2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART VI - Control And Supervision (§§ 2001 — 2109) › Chapter 131 - Office of the Financial Institutions Commissioner (§§ 2001 — 2021) › § 2008 - Financing Board—Creation and members

(a) The Financial Board is hereby created in the Office of the Commissioner, which shall be composed of nine (9) members, including the Commissioner.
(b) The other members are: the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall act as the Chairperson of the Board, the Secretary of Economic and Commercial Development, the Secretary of Consumer Affairs, the President of the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico, the Chairperson of the Planning Board, the President of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, the Executive President of the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives of Puerto Rico and the Insurance Commissioner.
Said Board is hereby empowered to fix, regulate, increase or reduce, by regulations and, for the time needed, the maximum interest rates or charges applicable to specific financial transactions within the framework of any sector, area or activity of the country not covered by special laws, with the exception of § 111 of this title, including the interest payable on deposits in banking institutions and financial institutions, but subject and in accordance to the following norms:
(1) The rate of interest and the financial sector to which it shall be applicable shall be determined by regulations.
(2) The determination to raise the interest rates shall [be] made when it can reasonably be foreseen that because of discrepancies between the interest rates prevailing in the market and the maximum rates allowed by law in Puerto Rico, there is a risk that capital investment in specific sectors or financial activities in Puerto Rico is halted or reduced.
(3) The decision shall be based on a study of the prevailing cost in the market for the money available to finance diverse financial areas or activities and the adverse effect to the economy in general, or any of its sectors or the citizens, that could occur if no action is taken to change, by increasing or reducing interest rates or charges in effect at a given time. The Financing Board may also determine not to fix maximum interest rates and charges, and leave the market open to free competition.
Provided, further, That the Financing Board may request the advice of the financial industry.
(c) The travel expenses of any Board member in representation of the Board shall be paid according to the regulations issued by it to such effect.
(d) The Board shall meet when the Chairperson calls the same, as it may be deemed pertinent, with due prior notice, of not less than twenty-four (24) hours. Four (4) of its members shall constitute a quorum, in which calculation the participation of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner shall always be taken into account. The members shall be entitled to participate in any meeting by means of telephone conferencing, or other means of communication, through which all the persons participating in the meeting may listen to each other simultaneously. The participation of the Board in the manner described above shall constitute attendance to said meeting. In every determination made by the Board there must be a quorum and it shall be approved by the affirmative vote of the majority of the members of the Board present. In case an affirmative vote of the majority of the Board members present cannot be obtained because of a tie vote, the proposal under discussion shall be defeated. The Board may also issue determinations by means of a referendum. The approval of a determination by means of a referendum requires the affirmative vote of the majority of the members of the Board.
(e) No member of the Board shall take part in the deliberations and decisions on any matter related to any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or person who is an interested party or who was or has been an officer, director, partner, employee, member, or shareholder thereof, at any time during the previous three (3) years. A member may disqualify him/herself from participating in the deliberations and decisions for any other reason that he/she or the Board deem justified.
(f) Any technical, legal or clerical assistance needed by the Board shall be furnished by the Commissioner.
History —Oct. 11, 1985, No. 4, p. 857, § 8; Aug. 28, 1991, No. 76, § 2; Oct. 23, 1999, No. 319, § 2; Aug. 17, 2001, No. 114, § 38.