Regulation on Electronic Signatures of the Central Bank of Honduras

PURPOSE. The purpose of this Regulation is to establish rules governing the assignment and use of handwritten and advanced electronic signatures authorized for officials and employees of the Central Bank of Honduras, in accordance with the functions, nature, responsibilities and activities assigned to each position; as well as the authorized organizational structure of the Institution.

DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following terms shall be understood as: 1. Certification Authority or Certification Service Provider (CSP): Is the national natural or legal person accredited, responsible for issuing and revoking certificates or providing other services related to electronic signature, in accordance with what is established in the law. 2. Foreign Certification Authority or Entity: Is the foreign natural or legal person that is reliable and duly recognized internationally and complies with the provisions of the law, for which purpose, the list of foreign entities designated as reliable prepared by the Property Institute may be consulted. 3. Electronic Signature: Is the set of data in electronic form, included in a data message, attached or logically associated, that may be used to identify the signatory in relation to the data message and to indicate the intention that such party has regarding the information included therein. 4. Advanced Electronic Signature: That certified by an accredited service provider, which has been created using means that the holder maintains under its exclusive control, in such a way that it is linked solely to the same and to the data to which it refers, allowing the subsequent detection of any modification, verifying the identity of the holder and preventing disavowal of the integrity of the document and its authorship. 5. Handwritten Signature: Also known as holographic or graphic signature, is a manual stroke or handwritten writing that represents a person (generally the name and surname) or the title that a person writes with their own hand, to give it authenticity or to express approval of its content. 6. Digital or Electronic Certificate: Electronic document that confirms the univocal link between a signatory and the data for the creation of the signature, provided by a Certification Authority or Certification Service Provider (CSP) that attributes certainty and validity to the signature, bearing witness and guaranteeing the link between the identity of the user with their advanced electronic signature. 7. Signature Registry: Refers to the catalog of handwritten signatures authorized to officials and employees of the Central Bank of Honduras, where the full name of the authorized person is detailed, the position held, type of signature, scope of application, signature and half handwritten signature (holographic), as well as any other information that may be required. 8. Digital Certificate Registry for Signatures: Refers to the catalog of digital certificates for authorized advanced electronic signatures of employees and officials of the Central Bank of Honduras, where the full name of the authorized person is detailed, employee number, position held, type of signature, scope of application, serial number of the digital certificate and term of validity, as well as any other information that may be required. 9. PKI-BCH: Public Key Infrastructure (PKI by its English acronym), which the Central Bank of Honduras has in its capacity as Certification Authority or Certification Service Provider; composed of a set of cryptographic components, technological infrastructure and procedures based on international standards.

CLASSIFICATION OF SIGNATURES. The authorized signatures of the Central Bank of Honduras are classified as follows: Class "A": President, Vice President, Directors, Manager, Sub-managers, Branch Managers and any other official that Management designates. Class "B": Department Heads, Unit Heads and Division Heads of the Main Office and Branches and Section Heads of the Branches and any other official that Management designates. Class "C": Section Heads of the Main Office, Supervisors of the Treasury Section of the Branches and any other official or employee that Management designates. Class "AUD": Department Head, Division Heads and Section Heads of the Internal Audit Department.

SCOPE OF APPLICATION. The authorized signatures are classified into six scopes in accordance with the functions and responsibilities of the departments and positions of the Central Bank of Honduras, being assigned by Management, based on the opinion issued by the Department of Organization and Planning in accordance with the position held by the official or employee of the Institution, with the exception of the members of the Board of Directors, and are classified as follows: 1. Internal: Documentation and transactions for application within the Institution. 2. National Financial System: Documentation, contracts, agreements, correspondence and operations with institutions of the National Financial System. 3. National Institutional: Documentation, contracts, agreements and correspondence with State Secretariats, institutions of the Centralized and Decentralized Public Administration and Deconcentrated entities; as well as other institutions or public or private companies in the country. 4. Audit: Annual Certification of Financial Statements, Statement of Financial Position published monthly, opinions and audit reports on financial, administrative and internal control information; reports, plans, general correspondence and any other document or information related to audit functions, for internal and external use of the Institution. 5. Foreign Banks: Documentation, contracts, agreements, correspondence and operations with foreign banking institutions. 6. International: Documentation, contracts, agreements and correspondence with international organizations and institutions.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENT. In accordance with the scope of application, the documentation, contracts, agreements, correspondence and operations generated must comply with the minimum requirement of authorized signatures, according to the following detail: In the case of the Statement of Financial Position or Balance Sheet of the Central Bank of Honduras, it shall require four (4) signatures: two (2) Class "A", one (1) Class "B" and one (1) Class "AUD"; likewise, the Statement of Earnings and Losses, statements of account or any accounting documentation and information shall require one (1) Class "B" Signature.

