ArmInfo. Micro-loan advertising in Armenia may be limited to 200 thousand drams. Amendments to the law "On consumer lending" and the package of related laws were discussed at a meeting of the parliamentary commission on financial-credit and budgetary issues. Documents in the prescribed manner will be considered at the plenary session of the RA National Assembly.
According to the co-author of the presented package, NA deputy A. Artak Manukyan, often citizens of the country, buying advertising offers from commercial banks at interest rates, attract credit resources without thinking about paying the principal amount of the loan. As a result, the total loan amount for many becomes an unbearable burden. For this reason, many citizens of the country were in a difficult financial situation. The package proposes to limit advertising of any type of consumer credit on radio, television, mobile communications or the Internet. The exception will be advertising on the official website of the financial structure. Information on the size of a consumer loan should be presented in the announcement only on actual payments. The calculation of the annual actual interest rate should not include conditions that may mislead the consumer. The Central Bank in its regulatory legal acts establishes mandatory requirements and conditions for consumer loans in the amount of up to AMD 200 thousand, attracted for up to three months, lending rules based on consumer credit criteria, the ratio of consumer debt and income, and the rating of consumer loans. The law will enter into force on January 1, 2021. By this time, the Central Bank undertakes to prepare all the necessary regulatory acts for the application of this document. In turn, another author of the package, MP Varazdat Karapetyan, stressed that the main goal of the bills is to protect socially disadvantaged groups. According to him, the appeal to banks leads citizens to impoverishment. In order to solve the problems facing socially vulnerable sectors of society, various state social support programs are applied.
