JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following Law.

PREAMBLE

I

Article 51 of the Spanish Constitution establishes that public authorities will guarantee the defense of consumers and users, protecting, through effective procedures, security, health and legitimate interests. of the same. They shall also promote their information and education, encourage their organisations and hear them on issues that may affect them.

In compliance with this constitutional mandate, the Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 16 November, approving the recast text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other laws It incorporates, in the field of state competences, the general regime for the protection of consumers and users.

However, the protection of consumers and users is not limited to a general approach but has a wide presence in all sectors of economic life with specific protection rules. In particular, the protection of consumers and users in the financial sector is of particular relevance, given that not only their economic interests are at stake but also the stability of the system.

In this respect, it should be noted that consumer and user protection regulations are quite comprehensive in this area. Thus, the products and services offered by credit institutions in their relations with consumers and users are specifically regulated by the rules of management and discipline supervised by the Banco de España. On the other hand, there is a large set of rules that respond to the type of "regulation by product" that seeks to unify the requirements that certain financial products have to meet, so that these requirements are similar to what is the entity that provides them, whether it is a credit institution or any other company.

In particular, the specific legal regime for consumer protection in relation to consumer credit is contained in Law 7/1995 of 23 March of Credit for Consumer Affairs, which incorporates Directive 87 /102/EEC of the European Parliament and of the Council Council of 22 December 1986 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to consumer credit and which has been amended by Law 39/2002 of 28 October 1986 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the transposition into the Spanish legal order of a number of Community directives on protection of the interests of consumers and users, and Article 134 of Law 62/2003, of 30 December, of fiscal, administrative and social measures. This Law is supplemented by Law 28/1998 of 13 July 1998 on the sale of movable property, which establishes the arrangements for contracts for the sale of non-consumable and identifiable personal movable property, on loan contracts intended to facilitate their acquisition and the guarantees which they constitute to ensure compliance with the obligations arising therefrom. Furthermore, Law 22/2007 of 11 July 2007 on the distance marketing of financial services for consumers, transposition of Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002, contains the specific legal regime for the protection of consumers in financial services which are traded at a distance.

However, this comprehensive set of rules does not cover all consumer and user protection needs in a sector as dynamic as the financial sector, where both product innovation and the emergence of new service providers are constant. This feature of the financial sector forces the public authorities to pay permanent attention to ensure the rights of consumers and users. In particular, two phenomena, which up to now were not provided with specific regulations, are currently taking on a great boom: the loans and loans granted by companies which are not credit institutions and the credit intermediation services. Both are the fundamental object of this Law, which regulates them with the aim of safeguarding economic interests and the rights of consumers and users.

II

The first of the phenomena is a consequence of the dizzying growth of mortgage credit, linked to the increase in demand in the real estate market. When these loans or mortgage loans are granted by credit institutions, subject to the supervision of the Banco de España, there is a specific regulation on subrogation and modification of mortgage loans and on (a) the transparency of the financial conditions for mortgage loans, contained in Law 2/1994 of 30 March 1994 on the subrogation and modification of mortgage loans, and the Order of 5 May 1994, on transparency of the financial conditions of mortgage loans.

However, since this activity is not reserved for credit institutions in the Spanish order, when such activity is carried out by another type of undertaking, it is subject only to the general legislation of the protection of consumers, without other specific requirements for transparency, nor a specific framework of guarantees required by those who engage in loans or mortgage loans with those companies.

On the other hand, we have recently proliferated in our country activities of loan intermediation that are especially active in the debt pool. This activity, carried out by companies that do not fall within the category of credit institution, although of recent boom in our country, is very present in other countries, where an important part of the loans granted by the entities are intermediation object.

Both activities, developed with the necessary levels of transparency and professionalism, can be useful to consumers who decide to hire these services by making it possible to find more efficient Loans available on the market, while these institutions allow consumers to gain bargaining power vis-à-vis lenders, thus being able to access better terms in the loans they hire. Since these activities have so far been exclusively subject to civil and commercial law and to the general rules for the protection of consumers and users, this law provides for a specific regulation which, without affecting the The potential benefits it can bring to consumers, it establishes a transparent framework in the relations of these with the companies that offer them contracts of loan or mortgage credit or intermediary services for the celebration of any type of loan or credit agreement.

III

For this purpose, the scope of the Law is limited to companies other than credit institutions and to the assumptions for the granting of loans or mortgage loans and the provision of intermediary services. financial, in the framework of general consumer protection legislation, without prejudice to the specific rules of certain products such as consumer credit or the sale of movable property in instalments.

The credit institutions are excluded, subject to the rules of management and credit discipline and supervised by the Banco de España, and the current regime in the area of consumer credit is respected. movable and distance marketing of financial services, which have been shown to be effective in the fulfilment of their objectives, and which this law complements by establishing a similar protection regime in its field of application for consumers and users.

This Act is structured in a explanatory statement, three chapters bringing together a total of 22 articles, a transitional provision and four final provisions.