AMOUNTS AND AUTHORIZED SIGNATURES. The authorized signatures Class "A", "B" or "C" with scope "National Financial System", "National Institutional", "Foreign Banks" and "International" are authorized to sign securities, payment orders, contracts, agreements or any other document that involves the payment or delivery of money, or failing that, obligates or commits the assets of the Central Bank of Honduras, in accordance with the limits in lempiras or its equivalent in United States dollars (USD) or any other currency, according to the amounts detailed below:

• a)

  Amounts greater than L2,500,000.00, two (2) signatures: one (1) Class "A" and one (1) Class "B".

• b)

  Amounts up to L2,500,000.00, two (2) Class "B" signatures.

• c)

  Amounts up to L500,000.00, two (2) signatures: one (1) Class "B" and one (1) Class "C".

ASSIGNMENT. The assignment of advanced electronic signature at the internal and external level of the Central Bank of Honduras shall be made in accordance with the class, scope and requirements described in Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Regulation, which shall have the same legal validity and efficacy as a handwritten signature or similar, provided that the conditions of authenticity, integrity and non-repudiation are technically guaranteed, being applied in electronic documents or messages via institutional email of the Central Bank of Honduras, through the use of digital certificates as detailed in Article 8.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL USE. The application of the authorized advanced electronic signature at the internal level of the Central Bank of Honduras in electronic documents or messages via institutional email shall be using digital certificates issued by the PKI-BCH and at the external level through digital certificates issued by a reliable Foreign Certification Authority or Entity duly recognized internationally or by the PKI-BCH itself.

NOTIFICATION. The Management of the Institution shall notify externally, by the appropriate means, regarding the adoption and use of the advanced electronic signature in the execution of electronic documents or messages via institutional email.

COMMUNICATION. The updating and communication to all interested parties of the changes in the Registry of Authorized Signatures of the Central Bank of Honduras shall be the responsibility of the Department of Organization and Planning, in accordance with the process defined for such purpose.

DIGITAL CERTIFICATES. The Department of Risk Management, as Registration Authority, shall be responsible for the receipt of applications, electronic registration, validation of information, approval of issuance and revocation of digital certificates for advanced electronic signature issued at the internal and external level of the Central Bank of Honduras, in accordance with the current internal regulations and processes.

UPDATING. The issuance and revocation of digital certificates shall be managed with the Department of Risk Management by the internal business areas and information systems management departments, in accordance with the processes and timelines established in internal regulations, who in turn shall be responsible for maintaining updated records of the general and technical information thereof (term of validity, serial number and service designation).

CUSTODY OF DOCUMENTS. The Department of Miscellaneous Services is responsible for ensuring the proper management of the document lifecycle and its subsequent transfer to the central repository of the Central Bank of Honduras, in accordance with the acceptance criteria of files executed with handwritten or advanced electronic signature, current internal regulations and processes.

OTHER SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENTS. The Management of the Institution may assign authorized signature to employees or positions not included within the Registry of Authorized Signatures, based on the activities that require it and for which they have been designated; likewise, it may authorize, as may the Sub-managements, temporary signature to employees who perform substitutions of positions with authorized signature, during the time the absence of the holder thereof lasts.

AUTHORIZATION OF REGULATIONS. The Manager is authorized to approve the norms and processes of a general nature and to take the actions that are necessary for the application of this Regulation.

Repeal Resolution No. 362-7/2019, issued by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Honduras on July 31, 2019, which contains the Regulation on Authorized Handwritten Signatures of the Central Bank of Honduras.

This Regulation shall enter into force as of its approval. II. This agreement shall enter into force as of this date and shall be published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. HUGO DANIEL HERRERA CARDONA Secretary