Business Credit information

Bills of these ordinances were submitted and adopted by decision of each Parliament pursuant to §§ 6(10) and 161(4) of this Act. These rules may be described as the rules for small and medium-sized enterprises (credit information) 2015. 2. These Regulation shall enter into Force on 1 January 2016.

"Credit Information" means information about a company listed in the Annex; "Designated Company" means a nominated named banking institution or credit information centre; "the FCA" means the Financial Control Authority; "the PRA" means the Regulatory Authority;

"Related requirement" means a request to a nominated banking institution under Regulations 3 or 5, a request to a nominated credit bureau under Regulations 6 or 7, or a request or ban to a non-authorised individual issued by or pursuant to Part 5 or Part 6; an entity having an UK domicile, whose main business is carrying on business operations, is not part of a group having a total net sales of at least 25 million; "Subsidiary" means a wholly owned affiliate under section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006.

2. In these Regulations, a references to a financial service supplier shall not imply a references to a financial service supplier that provides credit only by making available goods or provision of a service before paying part or all of the amount payable for those goods or provision of those goods orervices. a) the credit bureau has asked the credit bureau to make the information available; b) the enquiry complies with the requirement of Rule 4; but 2 ) Clause 1 does not oblige a credit bureau to make available information about a client who does not agree to the credit bureau being provided with information about them (see Rule 5).

3. The credit institution shall furnish such information within a time limit of 30 calendar days from the date on which the credit institution receives the application. 4. The credit bureau shall keep the information updated by the credit bureau in each of the months following the date on which the information was first transmitted, unless the credit bureau has notified the credit bureau in written form that it no longer needs such updating.

ii ) a former client of the originator; b) identifying any client or former client about whom no up-to-date information is provided in accordance with subsection (a) and indicating in each case whether such confidence is placed in subsection (a)(i) or (a)(ii); c) containing information about any client of the originator who is a small or medium-sized enterprise about which such information has not been provided to date, if the client has consented to the credit bureau (see Rule 5).

b ) where no such arrangement exists, by electronic means in a form that can be consulted by means of computer programs normally used to obtain corporate finance information. 7. When first supplying information to each appointed credit bureau, the information referred to in point 3 of the Appendix which it possesses shall be made available by the credit institution for a six-month term ending on the day on which the credit institution provides the information.

b ) by the credit institution to the credit bureau or by the credit institution to the credit bureau in general as the individual to whom such applications should be addressed or, if no such individual has been designated, to the central administration of the same. a) may request information within the meaning of paragraph 1 to 3 of the Annex; b) may not request only part of the information within the meaning of one of these paragraph 1 retained by a banking institution about its small and medium-sized business clients.

a) The agreement may be indicated by the incorporation in the Conditions under which a nominated named institution provides a service to a client of a time limit under which the client consents to the supply of information about the client to credit reporting institutions (including such a time limit incorporated in the form of an amendment); c) the agreement may be indicated by a time limit in a agreement between the institution and its client prior to the date of a query pursuant to Rule 3 paragraph 1 letter a).

2. Where a nominated institution begins to supply a client with a specified supply of services on or after the date of entry into effect of these provisions, the institution shall incorporate in the standardised conditions under which it provides the supply of the services a time limit stating that the client agrees to the supply of information concerning that supply of services in accordance with Rule 3(1).

a) the financial service supplier has asked the credit bureau to make the information available; b) the entity to which the information refers has consented that the information be made available to the financial service supplier and the financial service supplier has endorsed this arrangement vis-à-vis the credit bureau; c) the financial service supplier has consented to the default conditions under which the credit bureau provides credit information on small and medium-sized enterprises, comprising the charging of a fee for the supply of such information;

d ) the financial services institution has fulfilled all the requirements set out in those requirements prior to the provision of the information; ii) that relate to the date from which the credit bureau first makes credit information available to the financial services institution; f) that the financial services institution has acknowledged that the default policy for all services it will offer to small and medium-sized business clients in the future provides for an arrangement by the client that the financial services institution may disclose credit information to credit bureaus.

b ) the supply of such information would be illegal. a) the Company's capacity to pay back any debt arising from the supply of such financing, loans or credits; b) the Financial Service Provider's capacity to check the identities of its affiliates and take anti-fraud measures; d) the need for the Financial Service Provider to meet its regulatory or other regulatory requirements generally in connection with the supply of financing, loans or credits.

