Code of ethics

Code of Ethics of the non-profit association ASSOCIATION OF CREDIT INTERMEDIARIES IN BULGARIA

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 1. /1/ The Code of Ethics of the Association of Credit Intermediaries in Bulgaria (hereinafter “ACIB”, the “Association” or the “Non-profit Association”) sets out the principles and rules of conduct that every member of the ACIB must observe in order to ensure compliance with professional ethics, fair competition and equal treatment in carrying out its activity under market conditions.

/2/ This Code of Ethics sets standards of ethical conduct and professional responsibility for each ACIB member, in the internal relations between the Association’s members and in the relations between members and third parties: clients, users of credit intermediation services, and lenders, i.e. banks and other credit or financial institutions.

Art. 2. (1) By voting to adopt the code, every member of the Association declares that it accepts and will comply with this Code of Ethics.

/2/ In their application for admission, every candidate for membership of the Association declares that, in addition to the ACIB Statute, they will comply with this Code of Ethics.

/3/ The rules of the Code of Ethics are equally binding on all ACIB members.

Art. 3. The Code of Ethics is to be developed and improved so that it matches social development as fully as possible.

II. GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND FAIR COMPETITION. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS.

General principles and fair competition.

Art. 4. All ACIB members undertake to comply strictly with the Protection of Competition Act and, in addition to the sanctions provided for in that Act, are accountable to the Association for doing so.

Art. 5. /1/ In their relations with clients and lenders, and in their relations with one another, ACIB members always act honestly, openly and in good faith.

/2/ In their relations with all representatives of the professional community, ACIB members show respect, fairness and collegiality and do not allow behaviour that undermines the dignity and rights of the individual.

Art. 6. (1) Members of the ACIB association do not engage in unfair competition or in competition that may harm the good name of the profession or damage the Association, one of its members or another professional in the sector.

/2/ ACIB members distinguish between acting in a professional and a personal capacity and do not allow personal interests to determine professional decisions.

Relations between ACIB members.

Art. 7. (1) Relations between ACIB members are based on the principle of mutual trust, tolerance and ethics. ACIB members exchange information with each other that is up to date and reliable.

/2/ A member of a governing body of the ACIB may not in any form use that position to obtain any advantages or benefits for a company that he or she manages or that is connected with him or her.

Art. 8. /1/ Members of the ACIB shall not use false or misleading information in advertising about their own or their competitors’ activity and shall not apply an advertising approach that is contrary to good commercial practice and harms, or may harm, their relations with one another or their relations with clients.

/2/ Any advertisement or other public statement that creates a false or exaggerated impression of the quality, terms and nature of the activity carried out and the services provided is considered unethical.

Art. 9. (1) Members of the Association should attract new clients by highlighting the advantages of their own offer, not by making negative comparisons with the offers of other members.

/2/ Good practice does not allow credit intermediaries to discredit their colleagues and competitors in the Association through public assessment and/or criticism of their activity, or through statements against their person or activity.

/3/ In the event of a dispute between members of the ACIB, whether it concerns a moral and ethical professional matter or one of another nature, they shall make efforts to settle it voluntarily, observing the principles of mutual understanding, partnership and tolerance.

Art. 10. (1) Deliberately poaching the clients of another credit intermediary that is an ACIB member is a breach of ethics.

/2/ Any actions or behaviour in the course of business that are contrary to fair commercial practice and harm or may harm the interests of competitors in their relations with each other or with clients are considered a breach of professional ethics.

Art. 11. (1) The manager of a company that is an ACIB member may not take deliberate action aimed at recruiting an employee of another member of the Association to work at their company.

/2/ If a former employee of a company that is a member of the ACIB takes up a job with another member, the latter must behave loyally and must not take actions aimed at forcing the employee to disclose confidential information obtained during and in connection with the performance of his or her duties for the previous employer, nor use such information to the detriment of the previous employer.

Art. 12. ACIB members accept a moral obligation not to take actions that damage the reputation of the Association.

