| Country Manuals Private Banking – COLOMBIA OUT OF BANK’S COUNTRY OF ESTABLISHMENT (Def, RS, BT & RT) Regulatory Summary and Regulatory Template Material changes This Country Manual has been reviewed to ensure that the content of all the documents remains accurate and up-to-date. The changes and/or clarifications made following consultations with our local counsel concern: – The manual now provides further level of detail on the recognition of reverse solicitation. Reverse solicitation is permitted and recognized in Colombia for prospecting and pre-contractual activities but not explicitly recognised for the performance of financial services. However, based on a permissible interpretation of a general provision, it is understood that a Bank may – within the guidelines/limitations described in the manual – perform services in Colombia (on an occasional basis) or via remote means of communication into Colombia without triggering licensing requirements. The corresponding changes were made in each document to reflect the rationale described above. It is to be noted that the foregoing has not restricted previously permissible activities under the Prospecting Phase, Negotiation Phase and Performing Services which remain to be permissible (or allowed under the respective indicated conditions). – The limitation to provide investment services related to local securities still applies. We have clarified that Macroeconomic information also falls within this limitation and must therefore not relate to local securities even when the RM and client are both outside of Colombia. – The provision of generic recommendation lists is not a regulated activity in Colombia. However, actively providing generic recommendations lists to a -lient in or into Colombia may be regarded – even when such lists are not tailored to the client’s need – as an offer of specific financial services which triggers a licensing requirement and therefore remains a grey zone. In the case of reverse solicitation or based on an ongoing advisory agreement signed in compliance with the Colombian cross-border rules (i.e. reverse solicitation), the Bank may, based on a permissive interpretation of a general provision, provide generic recommendation lists both in and into Colombia without triggering licensing requirements. Such activity may in no case relate to local securities and on-site activities need to be conducted on an occasional basis only. – The active collection of relevant supporting documents and information in Colombia (on an occasional basis) or via remote means of communication is considered permissible provided the onboarding was done in compliance with the local cross-border rules. Implications for business relations with third parties: – If the EAM is not duly authorised as a representative office of the foreign Bank in Colombia or has signed a cooperation agreement with a representative office of the foreign Bank, the EAM may only provide its clients with the Bank’s investment research or financial analysis as long as the information provided is only generic and it does not constitute as advertisement or offering of personal investment advice. This is usually the case if the information is not tailor-made to the client’s situation and needs. – Providing recommendation lists to the EAM remains a grey zone as – despite the fact that providing generic recommendation lists is not a regulated activity in Colombia – it may nevertheless be regarded as an offer of specific financial services, even when such recommendation lists are not tailored to the client’s need. It should be noted that in no case may such generic recommendation lists include references to Colombian securities. Further, miscellaneous sections (e.g., foreign exchange controls, permanent establishment) have been reviewed and updated. Non-material changes – The documents have been reformatted onto the latest templates. – Some comments have been reworded, additional references to applicable law/regulation have been made in order to provide more clarity and to reflect the current regulatory situation more accurately. Further non-material changes have been made throughout the document (e.g. to reflect standardised comments that BRP has adapted as a result of using a new editing platform for the creation of manuals. The underlying reasoning has not changed). – There are no longer separate answers for witnessing the signing of agreements – these are rolled up into assisting a prospect with the signing of an agreement. Behaviour Template The BT has been aligned to the RS and RT. BT Short Comparison BRP has created a comparison document allowing users to quickly identify the modifications made compared to the previous version of the PB Manual (BT Short Comparison). The BT Short Comparison can be found on BRP’s platform (mybrponline) in the Search tab by entering in the Document Field “CM PB BT SHORT COMP” and “COLOMBIA” in the Target Country Field. The BT Short Comparison should be read as follows: The first column contains a short description of the activity in question. The second column contains the answers of the previous version of the Country Manual (online until the day of the alert). The third column contains the new answers of the most recent version of the Country Manual. Only the modified answers are displayed (in color). If the answers in the new version are unchanged compared to the previous version, they are shaded in grey. Best regards, |
