Consumer Protection Commissariat of the County of Cluj threatens suspending the lending activities of BCR

On Friday, the Consumer Protection Commissariat of the County of Cluj (CJPC) fined BCR with 100,000 lei and proposed the suspension of the bank"s license in the county of Cluj.

The head of CJPC Cluj, Mircea Radu, said Friday, in a press conference that the fine was levied because the bank included the risk commission in the account keeping fee, which is illegal.

"CJPC Cluj has fined yet another bank with the amount of 100,000 lei, for including the risk fee inside the account keeping fee, which is illegal and represents a violation of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 50/2010. We have proposed that the National Consumer Protection Agency (ANPC) suspend lending operations at the bank", Mircea Radu said, referring to BCR.

He said that the sanction came after the Commissariat received complaints from over 80 customers.

In November, CJPC Cluj levied a 100,000 fine on Volksbank, and the suspension of lending activities was requested in that case as well.

The National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) said for "BURSA" that the case of Volksbank is still being reviewed and no decision has been made yet. On the other hand, the officials of the ANPC said that they were not familiar with the case of BCR.

In turn, the National Bank of Romania recently requested that the ANPC be denied the right to suspend banks" lending operations.

According to the law, the Commissariat is prohibited from mentioning the name of the banking institutions that were fined before the court comes to a decision. Representatives of BCR declined to provide any comments.