Relations with clients.

Art. 13. ACIB members provide complete, reliable and accessible information about the main services they offer and about any fees the client owes the credit intermediary for its services.

Art. 14. In their pre-contractual and contractual relations with clients, ACIB members respect the interests and rights of every client, in compliance with the legislation in force, the company’s internal rules and policies, and this Code.

Art. 15. Members of the ACIB advise their clients depending on the specifics of the case, giving accurate and professional information about the loan terms offered and every additional service related to it, so that the clients can assess how far the loan or additional service offered corresponds to their needs and financial situation.

Art. 16. If an ACIB member charges a mortgage or consumer loan client a fee for the credit intermediation service offered, the credit intermediary must state the fee clearly.

Art. 17. Members of the ACIB (including their employees) shall not accept or provoke the giving of any unregulated material or non-material benefits (other than the usual gifts of thanks given by a satisfied client for a job well done) with a view to performing or refraining from performing certain actions in the course of duty.

Art. 18. ACIB members do not in any way obstruct the client’s right to choose a credit intermediary and/or lender, or a product or service, unless required by law.

Art. 19. ACIB members publish on their websites and/or inform their clients of the existence of this Code of Ethics and of the possibility of reporting a breach of it.

Relations with creditors.

Art. 20. /1/ In their relations with partner lenders, ACIB members act openly and honestly, in line with the generally accepted principles and standards of fairness and good commercial practice.

/2/ In their dealings with representatives and employees of lenders, ACIB members show good manners and respect.

Art. 21. /1/ ACIB members provide their clients, users of a credit intermediation service, with accurate, reliable and objective information about the loan terms offered by partner lenders.

/2/ ACIB members give lenders accurate information about any fees they charge consumers for the credit intermediation service.

Art. 22. ACIB members do not take actions aimed at deliberately damaging the good name and reputation of partner lenders.

Art. 23. If a former employee of a creditor takes up a job with a member of the ACIB, the latter must behave loyally and must not take actions aimed at forcing the employee to disclose information obtained during and in connection with the performance of his or her duties for the creditor which constitutes banking secrecy or other confidential information, nor improperly use such information to the detriment of the previous employer.

Art. 24. Payments by a credit intermediary to lenders’ employees for referring a client to that member’s services are considered unethical.

III. PROCEDURE FOR ESTABLISHING BREACHES OF THE CODE OF ETHICS. ETHICS COMMITTEE. SANCTIONS FOR BREACHES OF THE CODE OF ETHICS.

Art. 25. /1/ Any ACIB member or interested third party, such as a client, a user of a credit intermediation service, a lender or others (the Reporting Party), may report to the Management Board of the Association that a member of the Association has acted in breach of this Code of Ethics.

/2/ The report must be submitted in writing, either electronically to the Association’s official email address or on paper to the Association’s registered address.

/3/ The report must contain: details of the Reporting Party, a telephone number and an address for correspondence, including an email address; a description of the specific conduct that the Reporting Party considers a breach and of its perpetrator, and all circumstances known to the Reporting Party that relate to the specific ethical case. The Reporting Party should submit documents and/or other evidence, if available, in support of their claims.

/4/ Anonymous or oral complaints are not considered.

/5/ Complaints about breaches alleged to have been committed more than one year before the complaint was filed are not considered either.

Art. 26. /1/ Within 5 (five) working days of receipt of the report, the Chair of the Management Board of the ACIB notifies in writing the member against whom a report of a breach of the Code of Ethics has been filed (the Respondent), giving the Respondent a period of no more than 7 (seven) working days to take appropriate action to remedy any breach that may have been committed, to restore the consequences of it, or to settle the relations in another suitable way. The Chair of the ACIB also notifies the Reporting Party of the period given to the Respondent to settle the relations.

/2/ If, within the period under the preceding paragraph, the Reporting Party has not received a resolution of the ethical case that is satisfactory to them, they have the right to ask for their report to be examined under the Procedure for Handling Reports set out below in this Code of Ethics. For this purpose the Reporting Party notifies the Chair of the Management Board of the ACIB in writing.