IV

Article 1 delimits the scope of the Law from an objective and subjective point of view, in the terms outlined above. For the purpose of the activity, the Law is applicable to the granting of loans or mortgage loans and to the intermediation or advice in the granting of loans or loans. From a subjective point of view, it is limited to companies that are not credit institutions.

In order to ensure a high level of protection for consumers and users, ensuring transparency and fair competition, Article 3 imposes the obligation on companies to register in public registers, which the autonomous communities are created in the exercise of their powers, and the creation of a state register is also envisaged. This Register will be nourished by the information provided by the Autonomous Communities and by the registration of foreign companies.

The circle of collaboration, essential for the functioning of the registers, between the various public administrations and the companies of the sector, is closed with the establishment of the obligation of these to facilitate those truthful and verifiable information.

The Law provides for transparency obligations in pre-contractual information, so that companies must have at the disposal of consumers, free of charge, the general conditions of the hiring they use. This information must also be available on the web pages.

Transparency obligations are also imposed in relation to prices so that, although there is freedom of fees and commissions, with the legal constraints of general application, it is stated that companies will not be able to (a) to apply amounts higher than those resulting from the corresponding charges and that the commissions must respond to services actually provided or to costs incurred. In relation to the early repayment compensation scheme, the Act clearly states that loans or mortgage loans granted from 9 December 2007 will only be required for the compensation provided for under the scheme. In Law 41/2007, of 7 December, amending Law 2/1981 of March 25, of regulation of the mortgage market and other rules of the mortgage and financial system, that is, the compensation for withdrawal and, where appropriate, the compensation for interest rate risk. In addition, fees are required to be collected in a prospectus, which companies will be required to submit to records prior to their application, and companies are required to have a bulletin board in establishments open to the public.

Companies must have a liability insurance or bank guarantee that covers the liabilities they may incur in the face of consumers. The benefits of such insurance, the minimum sum of which shall be determined by means of royal decree of the Council of Ministers, shall be exclusively intended to deal with the damage caused to their clients by the completion of the of the own services of the activity of intermediation or the granting of loans or mortgage loans.

The burden of proof on compliance with the obligations imposed on them by this Law is also required and access to the out-of-court settlement of disputes and the law of the courts is required. actions for cessation in respect of conduct contrary to the law which damages the general, collective or diffuse interests of consumers.

As regards the sanctioning regime, failure to comply with the obligations imposed by the law constitutes an infringement on the protection of consumers and users, sanctioning by the competent authorities in accordance with the provided for in the autonomous legislation. For the determination of the competent public administration, the provisions of the Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007 of 16 November.

V

Chapter II of the Act addresses the regulation of the obligations to be adjusted by companies that carry out the activity of granting credit or mortgage loans in commercial communications and advertising, to mention the equivalent annual fee by means of a representative example, provided that they indicate the interest rate or any figures related to the cost of the loan or credit.

In addition, companies that grant loans or mortgage loans are required to provide consumers with a free, informative brochure with minimal content.

With regard to the information prior to the contract, the information that the company must provide to the consumer, with a minimum of five days ' notice to the contract, on its own, is established on a novel basis. company, on the product or service offered and on the contract. This prior information includes essential elements for the adoption of an informed and responsible decision, such as the description of the main characteristics of the contracts and the total price to be paid by the consumer.

Some rules are also established regarding the valuation of good and other ancillary services, in such a way that in cases where the company makes or directly makes the valuation of the property or other service that is on behalf of the consumer, the identity of the selected professionals is indicated, as well as the applicable fee rates.

Companies will be required to make a binding loan or credit offer to the consumer or, if appropriate, to notify the consumer of the refusal. The offer shall be made in writing, signed by the representative of the company and, unless otherwise provided by extraordinary circumstances or not attributable to the undertaking, it shall be valid for no less than 10 working days from its date of delivery.

With regard to the loan or mortgage credit agreement, it is established that the conditions laid down in the Order of 5 May 1994, on the transparency of the financial conditions of the mortgage loans, must be met. In any event, the contracts shall include the rights that correspond to the parties in order to the modification of the total cost of the credit. The obligations already met by credit institutions with respect to the content of the public scriptures in which mortgage loans are formalised are extended to companies.

For their part, companies have to meet the requirements on benchmarks or reference rates, which credit institutions already meet, and which are collected, in the case of mortgage loans at the variable rate, in the Order of 5 May 1994.

With regard to the activity of intermediation, the fact that this Law does not address in Chapter III the legal regime of the contracts on which it is intermediate, must be emphasized, so if, for example, the intermediation falls on a loan to consumption, the legal system of such a loan agreement continues to be governed by what is established by Law 7/1995 of 23 March, and this whether the loan contract is awarded by a company or by a credit institution. That is to say, what is regulated in Chapter III of this Law is the legal regime for the transparency of the intermediary contracts concluded by companies.

