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Law No. 2014-02 6 January 2014 On...

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Law No. 2014-02 of 6 January 2014

Law No. 2014-02 of 6 January 2014 on ...
Law No. 2014-02 of 6 January 2014 on the Regulation of Credit Information Offices in the Member States of West African Monetary Union (UMOA)

EXPOSE REASONS

Creation of Credit Information Offices " BIC " Or " Credit Reference Bureau " Participates in actions to improve the business climate in the member states of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA), which are among the priority axes of their economic policies.

Indeed, in the report " DOING BUSINESS ", published annually by the International Financial Society (IFC), the member states of the Union are ranked among the least performing economies in terms of business climate. Among the criteria used to classify countries is the one relating to " The extent of credit information ", for which the member states of UMOA scored very low, while countries with a similar banking environment have satisfactory ratings. The weakness of the note by the Member States of the Union on this criterion is due in particular to the absence of the BIC.

The BIC is an institution collecting, from financial institutions, public sources and large billers (water supply companies, electricity companies, telephone companies, etc.), data on credit or payment history Of a client. This information is then marketed to credit institutions, Decentralized Financial Systems (SFD) and large billers in the form of detailed credit reports.

The importance of the credit reporting system has been widely tested in developed countries, Latin America and Asia. Several empirical work has confirmed its positive impact on customers, credit institutions, SFD and other companies adhering to the information exchange system such as mobile phone companies and the national economy :

1. For customers, it allows for better access to credit with a pricing based on individual risks that can induce a decrease in the cost of credit and guarantees, a recognition of the reputation and an improvement of Quality of service and relationship with financial institutions and other members;

2. For credit institutions, SFDs and other relevant financial institutions, it is an effective tool for risk analysis, evaluation and risk management, which helps to anticipate the over-indebtedness of borrowers, Better decisions in the granting of appropriations, reduce information asymmetry and increase the volume of jobs with an improvement in portfolio quality;

3. For the national economy, it contributes to improving the financing of economic agents at lower cost, as a result of its benefits to borrowers and lenders. It also helps to strengthen the effectiveness of the supervision of credit activities, including the prevention of over-indebtedness and the control of systemic risk. In doing so, the CIO contributes to improving the country's international reputation and gives an appreciation of the strength of its financial system.

The creation of the BICs in the member states of UMOA is one of the main recommendations of the Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Heads of State on the financing of the economies of the said States.

The purpose of this Act is to regulate the sharing of information on the credit and operations of the BIC in the member states of UMOA.
It processes credit information and is intended to ensure their use in the respect of the rights granted to consumers, in particular of their privacy and to ensure the truthfulness, accuracy and confidentiality in use Authorised information intended to minimise credit risks and contribute to the smooth operation of the banking sector and other components of the financial system.

The scheme is open to financial bodies supervised by the BCEAO and the UMOA Banking Commission (credit institutions and SFD) as well as to all other service providers not supervised by the above-named entities Payment histories of economic agents.

This Law shall be based on the key principles of reciprocity, confidentiality and the express and prior consent of the natural and legal persons on which credit information is collected. It attaches great importance to the protection of consumer rights, with particular emphasis on the principle of prior consent of the consumer before any information is collected and disseminated by the BIC.
It ensures an appropriate balance between the ability of creditors to share information and the right to confidentiality of individuals.

In the light of the sensitivity of the information collected and processed by the BICs and their provenance, essentially, from the credit institutions and SFD, the rules applicable to them have several similarities with them. That of the Banking Regulation. It has been retained to subject them, by parallelism, to comparable procedures, in particular as regards the authorisation and withdrawal of authorisation, various authorisations, rules applicable to officers and staff, accounting and Information obligations with regard to the Central Bank.

The bill consists of seventy-six (76) articles, divided among the following eleven (11) titles:
-General provisions;
-Approval and revocation of a BIC;
-CIO leaders and staff;
-Regulation of the BICs;
-CIO Supervision;
-Permitted activities, obligations and rights of the parties;
-Protection of personal information;
-Information sharing on credit;
-Sanctions;
-Arrangements for the organisation of collective procedures for the clearance of liabilities;
-Transitional and final provisions.

The National Assembly adopted, at its sitting on Monday 30 December 2013,
The President of the Republic enacts the following legislation:

TITLE I. - GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER I. -DEFINITIONS

Article 1.
For the purposes of this Act, the following shall be understood:
Unfavourable (prejudicial) actions: any refusal or cancellation of credit or unfavourable change in the terms and conditions of a transaction involving a loan or service contract involving a natural or legal person.

BCEAO or Central Bank: Central Bank of West African States.
Credit Information Office (BIC): an approved legal entity that performs, as the usual profession, the collection, compilation, storage, processing and dissemination of credit information and other related data that are Received from data sources or suppliers, in accordance with a specific agreement signed by the parties, for the purposes of compiling and making available credit reports and providing value-added services to users.

Customer: the consumer or borrower (natural or legal person) whose data has been or could be included in the application of the BIC, in accordance with a contractual relationship of credit with the suppliers of credit data Established in the member states of UMOA.

Consent: the written, signed, specific and informed consent by which the customer, natural or legal person, explicitly agrees to the creditor or service provider to share the data concerning him, including his data To consult with the users and the BIC or to consult with the CIO on his credit worthiness.

