Actual annual interest cannot exceed 50pct for consumer loans

The Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body for this draft, adopted on Wednesday the bill on the legal payable and penalising interest on financial dues, providing for the actual annual interest not to exceed the legal interest by more than 50 percent per annum for consumer loans under 15,000 lei and 40 percent per annum for those with a value exceeding 15,000 lei. 

The deputies adopted in this respect the draft law for the completion of Government Ordinance no 13 / 2011 on the legal payable and penalising interest on financial dues. 

The initiative stipulates that this measure also applies to ongoing contracts. 

According to the items adopted by deputies, "the actual annual percentage interest rate (...) may not exceed: a) by more than 3 percentage points in the case of mortgage or real estate loans as defined by Law No 190/1999 on the mortgage or real estate loans with the subsequent amendments and completions; the mortgage or real estate loan is defined as any credit contracted by consumers over a period of more than 10 years, guaranteed by mortgage on the purchased, built, rehabilitated, expanded or consolidated real estate, or (b) by 50 percent per annum in the case of consumer loans with a value of less than or equal to 15,000 lei and 40 percent per annum in the case of consumer loans with a value above 15,000 RON: so as to avoid any confusion, a consumer credit is any credit contracted by consumers that does not meet the criteria to be considered a mortgage or real estate loan, in the sense of letter a) above."