Romania's consumer protection authority fines CEC Bank

Romania’s Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC) has fined state-owned lender CEC Bank for charging its customers a withdrawal fee for credit cards. This violates the credit legislation, according to ANPC. The state bank should return up to RON 5 million (EUR 1.1 million) to its clients. Most banks charge commissions for such transactions. Some fees total a few percent of the withdrawn amount, namely even 3%. The commissions are much higher than in the case of debit cards. The minimum withdrawal fee reaches RON 10 (EUR 2.2) in the case of the largest local lender BCR. The consumer protection authority believes that this practice is in breach of the law on consumer credit agreements, namely the article stating that "it is forbidden to charge a withdrawal fee for the amounts drawn from credit." ANPC has recently fined 15 local lenders with over RON 500,000 (EUR 108,700) for unfair commercial practices in advertising activities. The Chamber of Deputies sent back yesterday to the Parliament committees the draft law that introduces a series of limits for banks in terms of fees for vulnerable consumers. The budget and industry committees had introduced an amendment removing any banking fee for people who earn less than two minimum gross wages per month. Romania’s consumer protection authority asks bank to drop incorrect clauses editor@romania-insider.com