During the first six months of 2025, as many as 496 consumers went through the entire conciliation process: application filing, negotiation, final resolution ó a solution accepted by both parties (in 373 cases), or reached an amicable settlement directly with their banks/NBFIs, having first approached ABDRC (in 123 cases).

In the six three months of the year, 39 court cases were closed because the parties wanted and managed to find an amicable solution with the help of ABDRC.

The number of compliant applications registered in the first six months of the year stands at 1,464 applications, with both the number of applications to banks and the number of applications to NBFIs lower this year compared to the same period last year, amid a decrease in the volume of requests for de-registration from the Credit Bureau. Some consumers continued to experience genuine difficulties in making the due payments, and these justified circumstances required identification of solutions to rebalance the contractual obligations (with the applications being submitted directly to creditors, or via ABDRC).

Of the total number of applications received before the end of H1 2025, 1,095 concerned different issues in relation with banks, whereas 369 concerned different issues in relation with NBFIs.

Thus, the share of applications to NBFIs fell below last year’s reference period: from 30% of total/H1 2024 down to 25% of total/H1 2025.

Moreover, the share of applications intended at banks observes a slight increase in the two periods subject to comparison: 70% of the total/at the end of H1 2024, and 75% of the total/H1 2025.

In this statistical slot, we need to highlight also that, in the first six months of this year, the number applications for deregistration from the Credit Bureau (CB) decreased compared to last year (a decrease by approximately 50%).

At the end of H1 2025, we see 321 applications for deregistration from the CB (156 intended at banks + 165 intended at NBFIs), while the number of this type of applications recorded at the end of H1 2024 was 669. It should be reminded that most of the applications concerning issues in relation to the Credit Bureau, the First Home programme or assigned loans are closed because, on a case-by-case basis, these are governed by a special piece of legislation which leaves but limited or even no room whatsoever for negotiation.

The number of casefiles formed at the end of H1 2025 reached 415. Two casefiles were formed in relation to a NBFI and 413 were formed in relation to banks. By way of comparison, 524 casefiles were formed in the first six months of 2024 (all in relation to banks). Of the casefiles formed this year and settled until the end of the reference period, 373 concluded with a resolution (the parties accepted the solution proposed by the conciliator), while other 24 casefiles are still being processed (at the end of H1 2025). In 11 casefiles, one of the parties rejected the solution rendered by the conciliator and a report was issued, whereas in 7 casefiles, one of the parties withdrew.

The number of resolutions handed down in the first half of this year is 373, compared to the figure reported for the same period of last year, i.e. 444 resolutions (during the two periods under review, being H1 2025 and H1 2024, the share of resolutions out of the total solutions is 97% in both years).

Furthermore, before the end of the first half (H1) of 2025, 123 applications were settled amicably by traders after the respective cases having been referred to ABDRC (traders negotiated directly with consumers), broken down as follows: 91 applications settled amicably with banks, and 32 applications settled amicably with NBFIs.

At the end of the H1 of this year, we counted 1,025 enquiries made by phone, and 165 persons/consumers accessed the chat function available on the ABDRC website.

A breakdown of the applications by traders looks as follows:

Banks:

• 1,095 compliant applications;
• 400 non-compliant applications;
• 978 requests for miscellaneous information.

Classification of the 1,095 compliant applications:

• 413 casefiles created in the end of H1 2025;
• 357 applications in screening phase – documents are being reviewed;
• 91 applications were settled amicably by the parties, but this after the consumer having first referred the case to ABDRC;
• 318 cases were closed;
• 57 applications were adjoined.

Classification of the 413 casefiles undergoing the procedure with proposed solution/conciliation:

• 372 resolutions handed down – the parties came to terms;
• 24 casefiles in the processing phase;
• 10 reports – the parties did not come to terms;
• 7 casefiles in which one of the parties withdrew.