Thus, in terms of commercial communications and advertising, in addition to noting that whenever they indicate the interest rate or any figures related to the cost of the loan or credit, the advertising must comply with the the requirements laid down by the rules applicable to the loan or credit on which the advice or intermediation falls, other provisions are laid down, such as that undertakings must indicate in their commercial communications and advertising the the scope of its functions and representation, specifying in particular whether it works exclusively with a credit institution or an undertaking or related to several credit institutions or other undertakings, or as independent intermediaries. In addition, in the event that the commercial communication relates to the grouping of different loans or loans in one, it shall be provided, in a clear, concise and prominent manner, any type of expenditure related to that pool.

With regard to the information prior to the contract, the information that the company must provide to the consumer, with a minimum advance of fifteen days to the signature of the contract, on the own company, is established on the service offered and on the brokerage contract. This prior information includes essential elements for the adoption of an informed and responsible decision, such as the description of the main characteristics of the contracts and the total price to be paid by the consumer.

This law specifically contemplates the right of withdrawal in intermediary contracts. Thus, it is established that a right of withdrawal must be granted to the consumer in the 14 calendar days following the formalization of the contract, without any allegation of cause and without penalty.

Additional obligations are also regulated in the intermediation activity, so that companies that work exclusively for a credit institution or other company cannot receive any remuneration from the clients.

Independent companies will only be able to receive remuneration when the amount of remuneration has been agreed upon by paper or other durable support and companies are prohibited from receiving from customers or companies the price or funds constituting the main contract.

In addition, independent intermediaries will be obliged to select from the products offered on the market which are best suited to the characteristics which the consumer has told them, presenting them, to the less, three binding offers of credit institutions on whose legal and economic conditions it will advise the consumer.

Finally, the Law regulates in detail the transitional regime of adaptation to the requirements, the competences of the competences that cover its promulgation, the powers of development and its entry into force.

Therefore, with the fundamental objective of improving the protection of consumers and users, this Law extends to companies that offer loan or mortgage credit agreements, other than credit institutions, until now, in particular, obligations on the latter, in particular on the transparency of fees and rates and the pre-contractual information on mortgage loans and loans, and, in addition, a specific legal system to which undertakings carrying out intermediation operations are subject, in particular details for the assumptions of the reunification of loans or loans.

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Scope of application.

1. The provisions of this Law shall apply to the recruitment of consumers with those natural or legal persons (hereinafter referred to as undertakings) who, in a professional manner, perform any of the activities consisting of:

(a) The granting of loans or mortgage loans in the form of deferred payment, credit opening or any other equivalent means of financing.

(b) intermediation for the conclusion of a loan or credit agreement for any purpose, to a consumer, by means of the presentation, proposal or carrying out of preparatory work for the conclusion of the aforementioned contracts, including, where appropriate, the provision of such contracts to consumers for their subscription.

To suppliers of goods and services acting as intermediaries for the procurement of loans or loans for the financing of the products they market, only the provisions of the provisions of the Article 22.5.

They have the consideration of consumers the natural and legal persons who, in the contracts covered by this Law, act in an area other than their business or professional activity.

2. The provisions of this Law shall not apply where the activities provided for in the preceding paragraph are provided by credit institutions or their agents, or to the activities falling within the scope of Law 28/1998 of 13 July 1998. Sale to Plazos of Furniture.

3. The provisions of this Law shall be without prejudice to the provisions of other general laws or legislation to protect the rights of consumers and users, in particular the Royal Decree of 16 November 2007, Royal Decree 1/2007. The adoption of the recast text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other Complementary Laws, Law 7/1998, of 13 April, on general conditions of employment, Law 34/1988, of 11 November, General The Law of 23 July 1908, the Law of 23 July 1908 on the nullity of loan contracts, the Law of 7/1995, of 23 March, of Credit for Consumption and Law 22/2007 of 11 July 2007 on the distance marketing of financial services for consumers. In the event of a conflict, the rule that contains a more precise regime for monitoring the activities defined in the first paragraph shall be applicable or shall entail greater protection for consumers and users.

Article 2. Imperative character.

The rights recognized by this Law to consumers who engage in the activities included in the scope of this Law are indispensable, with no prior waiver of such rights and acts of law fraud, as provided for in Article 6 of the Civil Code.

Article 3. Public records of companies.

1. Prior to the commencement of the exercise of their activity, undertakings must register in the registers of the autonomous communities corresponding to their registered office.

2. Companies that carry out their activities on Spanish territory domiciled outside Spain must register in the State Register which is believed to be the National Institute of Consumption.

In the State Register, accessible by electronic means, the identifying data of the company, the territorial scope in which it develops its activity, the activity developed and the other extremes that Regulations shall be established. The identification data of the insurance or banking institution with which the liability insurance or bank guarantee provided for in Article 7 has been contracted shall also be included and any data relating to such insurance or guarantee which is establish in the aforementioned regulatory development.

3. The State Register shall also collect the data provided by the Autonomous Communities which, in the exercise of their powers, create records, and shall make available to the autonomic registers information on the data in the.

