in actual costs between Licensed Financial Institutions.

Promoting Consumer Mobility in the Marketplace

4.2.1.3 This Section must be read in conjunction with the Consumer Mobility Section of Article 5: Business Conduct.

4.2.1.4 Licensed Financial Institutions must not have policies, procedures, requirements, Fees or any other barrier that unfairly limits or delays Consumers in their ability to transfer their financial activities to another Licensed Financial Institution or other financial service provider of their choice.

4.2.1.5 Consumers must be permitted to close or switch accounts (current and saving account) without Fees any time after 6 months of opening the account with the Licensed Financial Institution.

4.2.1.6 Licensed Financial Institutions must facilitate the transfer of the Consumer’s Product and/or Services to another Licensed Financial Institution or other financial service provider by providing the necessary information, letters, certificates, etc. within the specified time frames in these Standards or as may be prescribed by the Central Bank.

Intervention by Central Bank

4.2.1.7 The Central Bank supports a fair and competitive marketplace but may intervene where abuse, unfairness, collusion and/or imbalance occurs. In accordance with the Decretal Law, intervention may include:

a. Setting limits on unfair Fees including Fees for early Financial Product and/or Service terminations;

b. Limitations on bundling of Financial Products and/or Services;

c. Limitations on interest/profit rates;

d. Limitations on specific terms and/or conditions in Consumer contracts;

e. Limitations on Advertising;

f. Limitations on policies and practices by Licensed Financial Institutions which have the impact of unfairly limiting Consumers’ ability to easily switch or close accounts in a reasonable time; and

g. Other matters the Central Bank may determine necessary to promote fair competition and uphold its Regulatory Principles and Standards and the protection of Consumers.