Compromise for Ordinance 50: early payment fee dropped for old loans, costs unchanged

Bankers have managed to modify Ordinance 50 according to their own will, so that the form under which this will submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, after almost six months of debate, will allow them to keep the costs of old loans unchanged.
The Emergency Ordinance no. 50/June 2010 on consumer loans will only apply for loans sold after it came into effect, while the elimination of the early payment fee and certain stipulations on communicating cost modifications will be valid for old loans, as well.
This version, which was yesterday approved by the deputies of the Budget-Finance Commission part of the Chamber of Deputies, who had been prolonging debates for two months, leaves making old loan costs more transparent (indexing interest rates against independent indices and the elimination of certain fees, hanging, much to clients' discontent.
However, deputies included an amendment proposed by the groups of angry clients, forcing banks to grant debtors who are not more than 45 days late in paying back loans access to refinancing, without other costs or assessment, at the costs included in current offers.
After Commission debates are over, the draft law on the ordinance will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies, which has a decisional role and subsequently submitted to the Presidency for promulgation. National Liberal Party (PNL) representatives have already announced they will challenge the law, should it be promulgated in the current form, in the Constitutional Court.