Public data: records, archives, list, roll or other data that is collected, stored, processed and held by a public or parapublic body, including public nature and permanent accessibility to the public Are guaranteed by law.

Sensitive data: personal data relating to religious, philosophical, political, trade union, sexual or racial beliefs or activities, health and social measures.

Data Providers: Credit institutions, Decentralised Financial Systems, Regional financing institutions, regional or international financial institutions carrying out credit guarantee activities, telephone operators Fixed and mobile, water and electricity supply companies and any other private institutions or public structures (courts, public registry operators, etc.) that provide the BIC with information related to the history of the Payment of a natural or legal person, established in the Member States of UMOA.

Information on credit or information (s): information on credit history, the payment history of a natural or legal person, including its borrowing or repayment capacity and its behaviour, all Credit risk, volume of loans, maturity, terms and conditions, repayments, warranties and other financial commitments, which determine, at any time, the financial position and exposure of the person Physical or legal.

Credit report: credit history, payment history or compilation of information provided by a BIC in writing or in electronic form, linked to financial obligations of a natural or legal person, in particular the history Payment of its commitments, or publicly available information and any other relevant data collected by the BIC and authorized under this Act.

Scoring: the statistical methodology developed from the data collected by the BIC, which makes it possible to assess the creditworthiness or risk profile of a credit applicant.

Value-added services: other services, developed, linked or derived from any statistical processing or analysis (such as scoring) or consolidation of data provided by data users/providers, or from other sources.
SFD: Decentralized Financial Systems.

Data processing: the operation or set of operations or technical procedures, whether automated or not, that allow to compile, organize, store, develop, select, retrieve, compare, share, transmit, or Clear the information contained in a database.
UMOA: West African Monetary Union.

User or Data User: any Credit institution or Decentralized Financial System or any other data provider having the right to access the BIC database under a contract with the BIC, in order to obtain Credit reports and other services in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Chapter II. -OBJECT AND SCOPE

Article 2.
The purpose of this Act is to establish the legal framework for the creation, approval, organisation of the activity and the supervision of the BIC in the member states of UMOA.

Article 3.
This Law shall apply to the BICs, suppliers and users of credit data operating in the territory of the Republic of Senegal regardless of their legal status, location or principal place of business Establishment in the UMOA and the nationality of the owners of their social capital or their leaders.
It shall also apply to customers of the data providers and users referred to in paragraph 1 above.

TITLE II. -AGREMENT AND REMOVAL OF THE ACT OF A BIC

Chapter I. -ACT OF A BIC

Article 4.
No person may, without having been previously approved and placed on the BIC list, carry out the activity of BIC, or rely on the quality of BIC, or create the appearance of that quality by such words as " Credit Information Office "," BIC "," Vote Office " And " Credit Reference Bureau ".

Article 5.
The approval in quality of BIC may be granted to any legal person who is pre-qualified following a call to competition and who undertakes to comply with the provisions of this Law as well as the terms of the specification laying down conditions General establishment and operation of the BICs. The call for competition is organised by the Central Bank.

The application for approval as BIC of a pre-qualified company shall be addressed to the Minister responsible for Finance of the Member State of the Head Office of the BIC and deposited with the Banque Centrale which instructs them.
The Central Bank shall inform the Ministers responsible for finance of the other Member States of this application for authorisation.

The BCEAO shall check whether the legal person applying for authorisation complies with the conditions and obligations laid down in Articles 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of this Law.

The Central Bank shall examine in particular the business plan of the undertaking and the technical and financial means it intends to implement. It also appreciates the ability of the applicant company to achieve its development objectives, under conditions compatible with sufficient protection of customer data.

The Central Bank shall obtain all information on the quality of the persons who have provided the capital and, where applicable, that of their guarantors, as well as on the good repute and experience of the persons to lead, administer or Manage the BIC and its subsidiaries and/or branches.

The BCEAO may limit the number of BICs in operation in the member states of UMOA, depending on the volume of activity of the data providers, in particular the credit institutions and the SFD and the size of the market on which they operate.
An appraisal by the Central Bank shall determine the constituent elements of the application for approval.

Article 6.
The authorisation shall be issued by order of the Minister for Finance of the State of the head office of the undertaking, after obtaining the assent of the Central Bank.
The authorisation shall be deemed to have been refused, if it is not delivered at the expiration of one hundred and twenty (120) days from the receipt of the request by the Central Bank, unless otherwise specified by the applicant.

The approval is noted by the entry on the BIC list.
This list shall be maintained and maintained by the BCEAO, which shall assign a registration number to each BIC.
The list of BICs and the modifications to which it is subjected, including the radiation, shall be published in the Official Journal of each member state of the UMOA, due to the diligence of the BCEAO.

The refusal of the application for authorisation shall be reasoned and notified to the applicant by registered letter of the Minister with acknowledgement of receipt or any other legally recognised means of certifying that the information has been brought to his knowledge.

Article 7.
A BIC which has obtained approval in a member state of UMOA is authorised to carry on business in the territory of the Republic of Senegal, in particular by opening offices of representation, branches and/or subsidiaries.

However, prior to the opening of an office of representation, a subsidiary or a branch in the territory of the Republic of Senegal, the BIC must notify its intention to the Central Bank.

