Romania's consumer protection authority asks bank to drop incorrect clauses

Romania’s Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC) has asked local lender Raiffeisen Bank to drop several clauses considered incorrect from its loan contracts. The bank will also have to propose new reimbursement schedules to the clients that had the abusive clauses in their contracts, according to the order ANPC signed on Friday. The repayment schedule will thus take into account the conditions at the time of signing the contract. The local banking system currently has an image problem, ANPC general director told News.ro. Banks need to change their attitude and approach towards customers. ANPC has recently fined Raiffeisen Bank with RON 50,000 (EUR 11,000) for incorrect practices in relation to debtors in Swiss francs. Raiffeisen Bank introduced Swiss-denominated loans in Romania in 2006. It covered the related risks by introducing in contracts a clause that gave it the right to increase the interest rate discretionarily, according to internal Raiffeisen Bank documents. The bank didn’t inform the customers about the loan’s future costs, which led customers to making decisions they would not otherwise have taken, according to ANPC. editor@romania-insider.com