4. These records will be public and free of charge and will include up-to-date information to be provided by businesses.

5. Companies falling within the scope of this Act are required to provide truthful and verifiable information to the competent public administrations and to those responsible for the records.

Article 4. Transparency obligations in relation to contracts.

1. Companies must have at their disposal the general conditions of the procurement they use. Consumers will not have to face any expense or make any commitment to their reception. This information must be available on the companies ' website, if they are available to them, and in establishments open to the public or offices in which they provide their services.

2. The accessibility of persons with disabilities to the information provided for in the previous paragraph shall be ensured in the terms required by law or regulation.

Article 5. Transparency obligations in relation to prices.

1. Companies will freely establish their fees for commissions, conditions and expenses that are passed on to consumers, without other limitations than those contained in this Law, in the Law of 23 July 1908 and in the Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, 16 November, in the field of unfair terms.

In fee or compensation fees and exchangeable expenses, including advisory activities, the assumptions and, where applicable, periodicity with which they are applicable shall be indicated. The fees or compensation and expenditure incurred must be in response to services actually provided or to expenses incurred. In no case may fees or charges be charged for services not accepted or expressly requested by the consumer.

2. By way of derogation from the above paragraph:

(a) In the case of loans or mortgage loans, the provisions on compensation for early repayment shall apply to the specific legislation of the mortgage market, except in the case of loans or mortgage loans granted before 9 December 2007 and the contract provides for the scheme of the commission for early repayment contained in Law 2/1994 of 30 March on subrogation and modification of loans mortgage, in which case it will be applicable.

(b) In home loans or mortgage loans, the opening fee, which shall be payable only once, shall cover any costs of study, granting or processing of the loan or mortgage credit or other similar to the activity of the undertaking caused by the granting of the loan or credit. In the case of loans or loans denominated in foreign currency, the opening fee shall also include any currency exchange commission corresponding to the initial disbursement of the loan or credit.

The remaining charges and expenses incurred by the consumer, which the company applies to these loans or loans, must be in response to the provision of a specific service other than the concession or the ordinary loan or credit administration.

3. Companies will not be able to charge higher amounts than those resulting from the tariffs, applying more burdensome conditions or passing on unanticipated expenses.

4. Companies are obliged to notify the Registry in which they are registered, prior to their application, the prices of the services, the fees of the commissions or compensation and the costs to be incurred, which shall apply, at most, to the operations and services they provide, and the maximum interest rates of the products they market, including, where appropriate, interest rates for late payment.

5. The prices, fees and charges applicable in the preceding paragraph shall be included in a prospectus, which shall be drawn up in a clear, concrete and easily understandable manner for consumers, avoiding the inclusion of unnecessary or unnecessary irrelevant. This booklet, which will be available to consumers as provided for in the following Article, shall also be sent to the register in which they are registered and their content shall be in accordance with the rules which may be laid down by the Autonomous communities in the exercise of their powers.

Article 6. Bulletin board.

1. Companies will have, in each and every one of the establishments open to the public, a permanent bulletin board, which will be placed prominently in such a way as to attract the attention of the consumer. Its content must be easily readable by guaranteeing the accessibility of persons with disabilities, in the legal or regulatory terms required, enabling the consultation of the information to be included in the notice boards elsewhere in the establishment, provided that such circumstance is apparent on that board.

The board will collect all of the information that companies need to inform consumers, such as the availability and availability of the tariff brochure; reference to the existence of The Court of the Court of the European Communities, in which the Court of the Court of the European Communities, has held that the Court of Judgment of the Court of exercise of their powers.

Companies carrying out intermediation activities shall also report on the notice board of the consumer's right to withdraw from the intermediation contract within the following days following their formalisation, without any allegation cause and no penalty.

2. Undertakings which offer the possibility of carrying out their activities on the Internet shall include in the company's own management, in a sufficiently prominent position, their social name and, where appropriate, trade name, their registered office as well as a mention of their registration in the records referred to in Article 3 of this Law.

They will also include, in a similar position and in such a way as to attract the attention of the consumer, the information of mandatory insertion in the bulletin board regulated in this article, as well as the booklet of rates in order to consultation is accessible, simple and free, without prejudice to the cost of the connection. Both the information and the prospectus must be accessible to the general public, and their access to the company's clients cannot be restricted.

Article 7. Civil liability insurance or bank guarantee.

Prior to their registration in the records provided for in Article 3, companies must contract a liability insurance with an authorized entity or a bank guarantee covering the responsibilities in which the they may be liable to consumers for the loss arising from the performance of the services themselves of the activity of intermediation or the granting of loans or mortgage loans. The minimum guaranteed sum and the minimum amount of the guarantee shall be determined by regulation.

Article 8. Test.

It is up to companies to test their compliance with the obligations imposed on them by this Law.

Article 9. Infringements and penalties.

1. Failure by the companies to comply with the provisions of this Law will be punished as an infringement on consumer matters, with the provisions of the general sanctioning regime on consumer and user protection provided for in the book. First, Title IV of the recast text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws and regulations that are applicable.

