MFSA Revise PQ Form: Circular to the Financial Services Industry

Changes have been made by the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) to the Personal Questionnaire (“PQ”) Form which is used to carry out a due diligence assessment of:

• Individual qualifying shareholders;
• Members of the management bodies;
• Key function holders of potential applicants;
• As well as other licensed entities.

Revisions are being made to the MFSA Rules to remove the 21-day time limit for the approval of directors, senior managers, compliance officers and money laundering reporting officers.

Furthermore, the MFSA will now be provided with information which was not previously addressed in the preceding version of the PQ Form and which should further enhance the due diligence process. To this end, the PQ Form has been amended as follows:

• Some preliminary questions have been inserted regarding whether the applicant has ever been approved by the MFSA or any other regulatory authority;
• Employment history is no longer limited to the 10 years;
• Sections regarding other relevant experience and professional references have been inserted;
• Company secretary positions are looked into apart from directorships, and the MFSA would also appreciate certified true copies of any relevant documentation such as exit letters from directorship and company secretary positions;
• The PQ Form now specifies that Appendix One must be completed for each banker pertaining to the applicant;
• A wider section has been inserted regarding the applicant’s current and previous financial services regulatory approvals;
• Further questions on general information pertaining to the applicant have been inserted;
• Aside from the usual requested documents (Appendix One, Two and Three, an identification document and police conduct certificate) the MFSA are also specifically requesting a copy of a utility bill confirming the residential address of the application, as supporting documentation;
• A new checklist has also been introduced in order to ensure that all supporting documentation is provided by applicants on submission of the PQ Form to the MFSA;
• In the case where the entity involved is a licensed credit institution, a summary of the credit institution’s suitability assessment results regarding the proposed appointment must be submitted to the MFSA within 6 weeks of submitting the PQ Form.

The above mentioned changes will come into force on the 1st December 2015, as of which date the PQ Form must be submitted to the MFSA in the new format.

Kindly find a copy of the Circular here which provides a link to the revised PQ Form.

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