The request for authorisation shall be sent to the Ministry of Finance of each Member State concerned and lodged with the BCEAO.
The BCEAO informs the State of the Head Office of the BIC of the request made by the BCEAO and the Ministers responsible for Finance of the other member states of the UMOA.

The Central Bank shall determine by instruction the information to be contained in the declaration of intent and the documents to be attached to it.

Chapter II. -WITHDRAWAL OF AGREMENT FROM A BIC

Article 8.
The withdrawal of the approval of a BIC shall be made by an order of the Minister for Finance of the State of the Head Office of the BIC, after obtaining the assent of the Central Bank, in the following cases:

1. The BIC does not actually start its activities within a period of twenty-four (24) months from the date of notification of the order approving the said BIC. This period may, however, be extended by the Central Bank upon reasoned request by the BIC. In this case, the BCEAO shall inform the Minister of Finance of the Member State of the UMOA concerned;

2. The commission of serious or repeated infringements of the rules of the BICs or any other rules applicable to the BIC;

3. Where it is found that the BIC has not been operating for at least one (1) year;

4. The BIC has carried out the transfer of its head office out of the UMOA, including following any merger by absorption, division or creation of a new company.

The withdrawal of authorisation may be made at the request of the BIC, after six (6) months' notice.
In the event of withdrawal of authorisation, the database and any electronic back-up copy shall be transferred to the Central Bank in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down by a BCEAO instruction.

Rule 9
Applications for revocation are addressed to the Minister of Finance of the State of the Head Office of the BIC and deposited with the Central Bank. They shall include, in particular, the liquidation plan, the staff compensation plan and the modalities for the termination of the use of the information contained in the BIC database, under penalty of the sanctions provided for in Article 70 of the Present law.

Article 10.
The BICs must cease their activities within the period laid down in the decision to withdraw the authorisation.

Article 11.
The withdrawal of the approval of the BIC for the State of the BIC's home office automatically extends to the representative offices and branches in the other UMOA member states which must cease their activities as BIC.
In the event of the withdrawal of the authorisation of a parent company, each Minister responsible for Finance of the implementing State shall decide to withdraw the authorisation for the installation of each of the subsidiaries located on the national territory.

However, at the request of a subsidiary, after obtaining the assent of the BCEAO, the Minister for Finance of the State of its head office may decide that the withdrawal of the approval of the parent company of a BIC does not extend to it. In this case, the subsidiary which wishes to continue the activities of BIC, must apply for approval under the conditions defined by a BCEAO statement.

The Central Bank shall inform the Minister of Finance of the host State of each office of representation, branch or subsidiary of the withdrawal of the approval of the parent company.

Article 12.
The Order withdrawing the authorisation or authorisation to install shall be notified to the BIC by the Minister for Finance of the State concerned, within thirty (30) days.
The order shall be published in the Official Journal of the State of the registered office.
The BCEAO provides information to data providers on the withdrawal of the approval of the BIC.

TITLE III. -OFFICIALS AND STAFF OF THE BIC

Article 13.
No person convicted of a common law offence, for forgery or use of false public writing, for forgery or use of forgery, commerce or bank, for theft, for fraud or offences punishable by Fraud, for breach of trust, for bankruptcy, for embezzlement of public funds, for subtracting by public depositary, for extortion of funds or securities, for corruption, for offences relating to checks, bank cards And other electronic payment methods and instruments for breach of regulation External financial relations, for breach of legislation against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, for breach of the credit of the State or for the recel of things obtained by means of such infringements, or for all An offence deemed by law to be one of those listed above:

1. To direct, administer or manage a BIC or any of its representative offices, branches or subsidiaries;

2. To propose to the public the creation of a BIC;

3. To take equity stakes in a BIC.

Any conviction for attempted or aiding in the commission of the offences listed in the first paragraph shall have the same prohibitions.
The same prohibitions apply to non-rehabilitated bankrupts, destikilled ministerial officers and officers of a BIC suspended or discharged pursuant to section 64 of this Act.

The above prohibitions apply automatically when the conviction, bankruptcy, dismissal, suspension or resignation has been made outside Canada. In that case, the public prosecutor or the person concerned may refer the matter to the competent court for a declaration that the conditions of application of the above prohibitions are or are not satisfied; the court shall decide after verification of the Regularity and legality of the foreign decision, the person duly called in the Chamber of the Council. The decision can only be appealed in cassation.

Where the decision, which is the result of one of the prohibitions referred to in this Article, is subsequently reported or reversed, the prohibition shall cease to be in full force, provided that the new decision is not subject to appeal.
The staff of credit institutions and SFDs are prohibited from exercising the functions of the President of the Board of Directors or the Director General of a BIC.

Article 14.
Every BIC shall deposit and keep up to date with the Central Bank and the Registrar responsible for the maintenance of the Register of Commerce and Credit Furniture, the list of persons performing, directing, administering or administering the BIC or Its representative offices, branches and/or subsidiaries. Any draft amendment to the aforementioned list must be notified to the Central Bank at least thirty (30) days before the new officers take office.

The Registrar shall transmit a copy of the above list and of his or her amendments under Huitaine, on free paper, to the Public Prosecutor.

Article 15.
Persons who contribute to the management, administration, management, control or operation of the BICs shall be subject to professional secrecy, subject to the provisions of Article 24 (3) of this Law.
It is forbidden for the same persons to use the confidential information of which they are aware in the course of their activity, to directly or indirectly carry out operations on their own account or to benefit others People.

