By means of a notice issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) on the 15th July 2020, the MFSA reminded all licence holders of their obligations in relation to record keeping.
In order to ensure consumer protection, compliance with regulatory obligations, as well as supervision by the MFSA, it is expected that licence holders maintain in a centralised location, and have readily available for inspection, documentation and records relating to the governance and supervision of regulated activity and their interactions with customers in accordance with their legal and regulatory obligations. This obligation extends to all communication relating to the client, onboarding process and client acceptance procedures. Moreover, communication and documentation in initial stages between the licence holder and potential clients or customers must be retained, irrespective whether they are ultimately onboarded or not.
The MFSA noted that numerous onsite visits performed by the MFSA have been prolonged due to record keeping issues within the licence holder. The MFSA also noted that it will not proceed with an inspection if the licence holder does not provide information in a timely manner and may consider further action on licence holders that fail to abide by the requirements.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further information regarding the licence holder’s obligations in relation to record keeping.
