The National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) has sanctioned 11 banks for their misleading commercial practices regarding the method of payment calculation because the repayment schedule consisted of the installment in the early years at 25% of the principal balance to be repaid, and 75% interest.

“With this method of calculation, consumers were actually paying mostly interest,” ANPC says.

11 banks:

ING Bank

The first bank

Loans from the European Bank

OTP Bank

Alfa Bank

Bank of Transylvania

Raiffeisen Bank

BCR

Patria Bank

UniCredit Bank

BRD Groupe Societe Generale.

“As part of market surveillance activities, the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) conducted a series of inspections of how banks execute medium and long-term credit agreements with a maturity of more than 10 years to individual consumers. , in lei or foreign currency, as well as if the elements stipulated in the terms of the contract respect the rights of consumers,” the institution reports.

Goria Constantinescu, president of ANPC, says that “if even one consumer has his life turned upside down because of his desire to be better, we have a duty to be there for him.”

“In this case, we are talking about a very large number of consumers who instantly became supporters of the entire banking system, and not themselves. Knowing that halfway through the loan agreement you have done nothing but pay the interest and a very small portion of the loan is a big burden on the shoulders of borrowers,” says Constantinescu.

If everything were balanced, the head of the ANPC claims, “in a rational way and in favor of consumers, perhaps many families today would no longer experience financial drama.”

• “Under these aspects sanctioned by our authorities today, group interests and a cartel seem to be hidden. We will also forward the conclusions of our colleagues to the Competition Council so that they can also analyze the whole situation.”

“If there are elegant premises, usury can have a different name,” Horia Constantinescu also said, clarifying that he will issue orders to stop this practice in the near future, and “we are also ready for a legal battle for thousands of consumers today.” on his knees from the burden of installments.”

What fines have the banks received?

“In order to be able to restore the contractual balance, in addition to the counter-conventional sanction, i.e. 11 fines of 550,000 lei, the commissioners of the ANPC proposed a measure to issue new repayment schedules, both for pending loans and for future ones that consumers pay the principal amount of the loan in equal shares during the entire lending period in relation to interest on the loan,” the press release states.

By implementing this measure, ANPC says, average consumers can benefit from equality between the parties to the contract, as well as ensure contractual balance so that consumers can make an informed trading decision and anticipate any misleading cost or calculation method.