These provisions are applicable to data providers and users as part of their participation in the credit information sharing system.

TITLE IV. -REGULATION OF THE BIC

Chapter I. -LEGAL FORM

Article 16.
The BIC is made up of a fixed capital company.
It cannot take the form of a one-person society.
It must have its registered office in the territory of one of the member states of UMOA.

Article 17.
The shares issued by the BIC having its registered office in the Republic of Senegal must be in nominal form.

CHAPTER II. -SOCIAL CAPITAL AND SPECIAL RESERVE

Article 18.
The social capital of the BICs may not be less than the minimum amount fixed by the Council of Ministers of UMOA.
The social capital must be paid in full on the day of the approval of the BIC in competition with the minimum amount required in the approval decision.

Article 19.
Users and suppliers of credit data may not own, directly or indirectly, shares in the social capital of a BIC exceeding a threshold set by the Council of Ministers of UMOA. This threshold may not exceed forty-nine percent (49 %) of the BIC's share capital.

Article 20.
The BICs are obliged to set up a special reserve, including any legal reservation required by the laws and regulations in force, fed by an annual levy on the net profits realised, after the charge of a possible postponement to the New deficit. The amount of this levy is fixed by a Central Bank instruction.
The special reserve may be used for loss clearance, provided that all other available reserves are used in advance.

CHAPTER III. -MISCELLANEOUS PERMISSIONS

Article 21.
The following operations relating to the BIC having their registered office in the Republic of Senegal shall be subject to the prior authorisation of the Minister responsible for finance:

1. Any change in the name, or trade name;
2. Any transfer of the head office to another UMOA member state;
3. Any merger by absorption or creation of a new company or division;
4. Any early dissolution;
5. Any acquisition or transfer of participation which would have the effect of bringing the participation of the same person, directly or by person interposed, or of the same group of persons acting together, first beyond the blocking minority, then Beyond the majority of the voting rights in the BICs, or to lower this participation below these thresholds;
6. Any management or cessation of all its activities in the Republic of Senegal.
A blocking minority shall be considered as blocking the number of votes that may impede a change in the statutes of the BIC.
In particular, persons are considered to be interposed in relation to the same natural or legal person:
1. The legal persons in which that person holds the majority of the voting rights;
2. Majority-owned subsidiaries, i.e. the companies in which the companies referred to in the preceding paragraph hold the majority of the voting rights, or in which their participation, added to that of the natural person or The majority of the voting rights.

Article 22.
The prior authorisations provided for in this Chapter shall be granted as in the case of approval.

CHAPTER IV. -ACCOUNTS AND INFORMATION OF THE CENTRAL BANK

Article 23.
The BICs must keep their head office, principal place of business or representative offices, branches and/or subsidiaries in the Republic of Senegal, as the case may be, accounting for their operations in the territory of the Republic of Senegal and on All the territories of the member states of UMOA.
They shall keep in the States other than those of their registered office, an accounting of the operations carried out in each of the Member States.

They shall, where appropriate, be required to draw up their accounts in a consolidated form, in accordance with the accounting provisions of the African Western Comptable System (SYSCOA) and the other special rules adopted by the Central Bank.
Before 30 June of the following year, the BICs shall communicate to the Central Bank, their annual accounts, within the time limits and conditions prescribed by the Central Bank.

These accounts must be certified on a regular and sincere basis by one or more auditors, in accordance with the rules adopted by the Uniform Law of the Organization for the Harmonisation in Africa of the Law of Business (OHADA) relating to the law Commercial companies and the economic interest group.

Article 24.
The BICs shall provide, at any request of the Central Bank, the information, clarifications, justifications and documents deemed relevant for the examination of their operation and, more generally, compliance with the specifications governing Their activities.

At the request of the Central Bank, any Commissioner for the accounts of a BIC shall communicate to it all reports, documents and other documents, as well as any information deemed relevant to the performance of its mission.
Professional secrecy is not binding on the Central Bank or the judicial authority acting in criminal proceedings.

Article 25.
The provisions of Article 24 of this Law shall apply to suppliers and users of credit data concerning their relations with the BICs.

TITLE V. - SUPERVISION OF THE BIC

Article 26.
The BICs are obliged to comply with the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers of the UMOA and the Central Bank in the exercise of their powers under the Treaty of the West African Monetary Union and the Statute of the Bank Central.

Article 27.
The BICs are required to comply with the quality of service standards contained in their specifications prepared by the BCEAO.

Article 28.
The BICs are subject to the Central Bank Control. They may not object to the checks carried out by the Central Bank, or at the request of the Central Bank, by the General Secretariat of the Banking Commission of the UMOA or the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Senegal.

Article 29.
In accordance with the provisions of Articles 26, 27 and 28 of this Law, the Central Bank shall be responsible for:
1. Ensure compliance by the BICs, suppliers and data users of the provisions of this Act;
2. Approve the Code of Conduct governing the relationship between the CIO and data providers and users and ensure its implementation;
3. To ensure compliance with the rules of good governance, confidentiality, protection and preservation of customer data, including their personal data and rights, by all parties to the sharing arrangement Information on credit in the member states of UMOA;
4. Ensure that procedures and controls are in place to ensure the integrity, availability and security of information.