7. 1. A nominated credit bureau shall make available to the Bank of England on demand information which it has obtained in accordance with Rule 3 or Rule 6. The Bank of England shall make available to the Treasury Department, on demand, information which it has obtained from a nominated credit bureau in accordance with subparagraph (1), but in such a form that it is not possible to obtain information about a particular small or medium-sized enterprise.

i) such information has already been legally made available to the general public; ii) such information is in the format of a compilation or compilation of information which is designed in such a way that it is not possible to obtain information about any particular individual from it; iii) the individual to whom the information refers has given his or her agreement to such release; iv) such release is for the purpose of a judicial inquiry or proceeding in the United Kingdom or elsewhere; vi) such release is made under an EU Undertaking.

5. For the purpose of subparagraph (4)(b), the references to the Banque de England in subparagraph (3)(b) shall be construed as references to the PRA. Non-performance of an undertaking under Rule 3 by a nominated banking institution or a nominated credit bureau to fulfil Rule 6 shall be possible upon action by a losing party resulting from such non-performance, except in the case of objections and other events applicable to claims for violation of the legal requirement.

9. 1. For the purpose of this Regulation, the Ministry of Finances may appoint and withdraw a credit bureau or credit bureau. and ( ii ) a financial service institution which is a member of a group of banks within the meaning of section 1164 of the Companies Act 2006(5). 2. The Treasury shall withdraw the name of a financial institution which is no longer covered by paragraphs (1)(a) or (b).

a) the value of the Bank's outstanding loans to small and medium-sized enterprises; b) the value as a percentage of the overall value of outstanding loans to small and medium-sized enterprises; c) the importance of the Bank's outstanding loans to small and medium-sized enterprises for the Northern Ireland business world.

4. When considering whether to appoint a credit institution or withdraw the appointment of a credit institution, the Ministry of Finance may also consider other issues which it considers appropriate. 1. Before appointing a particular institution or withdrawing the appointment of a particular institution, the Ministry of Finance may seek the advice of the Bank of England and any other persons it deems appropriate.

2. In considering whether to appoint or withdraw a credit institution, the Ministry of Finance may have recourse to advise or information provided in reply to the consultations referred to in subparagraph (1). a) carries out any activity consisting primarily in providing individuals with information that is pertinent to the ability of individuals or undertakings to meet their obligations and, for that reason, in collecting information; b) has in place processes to implement the Data Protection Act 1998(6) and Section 158 to 160 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974(7); c) allows all small and medium-sized enterprises on which it has information to gain control of that information and contest any inaccuracy; e) has in place arrangements able to provide information in large quantities.

a) the Authority's current involvement in providing information pertinent to the UK personal or business situation; i) the abilities and experiences of those individuals who supervise and direct the operations of the Authority; ii) whether such individuals can be reasonably expected to act in good faith; c) other issues which they consider appropriate.

a) the corporation formed on 18 July 2013 as a privately held liability corporation under firm number 08616013 and re-registered on 29 October 2013 as a British Business Bank plc as a publicly held liability corporation; c) any other individual it deems appropriate. 2. In considering whether to appoint or withdraw the appointment of a credit bureau, the Ministry of Finance may draw on advise or information provided in reply to the consultations referred to in subparagraph (1).

Section 7 (Right of Accessibility to Personally Identifiable Data)(8) and Section 9 (Application of Section 7 if the person responsible for processing the information is a credit bureau)(9) of the 1998 Act on the Protection of Credit Information and all provisions contained in these Section 7 shall be applicable to a named credit bureau which does not come within the scope of the term "credit bureau" in Section 70(1) of this Act as if it fell within that scope.

