Act VI of 2026 establishes the Credit Review Office (the 'Office'), a new public body in Malta designed to give small and medium business applicants an independent, non-binding review mechanism when a lending institution refuses, withdraws, reduces or declines to restructure a credit facility. The Act comprises five Parts (articles 1–23) and one Schedule, and also makes a targeted amendment to the Arbiter for Financial Services Act (Cap. 555).

Part I (articles 1–2) sets the short title and commencement. Article 1(2) provides that the Act shall come into force on such date or dates as the Minister responsible for the economy and the Minister responsible for finance may, by notice in the Gazette, establish, with different dates possible for different provisions and purposes — there is no automatic commencement on publication. Article 2(1) contains an extensive set of definitions. Key definitions include 'eligible applicant' (a Maltese-resident sole trader, a company constituted in Malta under the Companies Act (Cap. 386), or any other person prescribed by regulations); 'eligible application' (a complaint arising from a formal refusal, a withdrawal or reduction of an existing facility, a refusal to restructure, or a failure to decide within the charter timeline — but expressly excluding EU state-aid-driven refusals, decisions on non-performing facilities, facilities above €2,000,000 or below €5,000, and AML/CFT-related refusals); 'lending institution' (any entity licensed by the MFSA to conduct banking under the Banking Act (Cap. 371) or to grant credit under the Financial Institutions Act (Cap. 376)); and 'credit reviewer' (a body or person designated by the Minister by Gazette notice to oversee implementation of the Office).

Part II (articles 3–7) establishes the Office. Article 3 creates the Credit Review Office, composed of the credit reviewer and any appointed staff. Article 4 sets out the Office's functions, including ascertaining eligibility, reviewing and investigating eligible applications, conducting mediation, informing the public, ensuring GDPR and Data Protection Act (Cap. 586) compliance, and publishing yearly statistics. The credit reviewer must act independently and impartially (article 4(2)(a)), determine complaints by reference to what is 'fair, equitable and reasonable' (article 4(2)(b)), and may delegate functions in writing (article 4(3)). Article 5 specifies the mandatory contents of the yearly report: anonymised complaint summaries, statistical data identifying individual lending institutions, and data from accessibility-of-finance surveys. Article 6 requires the Minister to lay the yearly report before the House of Representatives within six months of the end of each calendar year. Article 7 makes the Office accountable to the Minister.

Part III (articles 8–15) governs proceedings. Article 8 requires an eligible applicant to first exhaust the lending institution's internal review process under its charter before approaching the Office; the lending institution must communicate its decision on a durable medium and include the Office's contact details and applicable time-limits. Article 9 allows an eligible applicant to submit a written application to the credit reviewer within 90 days of exhausting the internal process; the credit reviewer must determine competence, notify the applicant if the application is outside competence, and serve the application on the lending institution, which has 20 days to reply (or such other period as the credit reviewer determines). Article 9(5) permits a fee to be charged, prescribed by the Minister in consultation with the Minister responsible for finance. Article 10 provides that eligible applications shall primarily be dealt with by voluntary mediation, conducted in private by Office officers, with no appeal lying from anything done by a mediator. Article 11 provides that where mediation fails or is refused, the credit reviewer proceeds to review the complaint. Article 12 governs proceedings: the credit reviewer may require additional oral or written submissions, parties may be represented by persons of their trust, and the credit reviewer may request documents from parties or third parties (with lending-institution-sensitive documents available to the credit reviewer only). Article 13 requires proceedings to be conducted in private. Article 14 states that the credit reviewer's findings take the form of a non-binding recommendation. Article 15 specifies the forms a recommendation may take (support the lender's decision, recommend granting/restoring/restructuring the facility, or other appropriate recommendation); no monetary compensation may be awarded (article 15(2)); the recommendation is strictly confidential and available only to the parties (article 15(4)); and where a lending institution declines to comply it must give reasons to the credit reviewer, who may share them with the eligible applicant (article 15(5)).

Part IV (articles 16–21) covers miscellaneous provisions. Article 16 applies the Holders of Public Office and Public Entities (Responsibility) Act (Cap. 652) to civil and criminal proceedings against the Office and the credit reviewer, unless bad faith is shown. Article 17 requires every lending institution to draw up a publicly available 'charter' covering the credit application process, documentation requirements, collateral requirements, internal complaint handling, and information about the Office; the MFSA is responsible for supervising and enforcing charter compliance, applying its powers under Cap. 330 and Cap. 371 mutatis mutandis (article 17(5)); where no charter is drawn up, the Schedule Charter applies (article 17(4)). Article 18 gives the credit reviewer power to appoint officers and consultants and to conduct surveys and request statistical information from lending institutions. Article 19 grants the Minister broad regulation-making powers including setting fees, mediation procedure, charter requirements, and amending Schedules. Article 20 requires the Office and MFSA to cooperate and exchange information, with any information exchanged treated as strictly confidential. Article 21 is a transitory provision limiting the Act's application to decisions on credit applications submitted, withdrawals or reductions effected, and restructuring refusals issued after the Act's commencement date.

Part V (articles 22–23) amends the Arbiter for Financial Services Act (Cap. 555). Article 23 amends article 21(2) of that Act: paragraph (c) is re-worded so that the Arbiter may dismiss a complaint that is 'frivolous or vexatious'; and a new paragraph (d) is added excluding from the Arbiter's jurisdiction any complaint submitted by an eligible applicant that relates to an eligible application as defined in the Credit Review Office Act — thereby channelling such complaints exclusively to the new Office.

The Schedule (referenced in article 17) sets out a default Charter with detailed timelines: the lending institution must provide a documentation list within 7 days of receiving an application (item 2); must acknowledge a complete application within 7 days (item 6); must notify the outcome within 60 days of a complete application, with at least one week's advance notice if an extension is needed (item 7); must handle internal complaints within 15 days (item 16); and must inform the applicant of their right to approach the Office within 90 days of exhausting internal remedies (item 18). The credit reviewer's recommendation is non-binding (item 21).

Practically, the Act affects licensed banks and financial institutions (which must prepare charters and respond to Office proceedings), eligible business applicants for credit between €5,000 and €2,000,000 (who gain a new, low-cost non-binding review avenue), the MFSA (which gains charter supervision duties), and the Arbiter for Financial Services (whose jurisdiction is curtailed for eligible applications). The commencement date is not fixed in the Act and will be gazette-notified by the two Ministers.