Article 30.
In carrying out its tasks, the Central Bank may carry out on-the-spot checks and on-the-spot checks. To this end, it has:
1. Access to all books, records, contracts, minutes of meetings and all other documents in the possession or control of an administrator, officer or employee of any BIC;
2. The right to require any director, director, auditor or employee of a BIC to provide the information or produce the books, records or documents that are in his or her possession or control.

Article 31.
At the request of the Central Bank, the Minister responsible for Finance may decide on the provisional administration of a BIC, where its management jeopardising information security in particular and in general, where shortcomings Serious to the specifications are recognised.

In this case, the Minister responsible for Finance shall appoint a provisional administrator to whom he shall confer the necessary powers to the management, administration or management of the BIC concerned.

The extension of the term of office of the provisional administrator and the lifting of the provisional administration shall be pronounced by the Minister for Finance in the same form.

A BCEAO statement specifies the terms of reference for the provisional administrator.
The provisional administrator appointed with a BIC, instead of its head office, organises the provisional administration of the representative offices and branches established in the other member states of the UMOA and who have benefited from the authorisation The said establishment.

In the event of withdrawal of the authorisation to install the subsidiaries, the provisional administrator appointed with a BIC in the Member State of establishment of the parent company shall coordinate the provisional administration of the subsidiaries established in the other States Members of the UMOA who have benefited from the approval of the said BIC.

Article 32.
The decisions of the Central Bank shall be legally enforceable in the territory of the Republic of Senegal.

TITLE VI. -AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES, OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF THE PARTIES

CHAPTER I. -AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES OF THE BIC

Article 33.
BIC is authorized to carry out the following activities:
1. Collect and store credit information;
2. Deal with credit information;
3. Merge different sources of information and make credit reports available to users for consideration;
4. Disseminate credit information and reports for users;
5. Provide value-added services to users after authorization from the Central Bank;
6. Any other related activity authorized by the Central Bank.

Article 34.
The BIC identifies customers by any appropriate means, including biometrics.

Article 35.
The data collected and disseminated by the BIC in a UMOA member state, including databases and backup sites, may be relocated, stored and maintained in another Member State of the Union.
The BICs shall not relocate, maintain or maintain the databases and safeguard sites referred to in the preceding paragraph outside the UMOA.

Article 36.
The BIC can only offer its services to users who provide it with information under the principle of reciprocity.

Article 37.
The information shall be transmitted by the BIC by any technological means, electronic device or computer system for the processing of information, via a public or private telecommunications network, provided that they respond to the Provisions of security, confidentiality, data protection, including personal data, and integrity under this Act.

Article 38.
In the course of carrying out its activities, the BIC may, under the conditions laid down in the laws and regulations in force, collect, retain, process and disseminate in the credit reports and the value added services it provides, Public information in particular:
1. Marital status;
2. Data on decisions relating to debts, insolvency proceedings, liquidations of undertakings contained in registers of court registries and courts;
3. The data contained in the Register of Commerce and Credit Furniture, the Land Book and in any other public register or directory in Senegal;
4. The data contained in the UMOA Central Bank of Banking Risks;
5. The data contained in Central Bank Payment Incidents Central;
6. The data contained in the SFD Risk Central;

7. The information kept in the Central Bank of the Central Bank;
8. The data relating to the Classification Agreements or any other public rating system for the credit recipients' signature quality;
9. Any other information of a public nature.

Article 39.
The BIC invoices users for the information services it provides to them according to a fee schedule.
The grid is approved under the conditions laid down by instruction of the Central Bank.

Article 40:
The fee schedule shall be made available to the public by posting on the premises of the BIC and by publication in the newspapers according to a periodicity defined by the Central Bank.
The fee schedule is communicated, according to a periodicity defined by the Central Bank, to the BCEAO itself, to the Professional Associations of the
Credit and SFD institutions as well as the Consumer Associations established in UMOA.

CHAPTER II. -OBLIGATIONS OF THE BIC, SUPPLIERS AND
DATA USERS

Article 41.
The BIC must meet the following obligations:
1. Put in place an appropriate technical device for collecting credit data from data providers;
2. Provide data users with detailed credit reports, updated, on the basis of historical and current customer credit information including approved and outstanding balances, credit limits, Cessations of payment, the balance of arrears;
3. To disseminate only information whose seniority does not exceed five (5) years;
4. To archive the information within a further period of five (5) years, and to use them in the event of litigation or on the request of the BCEAO;
5. Give customers whose credit history is recorded in the database, access to their own credit reports on presentation of proof of identity;
6. Grant clients the right to challenge and correct data concerning them;

7. Establish a system for the handling of customer complaints;
8. Maintain adequate levels and minimum data quality standards;
9. Keep a record of all inquiries and requests received from users in a format that includes the purpose for which the information was requested;
10. Inform the Central Bank of the inadequacies of the security system whenever the system poses a threat;
11. Take all necessary measures to ensure that an adequate system is in place to secure the database and to avoid access, modification and disclosure of information by individuals (including members of its own Staff) or unauthorized institutions;
12. Make all necessary arrangements with its staff to maintain the personal data contained in the credit information in a strictly confidential manner;
13. Take the same steps as all data providers to ensure that the data are accurate, up-to-date, and truthful;
14. Keep a record of the deficiencies in the quality of the data transmitted;
15. To set up a data quality monitoring programme so as to periodically trace deviations from the technical specifications for the data transmitted to the Central Bank and users;
16. Submit to an annual compliance audit of an external firm, which will cover in particular the regulatory, technical and operational aspects of its activities;
17. File a compliance report with the BCEAO at the end of each year;
18. Set up an internal control system adapted to the specificities of its activity;
19. Put in place a computer backup device;
20. Develop a backup site and develop an updated business and safety plan at least once a year;
Develop a code of conduct and ethics.
The BIC undertakes, in the event of withdrawal of its approval or authorisation, to no longer carry out the activities referred to in Article 33 above, or subject to the penalties provided for in Article 70 of this Law.

