BCR returns with RON-denominated real estate loans at the end of the month

BCR, the largest bank by assets, has only temporarily suspended from its offer RON-denominated real estate loans and euro-denominated unsecured consumer loans in order to have its cost structure match provisions of the law on credits granted to the population, which came into force at the end of last year. The bank will return with its full range of loans by the end of January, say BCR officials.

"Modifying the IT system requires time and, in order not to have a discontinuity, we chose to restructure the pricing by eliminating fees. We had a large number of products and had to focus on those that generate the biggest volumes of sales. It was an opportunity-driven decision," said Ştefan Coroianu, manager of the retail loans division of BCR.
Law 288/2010 created based on the famous Ordinance 50/2010 (on making costs of retail loans transparent), forces banks to levy a fixed loan application fee and compute the loan management fee as a percentage of the outstanding loan. This amendment was introduced in the law at the last minute and caught most banks unprepared. They used to levy a fee calculated as a percentage of the value of the loan granted. BCR was among them, but in addition it had to also modify the management fee, which the bank used to compute as a percentage of the original value of the loan covering the entire repayment period, and not as a percentage of the outstanding amount.