According to statements made at today’s press conference, cited by Financial Intelligence, ANPC President Horia Constantinescu signed orders to stop misleading and improper practices for 11 banks.

Horia Constantinescu said that banks should stop threatening to file complaints in court.

Banks will have to issue new repayment schedules, according to which consumers will pay the principal amount of the loan in equal installments throughout the crediting period, explained the Director General of the National Authority for the Protection of Consumer Rights (ANPC), Paul Angel, quoted by Agerpres.

“I would like to say that I have divided this breach record into two phases. The first phase will be before what happens to the loans, the products that they offer to consumers, and what the financial and banking institution should do. We even indicated it is in order and we say this: therefore it is necessary to issue new repayment schedules where the principal amount of the loan must be paid by consumers in equal installments throughout the loan period, in relation to the interest associated with the loan, so that average consumers can benefit from equality between by the parties to the contract, and the existence of a contractual balance so that consumers can make an informed trading decision and anticipate any misleading cost or calculation method,” said Paul Angel.

He explained that the provision applies to products that will be offered from the date of the cease-and-desist order.

“What happens to those that are ongoing? The lawyer is right that the financial and banking institutions have already contacted us and told us: ‘Sir, what exactly do we have to do to enter the legality?’. We are not interested, let’s , challenge the protocol. And there are quite a few, I say, institutions that have acted this way. And I said there’s also thesis number two, if you want, I’ll quote it to you: it requires the financial banking economic operator to order the contractual balance to be restored in their current contracts and then carry out a recalculation of the contractual benefits by restructuring the monthly contribution according to a fair formula to comply with the provisions of paragraph 1, which I told you earlier, about the establishment of equal installments of the principal amount, giving the consumer the option of choosing, proving that,” said Paul Angel.

Angel emphasized that banking institutions comply with regulations 50 and 52, but the problem is the interest rate.

“So it’s not that Resolution 50 or 52 isn’t being followed. Decree 50 or 52 is followed. I repeat again that it provides for compensation in equal parts or diminishing fractions. This is completely normal. The problem is how you, the professional, play with the mind of the consumer and you force him to choose a product in a certain situation in which he is vulnerable. Why is he vulnerable? Because he wants to purchase goods, whether we are talking about immovable goods or even movable goods. Sometimes there is a possibility that he will not get the appropriate loan and will not realize his dream of purchasing the appropriate property,” said Paul Angel.

Lawyer Adrian Koukoulis also reported that banks have started calling clients for negotiations.

It will be recalled that last week the ANPC fined 11 banks for deceptive practices regarding the calculation of rates, which bypassed the editors. The ANPC communiqué talks about cartel agreements between banks, accusing credit institutions in somewhat populist language of having “brought Romanians to their knees.”

So HotNews spoke to all the parties involved to find out what customers should do from now on and what’s next

Representatives of the banking community say they will challenge the Presidential Decree in court.

“The Association of Romanian Banks (ARB) supports the banks’ efforts to challenge the notices of infringement concluded by the National Authority for the Protection of Consumer Rights (ANPC). The banking community is seeking all legal avenues to correct this injustice and bring to justice those responsible for the serious image damage caused to the banking sector.

Defaming credit institutions through false and defamatory statements is abusive, and we understand that this type of rhetoric should not be allowed in the public space. In this context, we consider the rapid intervention of higher hierarchical institutions to be necessary,” the ARB said in a statement.

In addition, several whistleblowers have sent an open letter to parliamentarians and the government, alleging a series of wrongdoings at the ANPC level.

“We consider ourselves whistleblowers of integrity, under the protection of anonymity, because we bring to the attention of the public and authorities actions that we believe are illegal and that take place in a government structure in violation of the law, internal rules or regulations that may be a threat to the public interest or public safety. We have been telling you for months that the National Consumer Protection Authority is no longer a public interest institution and that this important regulatory institution is in the grip of personal and/or group interests.

What has been happening in the ANPC for several days with the so-called control actions in financial institutions is in fact an unprecedented abuse of a control body in Romania, and from a legal point of view, an abuse of the president in the position of Mr. Horia Miron Constantinescu and ANPC CEO Mr. Paulo Silviu Angel,” the integrity whistleblowers said in a two-page letter with specific allegations.