Article 42.
Any data provider must:
1. Obtain the prior consent of the customer for the sharing of credit information with the BIC and the consultation of such information by the users of the BIC;
2. Retain the client's consent under the provisions of this Act;
3. Maintain absolute confidentiality with respect to the content of the information provided to the BICs;
4. Sign a service contract with the CIO and adhere to the Code of Conduct and Ethics that
Provides data provider status to the CIO;
5. Provide the BIC with information on the credit history of their customers who have consented to the sharing and consultation of credit information concerning them;
6. Transmit the credit information to the BIC within the time limits set by the Central Bank, in accordance with the terms, the format established and agreed with the BIC under the service contract and the Code of Conduct signed with BIC;
7. Provide the BIC with reliable, accurate and up-to-date credit information, if necessary under the conditions set out in this Act.

Rule 43
The credit data user must meet the following obligations:
1. Maintain absolute confidentiality with respect to the content of the information provided by the BIC;
2. Implement all means to ensure that the members of its staff, who are called in the course of their function, to access the personal data contained in the credit reports provided by the BIC, retain these data In a strictly confidential manner;
3. Sign a service contract with the BIC and adhere to the Code of Conduct which confers user status with the BIC;
4. Inform the client about adverse actions and provide the client with a copy of the credit report that served as the basis for the decision;
5. Refrain from disclosing the information contained in the credit reports or use them for marketing purposes, marketing or marketing studies, and targeting customers of other users;

6. Refrain from using the data contained in credit reports for market studies and/or promotions, advertising and/or direct selling of products or services marketed by the user to customers of others Users.

CHAPTER III. -CUSTOMER RIGHTS

SECTION I. - RIGHT TO CUSTOMER INFORMATION

Article 44.
Data providers and users are required, before requesting the customer's consent, to provide the following information:
1. The purpose of collecting, processing and disseminating information about it by the BIC;
2. The data categories concerned;
3. The coordinates of the BIC to which this information is transmitted;
4. The recipient (s) to whom this information is likely to be communicated, in particular other users who have access to the BIC database, including those located in the territory of another UMOA member state;
5. The fact of being able to request not to be included in the BIC database and the possible consequences of a refusal to include it;
6. The retention period for this information at the BIC level;
7. The existence of a right of access to the data concerning it in the BIC database in order to verify its credit histories, to challenge and to correct or delete erroneous information concerning it in the said database or in a Credit report;
8. The right to receive all information stored by a BIC on its credit history, in the form of a credit report free of charge once a year and in the event of a dispute arising from an error in the data, attributable to the supplier of Data or the BIC, on the presentation of a signed application accompanied by proof of identity or on secure electronic media.

Article 45.
The BIC must make available to the customer detailed information on the referral procedure allowing it to access credit information about it, to have it corrected or deleted.

Article 46.
The credit report made available to a customer by the BIC must be worded in a clear, complete and accessible form. The report shall be transmitted to the customer within a period of not more than five (5) working days from receipt by the BIC of the customer's request, and free of charge once a year.

The credit history provided to the customer must include the list of users who have accessed their data within the last six (6) months, the codes used in the credit report and their service provider's meaning and identity. Data used in the development of the credit report.

Rule 47 .
Where an adverse event is given by the user to a customer's credit application, based in whole or in part on the information contained in a credit report from a BIC, the customer must be informed of this event by The user who is required to provide a copy of the said credit report.

SECTION II. -THE CUSTOMER'S CLAIM PROCEDURE AND RIGHT OF RECOURSE

Article 48.
If the customer disputes the information contained in a credit report, he or she may file a claim with the BIC, together with documents proving the inaccuracy of the data.
The claim may also be transmitted to the BIC through a credit institution or SFD from which the customer is the holder of an account.

The BIC forwards the customer's request to the data provider within five (5) days from the date of receipt of the request.
The data provider shall have a period of fifteen (15) days, from the receipt of the correspondence of the BIC, to confirm to the BIC the accuracy of the data, to correct or delete the data, if any.

Upon receipt of the supplier's reply, the BIC confirms the data, modifies or deletes the data within ten (10) days and informs the customer.
The BIC sends the modified credit report to all users who have requested a report on the customer in the six (6) months preceding the date on which the dispute was raised.

Article 49.
In the event that the process of responding to the customer's claim is not finalized within thirty (30) days of the customer's request, the BIC must temporarily withdraw from the consultation by the data users, the Complete client file, pending resolution of the dispute. However, it is obliged to mention that the correction or deletion of the data is in progress.