Procedure for Handling Reports.

Art. 27. /1/ Within 7 (seven) working days of receipt of written notice from the Reporting Party that he or she wishes the report to be examined under the Procedure for Handling Reports, the Management Board of the ACIB convenes a dedicated temporary Ethics Committee (the Ethics Committee) to examine the report received.

/2/ The Ethics Committee consists of three members elected by the Management Board who have agreed to serve on it. In its decision to convene the committee, the Management Board also elects the Chair of the Ethics Committee from among its members.

/3/ A person who is a member of the ACIB Management Board, or who represents the member against whom the complaint has been filed, may not be appointed to the Ethics Committee.

/4/ When examining a complaint about a breach of this Code of Ethics, the members of the Ethics Committee act according to their own conscience and conviction.

Art. 28. The Chair of the Ethics Committee notifies the Respondent of the report against it and gives it 7 (seven) working days in which it may submit a written response on the ethical case set out in the report and present relevant evidence.

Art. 29. (1) The Ethics Committee considers the report and may require members of the Association or third parties to provide details and information on the ethical case, in compliance with the legal provisions on protection of trade secrets and personal data.

/2/ ACIB members may refuse to provide the Ethics Committee with information or documents that may constitute the company’s trade secrets.

Art. 30. /1/ Within 30 (thirty) days of its convening, the Ethics Committee examines the report received and delivers a reasoned opinion on the absence or presence of an established breach of this Code of Ethics or of the Statute. The opinion of the Ethics Committee is adopted by a simple majority of its members. Where it finds that a breach exists, the Ethics Committee proposes in its opinion the imposition of a specific sanction from those provided for in Art. 32(1) of this Code of Ethics.

/2/ At the request of the Chair of the Committee, the period under paragraph 1 may be extended by the Chair of the Management Board.

/3/ The opinion of the Ethics Committee under para. 1 is sent to the Chair of the Management Board of the ACIB, who brings it to the attention of the Management Board for a decision and for follow-up action.

Art. 31. (1) The final decision on a report of a breach of the Code of Ethics is taken by the ACIB Management Board on the basis of the Ethics Committee’s reasoned opinion.

/2/ Where the matter set out in the complaint falls within the jurisdiction of a particular regulator, the ACIB Management Board may decide to refer the complaint to the competent authority or recommend that the Complainant do so themselves.

/3/ The Chair of the Management Board notifies the Reporting Party and the Respondent of the decision taken and, at his or her discretion, sends them a copy of the opinion of the Ethics Committee.

Art. 32. /1/ Where, as a result of the Procedure for examining reports, the Management Board of the ACIB concludes that a breach of this Code of Ethics has been committed, it may adopt a decision to: a) require the member concerned to remedy the breach and/or its consequences; b) recommend measures to the member concerned, through the application of which the member can correct its conduct and bring its actions into line with the norms and rules of this Code; c) remove, for up to 1 year, the marketing information about the member concerned from the “Members” section of the Association’s website and other current listings of the Association’s members; d) impose a financial penalty of €256 to €511 for a first breach and €511 to €2,556 for a repeated breach of the same nature; e) warn the member concerned that, in the event of a repeated breach of the same nature, a proposal for its exclusion will be made to the General Meeting of the ACIB in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Association; f) propose to the General Meeting of the ACIB the exclusion of the Member, in accordance with the Statute of the Association.

/2/ The decision of the ACIB General Meeting to expel a Member is published on the Association’s website.

Art. 33. The Ethics Committee may propose amendments and/or additions to this Code of Ethics, which the Management Board puts to the vote at the next regular or extraordinary General Meeting of the Association.

IV. FINAL PROVISIONS.

Art. 34. This code was adopted by the ACIB General Meeting on 21 September 2021 and enters into force one month after its adoption.

Art. 35. Only the ACIB General Meeting may amend this code.