Prompted by the media interest for the announced amendments to the Consumer Credit Act, the Croatian National Bank deems it necessary to inform the public of the following:

In drafting amendments to the Consumer Credit Act the Croatian National Bank has been closely co-operating with the proposing authority - the Ministry of Finance.

One of the more substantial changes proposed in the said amendments is the provision prescribing that as regards future changes of the (agreed, variable) interest rates creditors need to lay down variability parameters in advance, which must not depend on the will of an individual bank but be objective.

The amendments to the said act would thus fully accomplish their purpose of additionally protecting loan beneficiaries. They would provide them, in case the creditor raises interest rates, with the possibility of refinancing the existing loan with the loan from another bank within the period of three months and free of charge. This would stimulate competition among credit institutions, motivating them, in addition to published variability parameters, to take into account market conditions when deciding on changes to their interest rates.

We would also like to inform the public that amendments to the Credit Institutions Act are under way, as well as other measures envisaging, among other things, detailed elaboration of the regulatory framework pertaining to consumer protection. The stress will be placed on the improvement of the transparency of the activities undertaken by credit institutions, as well as their active involvement in the timely education of consumers.