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IMF Worried About Retroactive Consumer Loan Norms In Romania

The International Monetary Fund is concerned about Romania’s decision to apply the EU directive on consumer loans retroactively, because the measure could lead to “negative effects” for the eastern European country, IMF mission head Jeffrey Franks said Tuesday.
IMF Worried About Retroactive Consumer Loan Norms In Romania

Franks said the Romanian authorities agreed to consider implementing the norms only for new loans.

„We’re optimistic we can find a solution,” Franks said after a meeting with officials of Romania’s consumer protection authority ANPC.

Romanian government approved in June an emergency ordinance regarding consumer loans, based on a document drafted by ANPC. The act transposes a European directive into the local legislation.

The ordinance eliminates early repayment fees for loans with variable interests and introduces a new calculation method for interests, based on a transparent reference index plus a fixed percentage, which cannot be modified throughout the duration of the contract.

ANPC extended the directive’s stipulations to also cover existing loans, forcing the banks to amend approximately 8 million loan contracts.