2. Failure to comply with the obligation to register in the State Register provided for in Article 3 shall be deemed to be very serious, and the National Consumer Institute shall be responsible for the imposition of the penalties. Articles 51 and 52 of the recast text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws and supplementary rules.

Article 10. Extrajudicial resolution of conflicts.

Companies will be able to submit their disputes with consumers to consumer arbitration, through their adherence to the Consumer Arbitration System, as provided for in this specific regulation.

Article 11. Cessation actions.

1. The cessation of conduct against conduct contrary to this Law may be exercised which damages both collective and diffuse interests of consumers and users.

2. The cessation action is directed to obtain a judgment that condemns the defendant to cease in the conduct contrary to this Law and to prohibit its future reiteration. The action may also be exercised in order to prohibit the conduct of a conduct where the conduct has been completed at the time of the exercise of the action, if there is sufficient evidence to cause the action to be repeated in an immediate manner.

3. They will be entitled to exercise the cessation action:

(a) The National Institute of Consumption and the corresponding bodies or entities of the Autonomous Communities and of the relevant local consumer and user defence corporations.

(b) Consumer and user associations meeting the requirements set out in Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007 of 16 November, or, where appropriate, in the autonomous legislation on consumer and consumer protection. users.

c) The Fiscal Ministry.

4. All the entities referred to in the previous paragraph may be personified in the processes promoted by any other entity, if they deem it appropriate for the defence of the interests they represent.

CHAPTER II

Loan or mortgage credit hiring activity

Article 12. Commercial communications and advertising.

1. In the advertising and commercial communications of undertakings and in advertisements and offers displayed in their establishments open to the public in which loans or mortgage loans are offered, provided that the amount of the credit or loan, or an indication of interest rate or any figures related to the cost of credit or loan, companies should also mention the equivalent annual rate, by means of a representative example, as well as those other (i) extreme measures, which are compatible with the legislation on unfair commercial practices with the consumers, regulatively determine the autonomous communities.

2. In the event that the commercial communication relates to the grouping of different loans or loans in one, information shall be provided in a clear, concise and prominent form of any expenditure related to that group. In addition, it is prohibited to refer to the reduction of the monthly fee payable, without expressly mentioning the increase in the outstanding capital and the payment period of the new loan or credit.

Article 13. Information brochure on loans or mortgage loans.

1. Companies must inform consumers that they require loans or mortgage loans by means of free delivery of a prospectus containing the information provided for in Article 14.1.a) and the minimum content of the prospectus. Annex I to the Order of 5 May 1994 on the transparency of the financial conditions for mortgage loans.

The consumer may retain the prospectus, even if he chooses not to arrange the loan or credit with the company.

2. The information leaflet shall clearly indicate the preparatory costs of the operation, such as advice, assessment, verification of the registration of the property, or other items which are borne by the consumer even if the loan or loan is not it is to be granted, as well as the other extremes which, being compatible with Community legislation on the subject, will determine the autonomous communities. Information about these expenses is binding when the company makes the service directly or directly performs the service.

3. Information on other expenditure, interest rates, fees or charges shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article 5, expressly indicating the indicative nature of those who are subject to the outcome of the negotiations and the conditions concrete of the operation to be contracted.

The above is without prejudice to the provisions on advertising and unfair practices.

Article 14. Pre-contract information.

1. The company must provide the consumer free of charge, at least five calendar days in advance of the conclusion of the contract and, in any event, before it assumes any obligation arising from the offer or the loan agreement or mortgage credit, at least the following information:

a) As for the company itself:

1. Identity, number or code of tax identification, social reason, registered office and principal activity of the company.

2. º In your case, the company's website and its franchisee character.

3. A civil liability insurance policy or insurance or credit institution or credit institution to which you have contracted.

4. The registration, autonomic or state, in which the company is registered and its registration number.

b) As to the loan or mortgage credit offered:

1. A description of the main characteristics of the loan or credit agreement.

2. º The total price to be paid by the consumer to the company with the inclusion of all commissions, charges and expenses, as well as all taxes paid through the company or, when an exact price cannot be indicated, the base of calculation to allow the consumer to check the price, as well as the equivalent annual rate expressed by a representative example.

3. A warning indicating that the loan or credit offered is related to instruments or transactions that involve special risks, such as the price of the contract is significantly increased, already of its specific characteristics or of the operations to be carried out or whose price depends on fluctuations in financial markets outside the control of the company and whose historical results are not indicators of future results. In any event, the consumer shall, through such a warning, obtain adequate knowledge of the risks associated with the financing of these operations, with particular reference to the interest rate risk assumed.

4. The indication that there may be other taxes or expenses that are not paid through the company or that do not bill it itself. However, in the event that these expenses are caused by entities or persons designated by the undertaking, they must be stated which are and their value.

5. The payment and execution modes.

c) Regarding the loan or mortgage credit agreement:

1. The assumptions in which there is a right to obtain a binding offer as provided for in Article 16, its duration and the conditions and mode for exercising it.

