Romania Ctrl Bank To Ensure Consumer Loan Ordinance Complies With EU Norms

"We will make a public intervention (…) during this debate which has turned away from a normal framework," Isarescu told a news conference. "We don't need excesses," he added.

Isarescu said some of the stipulations of the ordinance 50, which transposes an EU directive on consumer loans into the local legislation, are not included in the EU norms and they "shouldn't be there."

"Had we've been consulted sooner, I believe we could have avoided many of the superfluous issues," he said.

Romanian government adopted in June an emergency ordinance regarding consumer loans, which transposes the EU's 2008/EC/48 directive into the local legislation. The new act applies to existing loans and the banks denounced the measure as abusive.

Officials of the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund repeatedly insisted Romania changed its consumer loan ordinance so it doesn't endanger financial stability.

According to a Commission statement on November 1, the government "agreed to work with the parliament to ensure that emergency ordinance 50 of 2010 improves transparency and protects consumer rights, while also safeguards the stability of the financial system.

"They will also ensure that the National Bank remains the only agency authorized to regulate banks' lending activity," it added.

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