2. Section 157 to 160 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974(10) and all arrangements made in that section shall be applicable to a named credit bureau which does not engage in any business of the kind referred to in Section 89B of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001(11) (provision of credit references) as if it had engaged in such business.

3. In the case where the Ministry of Finance withdraws the appointment of a named credit bureau, paragraph (1) and (2) shall remain applicable to that credit bureau for a maximum of two years from the date of withdrawal, after which they shall expire. b )information made available to a named credit bureau pursuant to Rule 3, paragraph 1, which shall be kept by that credit bureau during the term in which it is a named credit bureau and, in the case of withdrawal of its appointment by the Ministry of Finance, for a further term of two years from the date of withdrawal of its appointment.

2. Where a judicial authority is convinced, at the request of a natural or legal person, that the information concerning that natural or legal person is incorrect, the judicial authority may instruct the credit bureau which holds the information to correct, bar, erase as well as delete that information and any other information containing an express statement of views which the judicial authority considers to have been made on the basis of the incorrect information.

ii ) if the claimant has informed the credit bureau of the claimant's opinion that the information is incorrect, the information indicates that the fact that (b) if the tribunal is not so pleased, the tribunal may issue a ruling which it considers appropriate to ascertain that the credit bureau which holds the information is taking appropriate action to safeguard the correctness of the information, and that the information reflects the claimant's opinion that the information is incorrect, with or without a further order which requires the information to be accompanied by such a declaration as a declaration, such as that required by the order, that the information is incorrect, and that the information reflects the claimant's opinion that the information is incorrect, with or without a further order which requires the information to be accompanied by such a declaration, that the information is incorrect

b ) is convinced, at the request of a natural or legal person, that the information concerning that natural or legal person which has been corrected, blocked, deleted or disposed of was incorrect, he may, if he deems it reasonably feasible, inform the credit bureau which holds or has hold of the incorrect information of the correction, blockage, deletion or disposal to third persons to whom the information has been communicated.

a) in section 226(2)(b) of this Act (Mandatory Jurisdiction)(12), after "Payment Services Regulations 2009", "or a nominated credit bureau " has been added; b) in section 226(4) of this Act, after "after section 22", "or the provision of information to any person having relevance to the business and related operations by a nominated credit report" has been added;

c) in Section 232A of this Act (Obligation of the network provider to make information available to the FCA)(13), after "the operative aims of the FCA", "or which might otherwise assist the FCA in fulfilling one of the tasks of the FCA under the rules for small and medium-sized enterprises (credit information) in 2015" has been added;

c) The "designated credit agency" had the significance set out in section 7(2) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015; d) In section 234(1) of this Act (Sector Finance)(14), after "Payment Services Regulations 2009" were introduced, "or a nominated credit bureau"; e) The "nominated credit bureau" had the significance set out in section 7(2) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015; f) The FCA must have binding jurisdictional regulations (within the terms of section 226(3) of the Act 2000) concerning the operation of the provision of information by nominated credit reporting institutions to individuals responsible for the economic performance of a business.

b) an infringement of Rule 34 (misleading the FCA) has occurred. 2. The FCA shall also make provision to allow it to implement the applicable provisions. a) the functioning of these Regulations; b) any matter related to the functioning of the FCA under this Part; c) any other matter on which the FCA deems it desirable to provide information or advise related to these Regulations.

3. The provisions of Section 138I of Act 2000 (Consultation by the FCA)(16), in so far as they relate to a proposed rule or guideline provision in or relating to these Regulations, may be fulfilled by matters which occurred (in whole or in part) before the date of entry into effect of these Regulations.

2. The effect of the provisions of paragraph 23 of this Annex, as applicable under subparagraph (1), shall be as if a referral to the 2000 Act had contained a referral to those provisions in subparagraphs (7) and (8). 3. The provisions of sub-section (5)(a) of section 1B of the 2000 Act (the general tasks of the EAO)(18) shall not be applicable by reason of this Ordinance to the adoption of the provisions referred to in sub-section (23) of that Plan.