Methods of filing compliant applications – regardless of the referral channel, all compliant applications are entered into the IT application used to manage applications and casefiles:

• 414 were submitted via the app (website);
• 179 were e-mailed;
• 486 were mailed;
• 16 were brought to, and registered by consumers with the office of ABDRC.

NBFIs:

• 369 compliant applications.

Classification of the 369 compliant applications:

• 2 casefiles (one casefile formed in 2025 from one application received before the end of 2024);
• 26 applications in the screening phase;
• 32 applications were settled amicably between NBFIs and consumers, after the consumer having first approached ABDRC;
• 310 were closed – rejected by the NBFIs.

Means of filing compliant applications:

• 328 were submitted via the app (website);
• 34 were filed by email;
• 4 were mailed;
• 3 was brought to, and registered by the consumer at the office of ABDRC.

The applications received from consumers covered the following topics:

• Problems in connection with credit products:

• • Refunds (of fees/commissions, interest);
  • Shift from ROBOR to IRCC;
  • Reduction of loan principal/debt/instalment, or writing off overdue amounts;
  • Rescheduling/refinancing/staging-out;
  • Agreement renegotiation/rebalancing (including for hardship);
  • Finding a solution to address the problems (in general);
  • Conversion of the loan currency;
  • Problems with insurance policies (bancassurance);
  • Interest recalculation;
  • Payment commitments;
  • Maturity acceleration;
  • Removal of certain clauses;
  • Credit Bureau (deregistration from CB).

• Operational problems:

• • Problems with operation of the ATMs (including refunds);
  • Problems in connection with wire transfers and refunds of transaction fees;
  • Refunds in case of processing errors;
  • Recovery of amount wrongly transferred by consumers (internet banking);
  • Provision of clarifications about calculation of the amounts withdrawn by banks from the credit card account;
  • Other card-related problems (cancellation/name change);
  • Problems in connection with the exchange rate and interests charged when using the cards abroad;
  • Problems regarding inter-banking transfers.

• Problems related to other types of activities:

• • Problems in connection with forced execution (suspensions/stays of proceedings);
  • Requests to be issued documents (repayment schedules, statements of account, etc.);
  • Refunds of garnished amounts;
  • Mortgage deregistration;
  • Fraud committed via bank channels.

The main reason for closing an application is the refusal of traders to have the dispute settle via ADR procedure, and the reasons for closing fall into several categories:

• Good reasons (main) – the application concerns:
  • deregistration of entries from the Credit Bureau;
  • “First Home” loans;
  • claim assigned to companies which are not regulated by the National Bank of Romania;
  • the state premium under saving-credit contracts.

• Reasons related to consumers:
  • selection of a trader the business of which is not regulated by the National Bank of Romania;
  • selection of a trader they don’t have commercial relations with;
  • the information/documents required for resolving the application have not been supplied;
  • the consumer does not reply within 90 days;
  • the consumer withdraws.

• Other reasons:
  • pending court proceedings;
  • forced execution procedures have already been initiated;
  • traders made several offers, but all of them were turned down by consumers (before approaching ABDRC), and traders maintain their point of view in the initial answer sent to consumers;
  • lack of grounds (claimed by the trader).

BENCHMARKING:

FINANCIAL EDUCATION:

