Ministry of justice restarts work on draft Anti-usury Act

On September 17, 2021, in the list of legislative works of the Council of Ministers was published information on work on a new draft of the so-called Anti-usury Act, on which the Ministry of Justice is once again working.

According to the assumptions of the draft, it is planned to reduce the limit of non-interest costs for consumer credit and cash loans. To this end, the limits introduced in March 2020 in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic will be restored. These limits were intended to be in force only during the crisis period.

At the same time, the originators of the draft wish to introduce a legal definition of non-interest costs of providing a cash benefit. In addition, among the new provisions will be the establishment of rules for the use of collateral for repayment of money loans. Once again, the draft also provides for the establishment of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority’s supervision over lending institutions concerning granting consumer credit.

The above draft amendments to the provisions on consumer credit are generally negatively evaluated by experts. The assumptions adopted in it do not meet the needs of consumers and participants in the consumer credit market. Work on the Anti-Credit Act is also in parallel with the European Commission’s efforts to revise the provisions of the Directive on Consumer Credit Agreements. There is therefore a high risk that the draft will interfere with the European initiative in this area.

Under the terms of the draft in question, the new provisions introducing a lower limit on non-interest costs of consumer credit would enter into force on the day the law is promulgated. Otherwise, the bill would enter into force six months after its promulgation.

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