4. Regulatory measures adopted pursuant to Article 23 of this Annex pursuant to this Ordinance shall not be considered regulatory measures within the meaning of Section 4 of Part 4A (Competition Assessment)(19) of the 2000 Act. 5. The FCA shall be required to apportion the amount of sanctions provided for in Rule 29 to expenditure arising from the performance of its tasks under this Part or for an ancillary use.

For the purpose of Article 25 of Annex IZA to Act 2000 (Exemption from Loss Liability)(20), the FCA's duties under these provisions shall be deemed to be assigned to the FCA under this Act. 1. A nominated company shall make available to the FCA such information on its adherence to or non-compliance with requirements that apply to it as required by the FCA.

2. A nominated company shall make available to the FCA the information which, in accordance with this Ordinance, must be made available at those periods in that format and checked in the way specified by the FCA. 1. A nominated company shall keep accessible and readable copies of appropriate recordings for at least five years from the date of the establishment of the recordings.

2. For the purpose of this regulation, recordings shall be considered pertinent if they contain information of relevance for the demonstration of conformity of the notified undertaking or non-compliance with requirements of relevance to the notified undertaking. i) in sub-section (2)(b) for the words ", the PRAs" have been replaced until the end, "under the rules for small and medium-sized enterprises (credit information) 2015"; ii) in sub-section (3)(a) for "this Act", "the rules for small and medium-sized enterprises (credit information) 2015" have been replaced;

aa) Sections (aa) and (c) have been omitted; (bb) in section (d), after "Section 166", "as in the rules for small and medium-sized enterprises (credit information) 2015" has been added; (cc) in section (e), for "a named individual referred to in sections (a) to (c)", "the EAO" has been replaced; dd )In subparagraphs (ea) and (f) "the FCA" has been replaced for "a named individual in these paragraphs"; "(6) Subpart (5)(f) "expert" contains a qualified individual designated by the FCA to carry out an inquiry in accordance with Part 11, as used in the provisions for small and medium-sized enterprises (credit information) 2015.

2. The provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) 2001(22) shall be deemed to have been omitted from Part 3 for the purpose of this Part. a) any references in this Part to the Act of 2000 were references to that Part; b) any references in this Part to an Authorized Individual were references to a particular company; c) any references in this Part to the PRA were omitted; d) any references in this Part to either of the two Regulatory Authorities were references only to the FCA; e) in Section 165(7) (Authority of the Regulatory Authorities to request information: Authorized Individuals, etc.).

Subparagraphs (b) to (e) have been omitted; (f) Sections 165A (power of PRA to request information): In sub-paragraph (1) for'rules adopted by that regulatory authority to gather and keep up to date information in a descriptive document referred to in the rules', the'provisions 24 of the SME ('credit information') legislation were replaced in 2015 to keep appropriate recordings in accordance with those provisions', (ii) each link in this section to 'information' was a link to 'relevant recordings'; (iii) sub-paragraph (10) was omitted;

iii ) subsections (2)(c), (3A), (5A) and (6) have been omitted; (aa) for "an investigative authority", "the FCA" has been replaced; "(b) a nominated company may have violated a requirement laid down by or under the Small and Medium Sized Business (Credit Information) Regulations 2015 and/or a individual may be found to have committed an offense under Rule 34 of these regulations (misleading the FCA).

to assist the foreign regulatory authority) and 169A (to assist the foreign regulatory body with regard to fiscal stability) have been omitted; (i) in subparagraph (1) "or (5)" have been omitted; (ii) in subparagraph (3)(a) "or (4)" have been omitted; "(10) "investigating authority" in this Part shall be understood as a link to the FCA. i) in paragraph (2) "or in legal actions in connection with actions against this individual pursuant to § 123" were omitted; ii) in paragraph (3) (a) for "398", the "Provisions 34 of the Provisions 2015 for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Credit Information)" were replaced (misleading the FCA);

c) in sub-section (4), "or (5)" was omitted; d) in sub-section (5), "173" was omitted; e) in section 175(8) (Information and documents: Where the FCA is of the opinion that a named undertaking has infringed a pertinent rule, the FCA may issue a declaration to that effect. b ) a party who, in their opinion, has infringed Rule 34 (misleading the FCA).