• Since the start of the year, ABDRC has been running an awareness, financial education and communication campaign involving commercial banks, journalists and ABDRC conciliators. Over the recent years, more and more people are finding out about ABDRC’s existence and work from the Centre’s communication and awareness campaigns.
• ABDRC continues the production of the fifth season of the ABDRC Podcasts. The financial education podcasts hosted by the Centre are attended by specialists in the areas under discussion, credit brokers, representatives of commercial banks, the Romanian Association of Banks (RAB), the National Bank of Romania (NBR), the Credit Bureau and ABDRC conciliators. The debates are moderated by financial analysts, financial education specialists and top business journalists.
• Season 5 podcasts address topics inspired by the types bank negotiation applications that consumers file with ABDRC. These topics cover: cards and payments; bank loans; bank fraud; foreclosures; court proceedings versus alternative dispute resolution, Credit Bureau, etc.
• Each podcast broadcast is accompanied by a three-week promotional campaign that includes: press release, video and text ads on csalb.ro, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube), and through media partners (TV channels, radio, online media, local media, blogposts).
• Another way of informing consumers is the ABDRC newsletter sent out to consumers of financial services who subscribed to receive this information. A new page was created on the csalb.ro website to allow consumers to sign up for the ABDRC Newsletters.
• ABDRC has produced and distributed to commercial banks more than 100,000 information flyers, on which consumers can directly fill in an application to negotiate with the bank.
• In early 2025, ABDRC held its annual press conference attended by conciliators, members of the Steering Board, and TV, radio and written press journalists.
• The csalb.ro website has a section dedicated to financial education, where one can find narrative and video information that consumers can rely on to make their financial decisions.
• Via its call-centre, ABDRC contacts consumers who want this (having agreed to this in various social media campaigns) by phone. They receive information about an alternative procedure to settle their disputes with banks/NBFIs.

CONCLUSIONS:

The ABDRC services continue to be accessed by the Romanians who have problems with banks/NBFIs. Benefits of conciliation: the court proceedings are avoided and the contractual relations between parties continue; short case settlement time (an average of approximately one month over the last years, and of 15 days in 2024); the fact that the procedure is free of charge for consumers, added to the expertise of conciliators, are all important benefits for both consumers and the financial and banking institutions involved in these negotiations, particularly during economically difficult times, the effects of the pervasive rise in prices due to the unfavourable economic and political international context still being present. In this context, the conclusions drawn for the first six months of 2025 are as follows:

• During the first six months of 2025, Romanians filed 1,464 applications for negotiation with banks and NBFIs.
• The share of applications intended at banks (out of total) went up from 70% to 75%.
• While the total number of applications fell in H1 2025, we saw an increase in negotiable applications out of total applications. Thus, the share of negotiable applications out of total applications/H1 2025 is 78%, compared to the share of negotiable applications in the same period last year/H1 2024 which is 65%. This is due to a drop from 669 (in H1 2024) down to 321 (in H1 2025) in the number of applications for deregistration from the Credit Bureau (which cannot be negotiated via ABDRC, but are settled directly by the parties or are closed).
• The number of negotiation casefiles (applications accepted by banks/NBFIs) reached 415/H1 2025 vs 524/H1 2024.
• In 373 cases, the consumers came to terms with their banks, after having accepted the solution proposed by conciliators.
• The fact that the traders operating in the financial and banking system continued to welcome the amicable (direct) settlement further to a referral to ABDRC is another way of solving the claims raised by consumers, particularly when these claims concern simple matters and do not necessarily require the intervention/expertise of the ABDRC conciliators: 123 such cases/H1 2025 vs 172 such cases at the end of H1 2024.
• At the end of H1 2025, the negotiation procedures involving consumers and banks facilitated by ABDRC resulted into benefits in excess of EUR 1.18 million. Thus, the total amount of the benefits obtained (in all 9 years of operational activity of the Centre) is approximately EUR 15.5 million.
• We will continue to employ efforts to make more popular, and ensure media coverage of, the alternative resolution through the courts of law across the country.

The WEBSITE www.csalb.ro makes available also for legal entities an online tool, which allows for faster and smoother submission of the conciliation applications. On the first page of the website, consumers are prompted to access this application by filling in an application. On average, it takes 7 minutes to fill out the application directly on the website csalb.ro.

The documents entered in the registration form are uploaded into the app, and their processing time is approximately one hour. The application was setup in observance of the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The Alternative Banking Dispute Resolution Centre (ABDRC) is an independent non-governmental, apolitical, and not-for-profit legal entity of public interest established under the Government Ordinance no. 38/2015 on alternative resolution of disputes between consumers and traders, which transposes at domestic level Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) no. 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC.