FSC issues FAQs on Moneylending license

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Moneylending (ML) license on 8 February 2023 in which it clarified the following:

• Only a company can apply for a ML license;
• A Global Business Company (GBC) shall only apply for a ML license if it is engaging in moneylending activities in Mauritius i.e. a GBC which is involved only in moneylending activities outside of Mauritius or with other GBCs will not be required to apply for the ML license;
• A holder of a Moneylending Licence shall be required to register with the Money Credit Information Bureau (MCIB) once the licence is granted by the FSC;
• The minimum stated unimpaired capital for the holder of a ML License of MUR 30,000,000 (or its equivalent) or 5% of the Moneylender’s total liabilities or such other amount as the FSC may require.

 

It will be recalled that the ML License, which was previously regulated by the Bank of Mauritius was subsequently moved under the purview of the FSC in 2020.

 

Any persons, other than a bank or a non-bank deposit taking institution, whose business is that of lending money in Mauritius or who provides, advertises or holds himself out in any way as providing that business, whether or not he possesses or owns property or money derived from sources other than the lending of money, and whether or not he carries on the business as a principal or as an agent, will be required to apply for the ML license. Persons exempted from applying for the ML license include:

• any person bona fide carrying on the business of banking or insurance or bona fide carrying on any business not having as its primary object the lending of money, in the course of which and for the purposes of which it lends money;
• any body corporate, incorporated or expressly empowered, or any other person expressly empowered by any other enactment to lend money;
• any organisation whose operations are of an international character and which is approved by the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms;
• licensed broker
• licensed pawnbroker
• A trustee

(For the full list, please refer to fifth schedule of the Financial Services Act 2007)

To access the FAQs on the Moneylending license, please click here