2. A sanction pursuant to this Ordinance shall be paid to the FCA and may be collected as a claim against the FCA. 1. Where the FCA is of the opinion that a nominated undertaking has infringed a pertinent condition, it may, for such time as it deems appropriate, require the nominated undertaking to comply with such restrictions on the exercise of a regulated business by the nominated undertaking as it deems appropriate.

In particular, a restriction may be placed requiring the appointed company to take or omit to take certain measures. 6. The powers conferred by this Directive may (but need not) be conferred in such a way as to be effective in respect of all the regulated tasks carried out by the undertaking concerned.

7. One or more of the functions under this Ordinance and Ordinances 28 (public motion of censure) and 29 (financial penalties) may be performed in respect of the same infringement. 4. The competence conferred upon them by this Ordinance shall be administered by the High Tribunal and the Tribunal. 6. The tribunal may request that the account or other information transmitted in accordance with subparagraph (5) be checked in the way it requests.

7. The competence conferred upon them by this Ordinance shall be exercised by the High Court and the Tribunal. Nothing in this regulation shall affect the right of any individual other than the FCA to initiate legal action in relation to any matter to which this appliance is applicable. 1. A natural or legal person shall not give the FCA information that is knowingly materially incorrect or deceptive in any particular matter for the purpose of complying with or allegedly complying with a pertinent request.

b ) be inconsiderate as to whether the information in any particular item is incorrect or deceptive and know that the information is to be made available to the FCA or used for the purpose of making information available to it in relation to the performance of its tasks under this Part. Persons sentenced for an offense under Rule 34 (misleading FCA) are not subject to a subsequent fine under Rule 29 (fines) for the same conduct or omission that constitutes the offense.

2. In the exercise of its authority to initiate legal action in respect of any of the offences referred to in Rule 34, the FCA shall respect any condition or restriction that the Ministry of Finance has laid down in Writing in respect of such action. 1. Procedures for an offense referred to in Rule 34 (misleading FCA) which are claimed to have been perpetrated by a twinning or other unregistered organisation shall be instituted in the name of the twinning or organisation (and not that of its members).

2. A penalty levied on a private company or an organisation without legal capacity for its criminal proceedings under Rule 34 shall be payable from the resources of the private company or the organisation. 3. The Tribunal Regulations for the Serving of Written Materials shall act as if a business entity or an incorporated society without legal capacity were a corporation.

a) against a corporation or an illegal club in any place where it has its registered office; b) against a legal entity in any place where that legal entity or club is currently located. Paragraph (5) shall not prejudice the exercise of jurisdictions other than those provided for in this Rule. a) to publish a declaration under Rule 28 (public motion of censure), b) to impose a fine under Rule 29 (fines), d) to exercise the authority under Rule 32(2) (authority of the FCA to request restitution), it must send a written reminder to the party in question.

a) in the case of a declaration under Rule 28, the conditions of the declaration proposal; b) in the case of a sanction under Rule 29, the amount of the sanction proposal; c) in the case of a restriction on an authorisation under Rule 30, the restriction and the duration for which it is to take effect; d) in the case of the exercising of powers under Rule 32(2), the amount that the FCA suggests to ask for, as referred to in Rule 32(2).

a) publish a declaration under Rule 28 (public motion of censure); b) impose a sanction under Rule 29 (fines); d) exercise the authority under Rule 32(2) (FCA's authority to reimburse), it must immediately notify the individual in question of a ruling. a) in the case of a declaration under Rule 28, the conditions of the declaration; b) in the case of a sanction under Rule 29, the amount of the sanction; c) in the case of a restriction on an authorisation under Rule 30, the restriction and the time for which it is to take effect; i) the amount to be disbursed or allocated; iii) the agreements under which disbursement or allocation is to be made.

Following the publication of a declaration pursuant to Rule 28 (public motion of censure), the FCA must forward a copy thereof to the interested parties and to any persons who have received a copy of the letter of determination pursuant to Article 393(4) (rights of third parties) of the Act of 2000(29) (as applicable in Rule 44 (application of Part 26 of the Act of 2000)).

Section 414 of the Act 2000 (Service of Notices) shall, for the purpose of this Part, be deemed to supersede in subsections (1) and (4) for "this Act" the "Small and Medium Enterprises (Credit Information) Rules 2015". The provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Service of Notices) 2001(30) shall govern any communication, instruction or documentation of any kind made by the EAEC under this Part and any communication, instruction or documentation of any kind made under the Act 2000.

a) the application of sanctions or limits pursuant to Rules 29 (fines) and 30 (restrictions on authorisation to engage in controlled activities); c) the duration for which the limits applied pursuant to Rule 30 are to take effect as they are applicable to measures which the FCA may take pursuant to Articles 206 (fines) and 206A (suspension of authorisation to engage in controlled activities) of the Act of 2000(32).

a) references to the PRA in this Part were omitted; b) any references in this Part to either of the two regulatory authorities were only a references to the FCA; c) in Section 387 (Warnings), subparagraphs (1A) and (3A) were omitted; d ) in section 388 (decision notices), paragraphs (1A) and (2) were omitted; e) in section 390 (closing rallies), in section 6) for "section 384(5)", "Regulation 32 of the Rules for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Credit Information) 2015" was replaced;

Subsections (1) for'covered by sub-section (1CB)' have been replaced'in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 39 of the Small and Medium Sized Business (Credit Information) Regulations 2015'; and ( ii) Subsections (1ZA), (1CB), (1CB), (4A), (5), (5A), (5A), (6A), (7A), (7B), (8A), (8), (8), (10) and (11) have been omitted; and (g) Section 391A has been omitted for 'covered by sub-section (1CB)'; "1 "1. The FCA shall specify the procedures it intends to apply in connection with any ruling imposing an order to issue a written warning or an administrative order.

"sub-paragraph (9) (iii) omits the "supervision report or a" and "other than a caution or ruling regarding a PRA ruling necessary by a FCA ruling of the kind referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(b)(ii)". a) publish a declaration under Rule 28 (public motion of censure); b) impose a sanction under Rule 29 (financial penalties); d) exercise the authority under Rule 32(2), the individual in question may remit the case to the higher court.

Part 9 (Hearings and Appeals) of Act 2000(34) shall apply to cases referred to the Higher Court under Rule 45 ("relevant case") and to cases referred to the Higher Court under that Act with the following amendments. i) omitted "(whether made under this or any other law)"; ii) omitted in subparagraph (a) "or the PRA"; iii) omitted in subparagraphs (b) and (c); b) omitted in subparagraph (2) ", (b) or (c)"; a) decided to issue a declaration under Rule 28 (public censure) of the Small and Medium Sized Business (Credit Information) Regulations 2015;

b ) a ruling on the imposition of a sanction under Rule 29 of these Regulations (financial penalties); c) a ruling on the imposition of a restriction on authorisation under Rule 30 of these Regulations (restriction on authorisation to engage in controlled activities). a) undertake a revision of these Regulations; c) publish the reports. a) set out the targets to be met by these Regulations; c) assess whether these targets are still appropriate and, if so, to what degree they could be met by a system that requires less regulatory action.

