Băsescu: It is a false impression that Ordinance 50 applies retroactively

Ordinance 50 on loan contracts for individuals is not a retroactive move, as bankers say, and it needs to be turned into law because it regulates the future and banks’ temptation to introduce new fees, new payment obligations for loan holders and especially for those who are late with payments and reschedule their loans, President Traian Băsescu says.
“The point of view I conveyed to parties was that the Ordinance, which we are hoping will become law, does not apply retroactively. It targets strictly what is going on between banks and clients at present. Therefore, no bank can say the ordinance targets fees and interest rates that clients were due to pay before the publication of the ordinance,” said the head of state, quoted by Mediafax agency, after yesterday’s meeting with ruling coalition parties.
Whereas at the end of last week the chief of the IMF mission Jeffrey Franks said explicitly that the modification of OUG 50 becomes a pre-condition for the next instalment, at Monday’s press conference he refrained from reiterating the statement, instead making a general comment on the need to keep the banking sector balanced. The situation will be clarified when the government’s new letter of intent is published, with there also being the possibility of an unofficial commitment to the banking sector.