Article 50.
In case of disagreement between the customer and the data provider on the information transmitted to the BIC to prove the error and if the dispute is not resolved by an agreement within thirty (30) days, the BIC must allow the customer to introduce a Message in the credit report, containing up to 100 words, explaining the reason for the dispute, until a final solution is found.

Article 51.
In the case where the data provider points out that the error mentioned in the request filed by the customer is attributable to the BIC, the BIC must correct it within ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the notification of the Data provider.

Article 52.
If the customer is not satisfied with the follow-up given to his or her request by the BIC, the data provider or the data user, the customer may file a request with the Central Bank, which shall take a decision within sixty (60) days from the date of the request. Referral to the client.

Without prejudice to the use of the Central Bank or any other competent structure, the customer may refer the matter to the ordinary courts.

TITLE VII. -PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

CHAPTER I. -PRINCIPLE OF PREALABLE CONSENT,
RESPECT FOR THE FINALITY OF DATA COLLECTION AND SHARING AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Article 53.
Any collection of information, use and sharing and dissemination of personal information, including credit information, shall be subject to the prior consent of the client, natural or legal person concerned.

The client's consent must be recorded as an integral part of the credit application or credit agreement.

Consent once obtained, users may make the information available to the BIC for the duration of the business relationship and for the purposes authorized by this Act. The information may not, under any circumstances, relate to the client's deposits.
The obligation to obtain the prior consent of the customer, provided for in the first paragraph above, does not apply to public data. It does not also cover the information requested by the Central Bank, the UMOA Banking Commission, the tax authority or the judicial authority acting in criminal proceedings.

Article 54.
The prior consent of the natural or legal person serves as the basis for the collection, and the transmission of the data to a BIC and the issuing of credit reports.

Rule 55
Personal information may only be collected for the purposes set out in this Act. They must be:
1. Collected in an honest and lawful manner, not arbitrarily;
2. Loyally and lawfully dealt with;
3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are collected and for which they are subsequently processed;
4. Accurate and updated. Appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or obsolete data, or whose collection, use, communication or storage is prohibited, is removed or rectified;
5. Kept in a form which permits the identification of the persons concerned and in such a way as to preserve its confidentiality and inaccessibility for any unauthorised third party.

Article 56.
All parties designated by this Act are responsible for the personal information they have in their possession or custody.

Article 57:
The data provider shall incur civil and criminal liability for any collection of information relating to a natural or legal person who has not given his consent.

It also incurs liability for the transmission of erroneous data relating to a natural or legal person to a BIC.

Article 58.
The credit data user incurs civil and criminal liability for any request for credit reports not authorized by the natural or legal person concerned and for any unlawful or abusive use of the information on the credit report. The credit of the persons provided.

CHAPTER II. -REASONS FOR PROVIDING A CREDIT REPORT

Rule 59 .
The BIC can only provide a credit report for the following reasons:
1. The assessment of a customer's creditworthiness in connection with the granting of a credit or the recovery of a debt;
2. The requisition of justice;
3. The application of an international treaty ratified by a member State of the UMOA, subject to reciprocity;
4. The monitoring of risks and the needs for the supervision of financial institutions by authorised bodies;
5. Any other grounds approved by the Central Bank;
6. Upon request from client.
TITLE VIII. -INFORMATION SHARING ON CREDIT

CHAPTER I. -INTETS CONCERTED BY SHARING
INFORMATION

Article 60.
Credit institutions and SFDs subject to the supervision of the BCEAO and the UMOA Banking Commission are required to:
1. Address, for credit risk assessment, a request to the BIC for the purpose of obtaining a credit report before granting a credit to a customer provided that prior, free and written consent has been given by the customer concerned;
2. Include in the file of each client requesting financial assistance, the credit report;
3. Share data on all loans in their portfolio.

Article 61.
SFDs subject mainly to the control of the Ministry of Finance in the Republic of Senegal, the Regional Financial Institutions, the regional or international financial institutions carrying out a guarantee Credit, commercial corporations, public service dealers, and any other entity or intermediary whose activities include the granting of credits or that offer deferred payment options, may:
1. Participate in the system of exchange of information on credit under the conditions laid down in Article 60 of this Law;
2. Make a request to the BIC for a credit report under the conditions set out in section 60 of this Act.

CHAPTER II. -MISCELLANEOUS PROHIBITIONS

Article 62:
Suppliers and data users, as well as the BIC, are prohibited from collecting, storing, processing, disseminating, showing in a credit report, or in any other form, format or support, sensitive data.

The same prohibition applies to data on balances and transactions in savings accounts, chequing accounts with the exception of outstanding chequing accounts, certificates of deposit of any kind, other deposits or similar products.

The BIC and users are expressly prohibited from providing or requesting, any type of information and credit report for marketing purposes or for purposes other than those provided for in this Act.

TITLE IX. -SANCTIONS

CHAPTER I. -ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES AND SANCTIONS
DISCIPLINARS

Article 63.
Where, as a result, either a serious lack of vigilance, a deficiency, a supplier or a data user has failed to comply with the obligations imposed on it by Articles 41, 42, 43 and 44 of this Law, the Supervisory Authority may act Ex officio under the conditions laid down in the specific laws and regulations in force.

In addition, it notifies the Central Bank as well as the Public Prosecutor.

Where the BCEAO finds that a supplier or user of data, other than those of its authority or that of the Bancaire de l' UMOA, has failed to comply with the obligations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, it shall The Control Authority of the said supplier or data user.