3. The first reporting under this Ordinance shall be made public on or before 1 January 2021. 4. The subsequent publication of subsequent annual reporting under this Decision shall be at five-year maximum interval. a) start date of the facility; b) date of closure of the facilities (if applicable); c) outstanding balances; d) agreed credit line; e) number of failed repayments; f) number of revolving credit facilities; g) value of revolving credit facilities; h) details of any default and related repayments.

a) Business category identifier (e.g. private or public company ); b) Business name and business adress; c) Business register number (if applicable); d) Telephone number; e) VAT identification number (if applicable). Those Regulations will be adopted in accordance with Part 1 of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (c. 26) and will require nominated credit institutions to disclose information about their small and medium-sized business clients to nominated credit rating agencies and nominated credit rating institutions in turn to disclose credit information about small and medium-sized enterprises to financial service institutions.

Section 1 of the Regulations contains appropriate explanations and defines what information falls within the ambit of the Regulations (this is fully explained in the Annex). Section 2 of the Regulations provides that nominated credit institutions must make credit information available to nominated credit rating agencies if a nominated credit rating agency has asked for it and if the client has given its consent.

They specify how the nominated credit rating agency must make such a proposal, the deadline within which the nominated credit rating agency must reply and how the client can indicate an arrangement. In general, it requires nominated credit institutions to update this information to nominated credit rating agencies and describes the conditions under which such updating is not necessary.

The Directive also provides that nominated credit rating agencies must make credit information available to financial service institutions if the financial service institution has asked for it, if arrangements have been made and, where appropriate, complied with, if the undertaking to which the information refers has given its consent, and if the financial service institution has endorsed the arrangement with the credit bureau.

Determines the purposes for which the information provided in these particular circumstances is provided. In the case where a recipient financial service institution is not itself a nominated financial institution, the financial service institution shall be obliged to make available to the nominated credit rating agency, within 12 month, credit information held by the financial service institution about its small or medium-sized business clients.

Nevertheless, this requirement applies only to information concerning the initial time after which the nominated credit rating agency makes credit information available to the financial service institution and does not arise at all if the client to whom the information refers has not consented to the information being made available or if it would be illegal for the financial service institution to make it available.

In addition, Part 2 provides that nominated credit rating agencies may make available to the BEC, upon demand, information which they have obtained in accordance with those rules and restricts the conditions and ways in which the BEC itself may make such information available. Lastly, it provides for a right of appeal for a loser resulting from the non-performance of these commitments by a nominated credit institution.

Under Part 3 of the Regulations, the Ministry of Finance may appoint and withdraw a banking or credit bureau. Section 4 of the Regulations implements clauses of the Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29) and the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (c. 39) relating to accessing and correcting information about individual persons and small businesses in order to identify credit rating agencies which are not approved by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c. 8), as those clauses govern credit rating agencies that are approved, so that the same protection shall be afforded to information about individual persons and small businesses made available to a credit rating agency under the Regulations, regardless of the credit rating agency's legal personality.

The Directive also gives small and medium-sized enterprises the right to submit to a judicial authority a request for rectification, blocking, erasure or destruction of information stored on the company by a particular credit rating agency. Section 5 of the Regulations implements rules of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to broaden the scope of the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") so that a claim can be forwarded to the FOS through a particular credit rating agency.

The scope of the FOS will thus be extended so that a party who would be in a position to apply for a FOS ruling when handling a credit rating agency authorized by the FCA may also apply for a FOS ruling when handling a specific unauthorized credit rating agency. According to this provision, the FCA must adopt binding competence regulations for the activities of the nominated credit rating agencies.

Section 6 of the Regulation contains rules relating to the FCA. Specifically, the FCA function is entrusted with tasks related to supervising the observance and implementation of certain rules of the Regulation (Rules 3, 5, 6 and 7 and any requirement on any person other than the FCA required under Part 5 or Part 6).

Part 6 implements some rules of law in relation to the functioning of the FCA under the Regulations, both of which are laid down in elementary and supplementary law (with amendments). Section 7 of the Regulations provides that the Ministry of Finance shall periodically revise the Regulations and issue a progress paper on its findings. Publication of the first of these reports shall take place within five years of the start of the Regulations and at least every five years thereafter.