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Factoring Legislation and
Regulation
Douala, Cameroon 22nd November 2013
Definition
• Legislation o A law or set of laws made by a governing body
• Regulation o Rules or directives made and maintained by an
authority to control or govern conduct and behaviour
Factoring Legislation
• Different legal systems around the world • Essentials of factoring expressed in different ways
and may or may not be part of law: • Transfer of Receivables (‘Assignment’) • Notice of assignment a requirement ? • Debtor’s duty to pay the factor • Rights over existing and future debts • Receivables transferred to the factor when they come
into existence • Rights of set-off by the debtor
Factoring Legislation
• UNIDROIT • Convention on International Factoring,
Ottawa 1988 • Targeted the adoption of rules to provide a legal
framework to facilitate international factoring • 23 articles over 6 pages • Concerns international factoring, but useful guide
for developing domestic factoring law
Factoring Legislation
• UNIDROIT • Copies in English and French on your USB sticks • It lists the 4 functions performed by a factor (a1) • It states that “notice of assignment of the
receivables [must] be given to the debtors” • Describes the rights and duties of the parties (a5-
10) • Scope limited to notified factoring only
Factoring Legislation
• UNIDROIT • Position paper “Assignment of Contractual Rights
and Duties” (Rome, February 1999) highlights terminology issues
• A “transfer of rights” may be achieved by different mechanisms in different legal systems (e.g. in France “cession de créance” or “subrogation”)
• Differences of interpretation in Civil Law and Common Law
Factoring Legislation
• UNIDROIT • (a6) assignment to a factor is effective even if
there is a prohibition of assignment agreement between supplier and debtor
• The above article was the subject of much disagreement between different Countries
Factoring Legislation
• UNIDROIT • As at 31/12/90 (closing date) 15 (of 59) countries
signed the Convention, including Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria and Tanzania
• Of those 15, seven countries have ratified the Convention, including Nigeria, therefore Convention came into effect (1995)
Factoring Legislation
• UNCITRAL • United Nations Commission on International Trade
Law • Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in
International Trade New York, 2001
• “Receivables” refers to a variety of transactions including factoring, forfaiting, securitisation, etc
• To date the Convention is not ratified
Comparison UNIDROIT & UNCITRAL
• Reference University of Manchester study • Scope of UNCITRAL very wide • Overlap is only on notified factoring of
receivables arising from sale and service contracts
• UNCITRAL also discusses the international assignment of domestic receivables (securitisation)
Comparison UNIDROIT & UNCITRAL
UNIDROIT UNCITRAL
Definitions Only defines ‘factoring contract’
Many, including ‘assignor’, ‘assignee’, ‘receivables’
Variation of provisions
Not allowed Allowed by agreement of the parties
Debtor’s duty to pay assignee (factor)
If notice of assignment given by assignor (supplier)
Allows notice given by assignee (factor) – useful if assignor goes bankrupt
Point of time when notification effective
Not addressed Addressed - receipt by the debtor
Debtor’s right of set-off
Allows debtor defences from original sales contract
Allows defences from other ‘closely related’ contracts
IFG Model Factoring Law
• Prepared by the Legal Committee of the IFG • Currently in its second draft stage; May 2013 • Ideas and most of the wording is taken from
UNCITRAL but scope is narrowed to factoring (but all forms, including reverse factoring and non-notified products)
• Applies to domestic or international assignments
IFG Model Factoring Law
• Assignment includes future receivables without a new act of transfer
• Ban of assignment clauses imposed by the debtor do not prevent a factoring transaction BUT
• Debtor may claim damages from the supplier (not the factor) for breach of contract
IFG Model Factoring Law
• Assignor represents that they • have the right to assign the receivable • they have not previously assigned the receivable
to another assignee
• If debtor payment is to assignor, the assignee (factor) is entitled to payment of the proceeds
IFG Model Factoring Law
• A registration system (for the assignment) on an internet platform might be useful for emerging markets o The factor can easily ascertain priority of
assignment without detailed due diligence
• The Model Law invites national legislators to adapt its scope and content to their specific legal environment
GRIF: the General Rules of International Factoring
• A set of rules for international factoring • The aim is to ensure daily operations are
managed consistently and correctly • Self-regulation • The GRIF can usefully inform
• development of a national (domestic) law • Regulation of factoring and factors • a factoring agreement for use between factor and
assignor
GRIF: the General Rules of International Factoring
• 8 sections including • Assignments • Credit Risks • Collection of Receivables • Representations • Transfer of Funds • Disputes
Regulation
• Rules or directives made and maintained by an authority to control or govern conduct and behaviour
• Regulation of factoring varies from country to
country For example: • France is highly regulated • UK is unregulated
Regulation
• Central Bank regulation • e.g. France
• Financial Services authorities • e.g. Egypt
• National factoring associations • e.g. ABFA (Asset Based Finance Association), UK
Central Bank
• In France factoring companies are, like banks, credit institutions governed by the Banking Act of 24 January 1984
• They must be authorised • They are subject to supervision by the National
banking regulator • Bound by banking regulations • Must comply with cover and risk-division ratios
Egypt Financial Services Authority
