Moldova will provide more transparency in the advertising of loans and prohibit a floating interest rate on loans in the amount of less than 3 average monthly salaries in the economy.
This is provided for by the relevant amendments to the Law on Credit Agreements with Consumers, the Law on the National Bank of Moldova, the Civil Code, which the Parliament adopted in the first reading. The bill provides, among other things, that when advertising the terms of loan agreements, the size of letters and numbers of the actual annual interest rate should be 3 times higher than the fixed or floating interest rate on the loan indicated in the advertisement. In addition, it is proposed to ban the floating interest rate on loans in the amount of less than 3 average monthly salaries in the economy. The bill provides for amendments to the Civil Code related to the establishment of a credit interest rate on outstanding balances of loans in the banking sector. Thus, in the event of a decrease in the average interest rate on outstanding credit balances from 1 to 2 years in the banking sector, calculated by the National Bank, the creditor bank is obliged to notify the debtor of this reduction within a period of not more than 5 working days after the publication of these data. If the average interest rate in the banking sector on outstanding loan balances for a period of 1 to 2 years decreased by at least 1 p.p. compared to the same indicator at the date of signing the contract, the contract with the debtor can be renegotiated in order to change the interest rate - the adjustment in favor of the debtor should be at least 50% of the reduction in the average interest rate in the banking sector. In case of renegotiation of a loan agreement, the date of signing an additional agreement on changing the interest rate under the loan agreement becomes a new benchmark for the average interest rate on the balance of loans. If the bank refuses to renew the loan agreement with a change in the interest rate in favor of the debtor, then the latter will have the right to early repay the loan agreement without paying any financial sanctions due to early repayment. The Civil Code will also be supplemented by provisions according to which a higher-ranking pledgee will not be able to prohibit the debtor from pledging these guarantees in favor of another creditor who will establish a lower-ranking pledge. It will be stipulated that the superior pledgee may not prevent the debtor from pledging these guarantees in favor of another creditor who establishes a lower grade pledge, and any provision of the contract by which the higher pledgee prohibits the debtor from pledging the pledged assets as a lower grade pledge in favor of another creditor shall be considered null and void. The bill also provides for the creation by the National Bank of an interbank mortgage online platform, through which a mortgage lender transfers information to any licensed bank of his choice in order to determine a profitable alternative. Maintenance and management, as well as automation of this platform, are proposed to be assigned to the regulator.// 19.05.2022- InfoMarket.