2. Information about any right the parties may have to terminate the contract in advance or unilaterally under the applicable law and contract conditions, including compensation that can be contained in the contract in that case.

3. In terms of means of reclamation, which out-of-court resolution systems of conflicts can the consumer have access to and how they can access them.

4. No language or languages in which the contract may be concluded, in this case at the consumer's choice, where this is not the language in which the information prior to the contract has been offered.

5. Law and tax treatment applicable to the contract.

2. The information provided for in this Article shall be provided in writing or in any medium of a lasting nature which permits the recording of the date of its receipt by the recipient and its preservation, reproduction and access to such information.

3. Failure to comply with the requirements relating to prior information resulting from contracts, as well as those relating to the provision of such prior information, as laid down in this Article, may give rise to the invalidity of contracts, in accordance with the provisions of civil law, without prejudice to the integration of contracts as provided for in Articles 61 and 65 of the recast text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and other Laws complementary.

4. The autonomous communities may, in the exercise of their powers in the field of consumption, determine by way of regulation any other information compatible with Community legislation on the matter which the undertaking must communicate to the consumer. prior to the contract.

Article 15. Assessment of the good and other ancillary services.

1. Where the undertaking concerned or directly carries out the provision of the preparatory services for the operation, the expenditure of which is on behalf of the consumer, it shall indicate to the consumer the identity of the professionals or entities selected for that purpose. as to the fees of the applicable fees, and must provide the consumer with the service contracted by the company or provided by the company, if the mortgage loan or loan does not become formalized, or a copy in the contrary case.

In particular, companies must deliver the copy of the assessment report to the consumer if the transaction becomes formalized, or the original of the report, otherwise.

2. The services provided for in the preceding paragraph shall be provided in accordance with Article 14.2.

Article 16. Binding offer.

1. The valuation of the property and, where appropriate, the appropriate checks on the situation of the farm and the financial capacity of the borrower, the companies will be obliged to make a binding loan or loan offer to the consumer or, where appropriate, to notify him of the refusal of the loan or credit.

2. The offer shall be made in writing and shall specify, in the same order, the financial conditions for the financial clauses set out in Annex II to the Order of 5 May 1994 on the transparency of financial conditions. of mortgage loans, for loan writing. The tender must be signed by a representative of the company and, unless there are extraordinary or unimpeachable circumstances for the company, it shall be valid for no less than 10 working days from the date of delivery.

3. The document containing the binding offer shall include, in the case of acceptance of the tender, the right of the consumer to examine the draft contract document at a time of three days in the office of the notary. authorship.

Article 17. Contract.

1. The loan or mortgage credit agreements granted by the companies must comply with the conditions laid down in the Order of 5 May 1994 on the transparency of the financial conditions of the mortgage loans.

2. In addition, the contracts shall include, where appropriate, the rights which are contractually relevant to the parties in order to modify the total cost of the loan or credit. In any case, in the case of loans or mortgage loans granted by companies at variable interest rates, they may be used only as benchmarks or reference rates for those that meet the following conditions:

(a) That they are not exclusively dependent on the company itself, nor are they liable for influence by it under agreements or practices that are consciously parallel to other undertakings or entities.

b) That the data that is based on the index be aggregated according to a target mathematical procedure.

3. The individual notification to the consumer of the changes in the interest rate applicable shall not be required, in the case of loans or mortgage loans at the variable rate, where the following are given at the same time as the following: circumstances:

(a) That the use of an official index or reference rate of those provided for in the second order of the Order of 5 May 1994 on the transparency of the financial conditions of the Member States has been agreed. mortgage loans.

(b) the interest rate applicable to the loan or credit is defined in the form set out in points (a) or (b) of clause 3 (a) of Annex II to the Order of 5 May 1994 on the transparency of the financial conditions for mortgage loans.

4. In the case of early repayment of loans or mortgage loans, the provisions of the special legislation on mortgage markets will be available.

5. The public scriptures in which the loans or mortgage loans granted by the companies are formalized shall contain, in due course, the financial terms which shall conform their order and content to the provisions of the Annex II to that order of 5 May 1994. The other clauses of such contractual documents may not undermine the content of those documents to the detriment of the consumer.

Article 18. Notarial and registration duties.

1. In their condition as public servants and derived from their generic duty of control of the legality of the acts and businesses they authorize, the notaries shall refuse the authorization of the loan or credit with a mortgage guarantee when the same does not comply with the the legality and, in particular, the requirements laid down in this Law.

Similarly, registrars will deny the registration of the public loan or credit loan with mortgage guarantee when they do not comply with the law in force and, most especially, the requirements provided for in this Law.

2. In particular, notaries shall inform the consumer of the value and extent of the obligations which they assume, and in any event they shall:

(a) Check whether there are discrepancies between the pre-contract information, the financial terms of the binding loan or credit offer and the legal and financial clauses of the contract document, warning the consumer of the differences which, if any, he would have found and his right to withdraw from the operation.