Article 64.
Where the Central Bank, the supervisory authority of the BICs, finds an infringement of this Law, and in particular Articles 15 (2), 24 first subparagraph, 35 (2), 41 and 51, committed by a BIC in the territory of a Member State, it shall inform the Minister responsible for the finances of that State and, without prejudice to criminal or other penalties incurred, pronounces one or more of the following disciplinary sanctions:
1. The warning;
2. The blame;
3. The suspension or prohibition of all or part of the operations;
4. Any other limitations in the exercise of the profession;
5. The suspension or ex officio resignation of the responsible officers;
6. Withdrawal of registration or installation authorization.

The BCEAO may, in addition to the disciplinary sanctions referred to in paragraph 1 above, impose a monetary penalty, the amount of which shall be fixed by instruction of the Central Bank.
The corresponding sums shall be recovered for the benefit of the Public Treasury, in accordance with the legislation on the recovery of the debts of the State.

CHAPTER II. -PENAL SANCTIONS

Article 65.
Every person who contravenes any of the prohibitions laid down by Article 13 of this Law shall be punished by imprisonment of one (1) year to five (5) years and a fine of ten million (10.000.000) to twenty-five million (25,000,000) CFA francs or One of these two (2) penalties only.

Article 66.
Any person who has been convicted of any of the facts provided for in Article 13 (1) and (2) and Article 14 of this Law shall not be employed, in any capacity, by a BIC. The provisions of Article 13 (4) and (5) shall apply to this prohibition.
In the event of an infringement of this prohibition, the author shall be liable to the penalties provided for in Article 65 of this Law and the employer, from a fine of 25 million (25.000.000) to fifty million (50,000,000) CFA francs.

Article 67.
A term of imprisonment of one (1) month to two (2) years and a fine of ten million (10.000.000) to one hundred million (100,000,000) CFA francs, or one of those two (2) penalties only, is punishable by imprisonment only, if any person has contravened the provisions of section 15 Paragraph 2 of this Law.
In the event of a repeat offence, the maximum penalty shall be increased to five (5) years imprisonment and a fine of three hundred million (300.000.000) CFA francs.

Article 68:
An imprisonment of one (1) month to one (1) year and a fine of five million (5.000.000) to fifty million (50,000,000) CFA francs, or one of those two (2) penalties only, any officer or staff of a BIC who, acting for his or her Account or that of a third party, knowingly communicated to the Central Bank, inaccurate documents or information or objected to any of the controls referred to in sections 28 and 30 of this Act.

In the event of a repeat offence, the maximum penalty shall be increased to two (2) years imprisonment and a fine of 100 million (100,000,000).

Rule 69 .
A fine of ten million (10.000.000) to one hundred million (100,000,000) CFA francs, any BIC which has breached any of the provisions of Articles 14, 20, 21, 23, 24 and 26, without prejudice to the penalties provided for in Article 64 of the present Law.

The same penalty may be imposed against the officers responsible for the offence and against any auditor who has contravened section 24 of this Act.
Persons who have taken or ceded an interest in a BIC in contravention of the provisions of the Community rules on the freezing of funds and other financial resources in the context of the fight are liable to the same penalty. Against the financing of terrorism in the member states of the African Economic and Monetary Union.

Article 70.
An imprisonment of one (1) month to two (2) years and a fine of ten million (10.000.000) to fifty million (50,000,000) CFA francs, the exercise without approval of the activity of BIC or the creation of the appearance of BIC in particular by The use of the terms BIC in a trade name, company documents or on a sign.

Article 71.
The staff of a BIC, without prejudice to the sanctions provided for in the social legislation, or a user who intentionally provides information about a customer from the BIC files to a person
Not authorized, is liable to a fine of two hundred thousand (200,000) to two million (2,000,000) francs

CFA and a prison sentence of three (3) months to one (1) year or one of these two (2) penalties only.

Article 72.
An unauthorised person who obtains, voluntarily or using corrupt practices, from a member of the board of directors, a leader, staff or third parties, information about a customer, from a BIC or a Subscriber, for the purpose of harming the client, commits an offence punishable by a fine of five hundred thousand (500,000) to five million (5,000,000) CFA francs and imprisonment of three (3) months to one (1) year.

Article 73.
The Prosecutor of the Republic shall notify the competent supervisory authority of the prosecution of data providers, data users or BICs within its disciplinary authority.

TITLE X. -PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE ORGANISATION OF COLLECTIVE PROCEDURES FOR THE CLEARANCE OF LIABILITIES

Article 74.
Where the withdrawal of the approval of the BIC follows or is followed by the opening of a collective procedure for the clearance of liabilities, it shall be wound up in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Act concerning the organisation of collective procedures for the clearance of liabilities.

TITLE XI. -TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
AND FINALS

Articles 75.
The provisions of this Law relating to the protection of personal data shall be without prejudice to those laid down in the legislation of a UMOA member state in this respect.
However, in the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Law and any national legislation relating to the protection of personal data, these shall prevail.

Article 76.
The instructions of the Central Bank shall specify the procedures for the application of the provisions of this Law.
This Law shall be enforced as the law of the State.
Done at Dakar, 6 January 2014

By the President of the Republic:

Macky SALL.

The Prime Minister,
Aminata TOUR