– www.efsa.gov.eg A factoring company shall meet the following conditions: • It shall be a joint-stock company • It shall practice factoring only • A financial institution shall be a shareholder • Paid capital shall be 10 million EGP • The Managing Director shall have 10 years
financial or banking or insurance experience
Egypt Financial Supervisory Authority
• www.efsa.gov.eg To practice factoring the company shall: • Notify EFSA of its standards, rules and regulations • Keep registries of its details of operations • Be a member of an international factoring
association (e.g. IFG) if financing cross-border factoring
ABFA, UK
• www.abfa.org.uk Self regulatory framework: • ABFA code of conduct: 6 key commitments. Members shall
1. abide by the code 2. act with integrity and responsibility 3. provide appropriate information in a timely and
transparent manner 4. ensure legal documents are clear and unambiguous 5. Provide effective and timely client services 6. Operate their own complaints procedure
ABFA, UK
• www.abfa.org.uk Self regulatory framework:
• An independent complaints process • A professional standards council
Regulation
Positives Negatives
Sets minimum standards Cost
Controls behaviour Ties up resources
Transparency Anti-competition
Customer confidence Fewer providers
Mitigation of risks Bureaucracy
Industry reputation Too prescriptive
* Notes from Kazakhstan – Market immaturity and lack of sophistication – Legislation allows both Bank or independent. Being bank-
owned may be advantageous re taxation (Banks exempt from VAT)
– Independents pay more for refinancing – Like Russia, Kazakhstan is regulated by Civil Code but it
does not differentiate between n/r and recourse – Banking regulations state factors must undertake the risk
of debtor not paying (i.e. non/recourse) – Yet recourse is the major product
(a) “work around” is Debtor guarantees to pay (b) no credit insurance available (c) early stage of development of market
* Notes from Serbia • Market started 2005 • 9 years of growth in “unfavourable regulatory environment” • July 2013: law on factoring adopted • Until then there was law on obligations as a framework for
assignment of receivables but did not specify how obligations were notified
• Existence of a specific law will educate the market –clear legal environment allows existing factors to invest in educating the market
• Law now overrules prohibition on assignment clauses in favour of factor
• Requirement of registration of factoring companies will cut out “quasi-factoring” (confusing) products
* Francophone Factoring Agreement
• djlfsjd Créancier (subrogeant)
Supplier
Debtor (subrogé)
Subrogation
Tiers(3rd party) (subrogataire)
FACTOR
Créancier (cédant) Supplier
Tiers(3rd party) (cessionnaire)
FACTOR
Debtor (cédé)
Loi Dailly
• SUBROGATION is the substitution of one party in the
place of another concerning rights and remedies against a another party. The factor substitutes for the supplier
• Refer French Civil Code article 1250 • A « subrogation » form could be completed at each
assignment or a permanent (one original) form is kept • Supplier has to put assignment text on all invoices
informing debtors • Supplier assigns receivables to the factor without any
formal process (he only needs to send them by electronic process )
* Subrogation
• Supplier has to put an assignment label on all receivables assigned to his factor with specific wording
• The details of all assigned receivables has to shown on the assignment form sent to the factor.
• The factor has to indicate the receipt date on the assignment form.
• Normally the assignment form should be an original one and not a document received by e-mail and/or fax
• The factor also has the obligation to send by registered mail a formal notification of the assignment to debtors.
* Loi Dailly
French Assignment Label Payments to be made out to ABN AMRO Commercial Finance and sent to : ABN AMRO Commercial Finance – 39, rue Anatole France 92532 Levallois-Perret cedex Bank : Banque Neuflize OBC (ABN AMRO Group)- 3, avenue Hoche- 75008 Paris Bank Code : 14978 Desk Code : 00100 Account n° : XXXX RIB Key : XXX IBAN : XXXXXX Receivables assigned to ABN AMRO Commercial Finance pursuant to articles L 313-23 to L 313-35 of the French Monetary and Financial Code Subrogation
Loi Dailly
TRANSFER OF RECEIVABLES 1. Legal Assignment re. s136 of Property Act
2. Equitable Assignment (does not fully comply
with 1) a) Whole turnover : « The client sells and the factor
purchases all existing and future debts » b) Facultative arrangement: individual receivables
offered for sale to the factor
Equitable assignments avoid stamp duty
* Anglophone Factoring Agreement
Legal Assignment • Must be in writing • Notice must be
given to the debtor • Assiognment must
be absolute – for the whole receivable
• Factor can sue in his own name for recovery
* Anglophone Factoring Agreement Equitable Assignment • Does not have to
be in writing • Notice does not
have to be given to the debtor
• Assignment can be for part of the receivable
• Factor should join the client to sue for recoivery
TYPICAL CLAUSES Client warrants: 1. any receivable is due and owing
(delivery has been executed, invoice value correct & the receivable is free from set-off
2. To disclose any material facts concerning the receivable which may affect bad debt protection
3. He will not grant any rights over the receivable to any other third party etc.
* Anglophone Factoring Agreement
• Factoring is often started in an environment where there is no factoring law
• Existing legislation may be applied or interpreted but it may lack the fundamentals of factoring: ‘receivables’, ‘assignment’, the factor’s rights, etc
• Development of a factoring law defines the product, raises the profile and clarifies rights and obligations of the parties
• Existing models can inform local legislation development
• Regulation again raises the profile of factoring and seeks to define good practice
* Conclusions
Any questions ?
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