(b) In the case of a variable interest loan or credit, expressly warn the consumer when any of the following circumstances arise:

1. The index or interest rate agreed on is not one of the officers referred to in the second order of the Order of 5 May 1994 on the transparency of the financial conditions of the mortgage loans.

2. º The interest rate applicable during the initial period is lower than the one that would be theoretically applicable in that initial period of the variable interest rate agreed for subsequent periods.

3. That limits to the variation of the interest rate would have been set. In particular, where the limitations are not such as to be upward and downward, the notary shall expressly state in the deed that circumstance, thereby warning both parties, unless the provisions of Article 84 of the Treaty are applicable. recast of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws, in which case it shall proceed as indicated in that provision.

c) In the case of loans or loans at a fixed interest rate, the actual cost of the transaction which is recorded for information purposes in the document is effectively matched by the financial conditions of the loan or credit.

(d) In the event that an amount is provided to satisfy the creditor on the occasion of early repayment of the loan or credit, or that the consumer's powers are otherwise restricted or not expressly mentioned, expressly record such a circumstance in writing, and warn the consumer thereof.

e) In the event that the loan or credit is denominated in foreign currency, it will warn the consumer about the risk of exchange rate fluctuation.

f) Check that none of the non-financial clauses in the contract imply, for the consumer, commissions or expenses that should have been included in the financial clauses.

3. The decision of the official to refuse the authorization of the loan or credit with a mortgage guarantee, or the registration of any of its clauses, shall be made by means of a reasoned written statement in facts and grounds of law. Such a decision shall be brought before the General Directorate of the Registers and the Notary in accordance with the specific legislation.

CHAPTER III

Intermediation activity

Article 19. Commercial communications and advertising.

1. In advertising and commercial communications and in advertisements and offers displayed in establishments open to the public of undertakings in which the intermediary is offered for the conclusion of a loan or credit agreement, with any purpose, provided that they indicate the interest rate or any figures relating to the cost of the credit or loan, the requirements laid down by the rules applicable to the loan or credit in question shall be met. on which the intermediation is offered, as well as those other extremes which, being compatible with the legislation on unfair commercial practices with consumers, regulatively establishing the autonomous communities.

2. In the course of these activities, the commercial communications of the undertakings must indicate in an express and unequivocal manner that the activity being promoted is an intermediary in the granting of loans or loans.

3. Undertakings shall indicate, in their commercial communications and advertising, the scope of their functions and representation, specifying in particular whether they work exclusively with a credit institution or an undertaking or linked to a number of entities. credit or other companies, or as independent intermediaries.

They are intermediary of loans or independent loans companies that, without maintaining contractual links that involve credit institutions or companies that commercialize loans or loans, offer advice independent, professional and impartial to those who demand their intervention to obtain a credit or loan. It is presumed, in any case, that independent, professional and impartial advice has existed when the three binding offers provided for in Article 22.4 are submitted.

4. In the event that the commercial communication relates to the grouping of different loans or loans in one, information shall be provided in a clear, concise and prominent form of any expenditure related to that group. In addition, it is prohibited to refer to the reduction of the monthly fee payable, without expressly mentioning the increase in the outstanding capital and the payment period of the new loan or credit.

Article 20. Pre-contract information.

1. Companies carrying out the intermediation activities shall provide the consumer free of charge, with a minimum of 15 calendar days in advance of the conclusion of the intermediation contract and, in any event, before he/she takes office. any obligation arising from the contract, at least the following information:

a) As for the company itself:

1. Identity, number or code of tax identification, social reason, registered office and principal activity of the company.

2. º In your case, the company's website and its franchisee character.

3. A civil liability insurance policy or insurance or credit institution or credit institution to which you have contracted.

4. The registration, autonomic or state, in which the company is registered and its registration number.

b) As for the offered intermediation service:

1. A description of the main characteristics of broker contracts.

2. º The total price to be paid by the consumer to the company for the service provided, including all fees, charges and expenses, as well as all taxes paid through the company or, where a exact price, the calculation basis that allows the consumer to check the price.

3. Indication that there may be other taxes or expenses that are not paid through the company or that do not bill it itself. However, in the event that these expenses are caused by entities or persons designated by the undertaking, they must be stated which are and their value.

4. The payment and execution modes.

5. In addition, if the pool of loans or loans is proposed in one, the equivalent annual rate and the essential characteristics of the proposed loan or credit and its comparison with the loans or loans which are proposed to be grouped together. The comparison shall also take into account all expenses and fees for the intermediation service and all expenses and fees of the proposed loan or credit agreement.

c) As for the broker contract:

1. The existence of the right of withdrawal, its duration and the conditions and mode for exercising it.

2. Information about any right, other than the one referred to in the previous point, that the parties may have to terminate the contract in advance or unilaterally under the applicable law and to the terms of the contract, including compensation that may be contained in the contract in that case.

3. In terms of means of reclamation, which out-of-court resolution systems of conflicts can the consumer have access to and how they can access them.

