Savings certificates

What is a savings certificate?

A savings certificate is a bond issued by a financial institution. When you buy one of our savings certificates, you’re effectively lending money to the bank. In return, the bank pays you an annual interest rate for the full term of your investment. At maturity, your initial investment is refunded in full.

Savings certificates are protected by the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

You can find general information about bonds in the "Bonds" factsheet. For more specific information about savings certificates, visit the Wikifin website "Qu'est-ce qu'un bon de caisse ?" (in French and Dutch only).

Risks associated with investing in a savings certificate

Liquidity risk: a savings certificate is not listed on the stock exchange. An investor typically buys a savings certificate with the intention of keeping it until maturity. In your securities account, savings certificates are valued at 100% for their entire term. The bank may redeem savings certificates before maturity, but is not obliged to do so. In the event of early redemption, BNP Paribas Fortis will determine the redemption price based on the parameters at the time (see below), which may result in a price lower than the nominal value. However, the redemption price will never exceed 100% of the nominal value. You should also consider the extra fees charged in the event of early redemption (see "Fees and levies applicable to BNP Paribas Fortis savings certificates" below).

Inflation risk: a savings certificate is always exposed to inflation risk. This means that an increase in inflation reduces the real (inflation-adjusted) return for all savers and investors. The risk of a negative real interest rate (nominal interest rate adjusted for inflation) is all the greater when inflation is high.

Credit risk: in the event that the issuer goes bankrupt or if the resolution authority requires it to undergo restructuring in order to avoid bankruptcy, you may not receive the interest due and you may not get back your original investment in full at maturity. However, savings certificates are covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to a maximum of €100,000 per person and per bank (see below).

Considering investing in a savings certificate? You'll find a detailed description of the characteristics and risks of our savings certificates in the documentation and prospectus dedicated to them.

Deposit Guarantee Fund

BNP Paribas Fortis is a member of the legally required deposit protection system in Belgium, the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

In the event of bankruptcy or if there is a risk of bankruptcy, the Deposit Guarantee Fund protects all assets in your accounts with BNP Paribas Fortis (current accounts, savings accounts, time deposit accounts and savings certificates) up to a maximum of €100,000 per person.

You can find more information on this topic

• in the Deposit Protection Information Brochure
• and on the Deposit Guarantee Fund website

Fees and levies applicable to BNP Paribas Fortis savings certificates

Fees

• No front-end fees.
• Recurring product fees (included in the issue price): maximum 1.25% per year.
• Fees in the event of early redemption: €5 + 0.70% of the redemption value and accrued interest.
• Financial servicing free of charge.
• Free custody in a securities account with BNP Paribas Fortis.

Tax regime applicable to non-professional individual customers resident in Belgium

• Professional withholding tax (WT): savings certificate interest is subject to a 30% professional withholding tax. The WT payment discharges individual investors from all tax liabilities in relation to this interest.
• Financial transaction tax (FTT): no FTT applies when buying or redeeming a savings certificate, or at maturity. An FTT of 0.12% applies when selling a certificate on the secondary market (up to a maximum of €1,300 per transaction).

The tax treatment depends on the individual situation of each investor and may change later. Other categories of investors are invited to enquire about the tax regime applicable to them.

Documentation on our savings certificates

Savings certificates are subject to Belgian law. You can find all the legal and commercial documents for savings certificates that are or have been available to purchase on our bond issue website:

Our bond issues

Complaints

Any complaint about our investment products and/or services should be sent by post to BNP Paribas Fortis SA – Complaints Department– Montagne du Parc 3, 1000 Brussels or by email to gestiondesplaintes@bnpparibasfortis.com.

If you’re not happy with the proposed solution, you can send your complaint by post to Ombudsfin – Financial Services Mediation Service - North Gate II, Blvd du Roi Albert II 8 (Bte 2), 1000 Brussels or by email to ombudsman@ombudsfin.be.