RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/FIN/W/12/Add.27
7November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4903)
Original: Spanish Committee onTrade inFinancial Services
COMMUNICATION FROM COSTA RICA
Initial Offer onFinancial Services
Addendum
Thefollowing communication iscirculated attherequest ofCosta Ricatomembers ofthe
Committee onTrade inFinancial Services.
_______________
CostaRica'soffercoverswide-rangingcommitmentsinbankingservices-acceptanceofdeposits
andother repayable funds from thepublic, lending, credit cardservices, andprovision andtransfer
offinancial information -underscoring thecountry 'scommitment toreach asuccessful conclusion to
thecurrent negotiations onfinancial services.
Thisofferisconditioned upontheachievement ofwhatCosta Ricaconsiders tobesatisfactory
results,basedontheprinciplesofmost-favoured-nationandnationaltreatment,inthecurrentnegotiations
onfinancial services intheframework oftheGeneral Agreement onTrade inServices. Pursuant to
theSecond Decision onFinancial Services of21July1995, Costa Ricareserves therighttomodify
orwithdraw allorpartofthespecific commitments onfinancial services andtolistMFN exemptions
atanytimeupto12December 1997, aswellastomake suchtechnical corrections asitdeems necessary.S/FIN/W/12/Add.27
Page 2COSTA RICA
SCHEDULE OFSPECIFIC COMMITMENTS INTHE FINANCIAL SECTOR
Modes ofsupply: (1)Cross-border supply (2) Consumption abroad (3) Commercial presence (4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsubsector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional
commitments
Thedefinition andscope ofthesectors andsubsectors inthisSchedule ofCommitments aretobeunderstood asbeing consistent withthedefinition
andscope established byCosta Rican lawforeachsector orsubsector.
Forallsectors andsubsectors
included inthisSchedule:Formode ofsupply (3),onlythe
establishment ofcompanies intheform of
affiliated companies orsubsidiaries is
permitted, andother forms areexcluded,
particularly branches. Thisdoesnotprevent
theoperation ofrepresentative offices, which
maynotprovide financial services inCosta
Rica. Thecommercial presence shallbe
carried outinaccordance withthepurpose
specifically authorized fortheaffiliated
company orsubsidiary concerned, which
must adopt thecorporate form required by
theCosta Rican legalsystem forthat
purpose.
Banking andother financial services (excluding insurance):
(a)Acceptance ofdeposits and
other repayable funds from the
public.1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated inthe
horizontal section1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated in
thehorizontal sectionS/FIN/W/12/Add.27
Page 3Modes ofsupply: (1)Cross-border supply (2) Consumption abroad (3) Commercial presence (4) Presence ofnatural persons
Sector orsubsector Limitations onmarket access Limitations onnational treatment Additional
commitments
(b)Lending ofalltypes,
including, interalia,
consumer credit, mortgage
credit, factoring andfinancing
ofcommercial transactions.1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated inthe
horizontal section1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated in
thehorizontal section
(c)Credit cardservices: services
consisting inthefinancing of
thepurchase ofproducts using
credit cards orother types of
plastic money.1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated inthe
horizontal section1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated in
thehorizontal section
(d)Provision andtransfer of
financial information, and
financial dataprocessing and
related software byproviders
ofother financial services.1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated inthe
horizontal section1.Unbound
2.Unbound
3.None
4.Unbound, except asindicated in
thehorizontal section