More trouble in the banking system

The government recently issued government ordinance nr. 50, aimed at harmonizing bank lending regulations in Romania with those in all other EU states, a piece of legislation that has caused a lot of grumbling and complaints in the lending industry. What irks banks is not the ordinance itself, but its rules of application.


Borrowers complain about the short time that they have to fill in additional forms, and, in some cases, the fees that banks collect. That happened because banks complied with the government order to eliminate the fee for early payment of loans, along with other fees, but in turn they introduced new abusive clauses in the newly drafted contracts.

These clauses result in more costs for the customer. Bank representatives say that they are open to dialogue, individually or collectively.


However, the Office for Consumer Protection has more and more complaints on file from loan customers, who are already threatening to sue.

Bankers say that, on short term, Government Ordinance 50 is beneficial for the consumer, but that on long term the consumer will be the one to suffer the hike in interest rates and other costs. Radu Gratian Ghetea also pointed out another aspect:


“We believe that if this regulation applies to previously issued loans, the ordinance has to be clear, in order to avoid what is happening now: upset customers, and people wasting time in courts. I don’t believe this was the purpose of the law”.


That may definitely be the case, considering that the prolonged economic crisis has caused a lot of people to pay their loans late.

(Radio România Internaţional, Serviciul în limba engleză).