The Association of Ukrainian Banks (AUB) together with seven companies working in the field of consumer lending, signed memorandum on responsible lending. The document provides for a more thorough check when issuing loans at night, ethical collection activities and compliance with the legal norm regarding the daily interest rate within 1%.
“AUB, together with its committee members, initiated the creation of the memorandum as a market self-regulation initiative. Its purpose is to show that consumer credit companies can act responsibly and honestly, without additional pressure from the state.” – said the president of AUB Andriy Dubas.
Among the signatories of the memorandum are “Aventus-Ukraine” (CreditPlus), “Maniveo quick financial assistance” (Moneyveo), “1 safe agency of necessary loans” (My credit), “New credits”, “Vizhinfund Ukraine”, “Multicredit” (bee credit) and “Spozhivchy center” (“ShydkoGroshy”).
As Dubas pointed out, the main idea of the memorandum is that the signatory companies will assess the solvency of borrowers with special attention, especially when issuing loans at night, in order to prevent rash financial decisions. The document also defines the standards of collection activities. It is forbidden to publish photos of debtors, contact their relatives or resort to other unethical methods of pressure.
The president of AUB emphasized that there are many companies operating in Ukraine in the field of consumer lending, but the main share of the market is controlled by approximately 20 large players, who form up to 90% of the volume of lending. According to him, the problem is that the unethical behavior of even one small company can spoil the reputation of the entire sector.
“That is why the responsible participants decided to sign the memorandum to show their openness and support the initiatives of the National Bank to regulate this area.” – explained the president of AUBG.