4. No language or languages in which the contract may be concluded, in this case, at the choice of the consumer, where this is not the language in which the information prior to the contract has been offered.

5. Law and tax treatment applicable to the contract.

2. The information provided for in this Article shall be binding and shall be provided in writing or in any medium of a lasting nature which permits the constancy, preservation, reproduction and access of the information and the date of receipt of the information. by the recipient.

3. Failure to comply with the requirements relating to prior information resulting from contracts, as well as those relating to the provision of such prior information, as laid down in this Article, may give rise to the invalidity of contracts, in accordance with the provisions of civil law, without prejudice to the integration of contracts as provided for in Articles 61 and 65 of the recast text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and other Laws complementary.

4. The autonomous communities may, in the exercise of their powers in the field of consumption, determine by way of regulation any other information compatible with Community legislation on the matter which the undertaking must communicate to the consumer. prior to the contract.

Article 21. Contract.

1. Intermediation contracts concluded by undertakings with consumers shall be recorded in writing or any other durable medium which permits their constancy, and shall be formalised in as many copies as parties, and shall be delivered to each one of them their duly signed copy. They shall explicitly and clearly collect at least the content relating to the pre-contract information referred to in the previous Article.

2. The consumer may withdraw within the 14 calendar days following the formalisation of the intermediary contract without any allegation of cause and without penalty.

Article 22. Additional obligations in the intermediation activity.

1. Undertakings which work exclusively for one or more credit institutions or other undertakings may not receive any remuneration from customers.

2. Independent undertakings may only receive remuneration when the amount of the remuneration has been agreed upon by paper or other durable medium.

3. Companies are prohibited from receiving the price or funds that constitute the main contract from consumers.

4. Independent companies will be obliged to select from the products offered on the market those which are best suited to the characteristics which the consumer has expressed to them, presenting at least three binding offers of credit institutions or other undertakings on whose legal and economic conditions it shall advise the consumer.

5. Companies, in the intermediary activity, are obliged, in any case, to provide the consumer with the information that is required by the specific rules on the contract or loan or credit agreements they offer to the consumer.

Single additional disposition. Regulatory references.

The citations of this Law to the Order of 5 May 1994, on the transparency of the financial conditions of the mortgage loans, will be understood to be made to any other subsequent provision that will modify or repeal it and by that the Ministry of Economy and Finance regulate the transparency of the financial conditions of mortgage loans.

Single transient arrangement. Transitional arrangements for adaptation to the required requirements.

1. Undertakings which carry out the activities covered by this Law which, on the entry into force of the Act, do not comply with the requirements laid down in Articles 12 and 19, in relation to commercial communications and advertising, must be adapted to the same within the maximum period of three months from its entry into force.

2. The requirements relating to transparency obligations in relation to contracts, pre-contract information, the form and content requirements of contracts, as well as the obligations relating to valuation and ancillary services, Compensation scheme for early repayment, opening fee on loans or mortgage loans on housing and binding offer, as provided for in Articles 4, 5 14, 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21, will be enforceable in relations pre-contractual terms and contracts to be concluded as from the entry into force of this Law.

The requirements relating to transparency obligations in relation to the prices and the bulletin board, as provided for in Articles 5 and 6, will be required after three months from the entry into force of this Regulation. Law.

3. Once the public records of undertakings referred to in Article 3 have been established, the undertakings shall be registered within three months of the date of their establishment.

After six months after the entry into force of this Law, companies whose registered office is located in an autonomous community which, in the exercise of its powers, has chosen not to create the public register In that period, they shall be provisionally registered in the State Register governed by that Article within the period laid down in the preceding paragraph, without prejudice to the transfer of the data to the Autonomous Register by the State Register competent when appropriate to its constitution.

Final disposition first. Amendment of Law 19/1993 of 28 December on certain measures for the prevention of money laundering.

Paragraph 2 (c) of Article 2 (2) of Law 19/1993 of 28 December 1993 on certain measures for the prevention of money laundering is worded as follows:

" (c) Natural or legal persons acting in the exercise of their profession as auditors, external accountants or tax advisors, as well as natural or legal persons, other than those referred to in paragraph 1 prior to, professionally engaged in the activity of granting loans or loans or intermediation in the granting of loans or loans. "

Final disposition second. Competence title.

This law is dictated by the provisions of article 149.1.1., 6. ª., 8. ª, 11. and 13. of the Spanish Constitution.

Final disposition third. Faculty of development.

1. It is for the autonomous communities, in their respective territorial scope, to approve the rules for the development and implementation of this Law, except as provided for in Articles 3, in relation to the State Register, and 7 in respect of the fixing of the amount of the minimum insured sum and the minimum amount of the guarantee.

2. The Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs is enabled to develop the provisions of Article 3 of this Law. In any event, within six months of the entry into force of this Law, the State Register referred to in Article 3 shall be constituted.

Final disposition fourth. Entry into force.

This Law shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this Law.

Madrid, 31 March 2009.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO