Must stop lending
The Consumer Agency published a press release yesterday stating that they have banned the fast-loan company Lite lender, which conducts loan operations under 4 different brands, to lend money to private individuals. At the same time, the company is warned of Advance Pay and is forced to pay USD 200,000 in penalties.
The reason for these measures is that the companies mentioned above do not do a sufficiently good credit check, which means that they cannot assess the repayment capacity of the borrower. For example, companies have not requested information on expenses and other loans, which means that a proper credit check cannot be done.
Lite lender announces on its website that they will appeal the order from the Consumer Agency and now a legal process is expected that could lead to the company ceasing lending to consumers.
According to the Consumer Agency, which exercises supervision for, among other things, If the case is appealed, it is up to the Administrative Court to decide when Lite lender will cease its lending.
It is the first time ever that the Consumer Agency has taken such a hard time against a fast-loan company with same day approval and therefore the event was noticed in Sweden’s largest media.
Important with proper credit check
In recent years, the authorities have made increasingly stringent demands on fast-mortgage companies with the aim of, among other things, regulate the market and raise the quality of companies that conduct this type of lending. This includes This means that the Consumer Agency has reviewed the credit review process at most fast-loan companies
Doing a proper credit check is necessary to make a good assessment of whether or not a borrower can repay his loan. As a borrower, one should be critical if a company does not do a proper credit check as the credit check is also for the benefit of the customer.
New law places higher demands
On July 1, 2014, the Act on Certain Business with Consumer Credit entered into force, which means that permission is now required from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority to conduct lending operations to private individuals. All lenders have until December to submit their application.
Thereafter, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority will conduct a thorough review and then make a decision on whether the companies meet the requirements or not. Previously, fast-mortgage companies only had to be registered with Finansinspektionen, but now the companies end up under the supervision, which in itself places higher demands on fast-bank companies.
– We look at this very positively because it will ultimately benefit consumers so that more people can really apply sound credit. In addition, the market will be decontaminated, which means that rogue players will no longer be able to offer lending. Maeldúin is one of the largest players in this market and we work hard to offer high quality and secure consumer loans.
When a company falls under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, it will in practice mean that the company becomes completely transparent to the authority. You are constantly forced to report on required information as well as to show how you work to prevent, for example, money laundering.
The authorities will henceforth be able to make a better assessment of whether a company can truly live up to the requirements to be a stable lender who can follow all laws, rules and guidelines.
The law benefits consumers and serious lenders
For the consumer this means only benefits. As a borrower, you can today end up in the hands of rogue companies. On the internet, you come across everything from companies that claim that our lenders but are really only loan intermediaries to companies that are lenders but can have hutless prices and poor conditions for the consumer.
– Unfortunately, not all customers read the general terms and conditions, and it is usually in the terms that one can read whether a company is serious or not. For this reason, we believe that a secure relationship between lenders and borrowers is very important. Be sure to do a proper check on the company you are borrowing money from. A good way is to contact the industry association for fast loans to see who the members are.
SKEF is also a quality body that places demands on its members. The Consumer Agency, whose members are supervised, meets with member companies once every six months. about how they think a proper credit check should go.