The number of applications recorded in the first three months of the year (916 applications) shows a slight decrease of approximately 3% in the current year, compared to Q1 2024 (943 applications). 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 by the end Q1 2025, 723 concerned different issues in relations with banks, whereas 193 concerned different issues in relations with NBFIs.

Thus, the share of applications to NBFIs fell slightly below last year’s reference period: from 32% of total/Q1 2024 down to approximately 21% of total/Q1 2025.

Moreover, the share of applications intended at banks observes a slight increase in the two periods subject to comparison: 68% of total/at the end of Q1 2024, and 79% of total/Q1 2025.

In this statistical slot, we need to highlight also that, in the first three months of this year, the number applications for deregistration from the Credit Register (CR) increased compared to last year.

At the end of Q1 2025, we see only 155 applications for deregistration from the CR (77 intended at banks + 78 intended at NBFIs); the number of this type of applications recorded at the end of Q1 2024 was 344. It should be reminded that most of the applications concerning issues in relation to the Credit Register, the First House 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 total number of casefiles formed at the end of Q1 2025 reached 189. 1 casefile concerned a NBFI and other 188 involved banks. By way of comparison, 241 casefiles were formed in the first three months of 2024, which means a decrease by 22% of this statistical indicator in the current year. Of the casefiles formed this year and settled until the end of the reference period, 143 concluded with a resolution (the parties accepted the solution proposed by the conciliator), while other 39 casefiles are still being processed (at the end of Q1 2025). In 2 cases, one of the parties rejected the solution the conciliator rendered and a report was issued, whereas in 5 cases, one of the parties withdrew.

The number of resolutions handed down in the first quarter of this year is 143, compared to the figure reported for the same period of last year, i.e. 188 resolutions (during the two periods under review, being Q1 2025 and Q1 2024, the share of resolutions out of the total solutions is 99%/Q1 2025, and 98%/Q1 2024).

Furthermore, before the end of Q1 2025, 57 applications were settled amicably by traders after the respective cases having been referred to ABDRC (traders negotiated directly with consumers), broken down as follows: 35 applications settled amicably with banks, and 22 applications settled amicably with NBFIs.

At the end of Q1 of this year, we counted 80 enquiries made by phone, and 93 persons/consumers accessed the chat function available on the ABDRC website.

A breakdown of the applications by traders looks as follows:

Banks:

• 723 compliant applications;
• 158 non-compliant applications;
• 527 requests for miscellaneous information.

Classification of the 723 compliant applications:

• 188 cases formed in the end of Q1 2025 (at the start of 2025, 105 casefiles were formed from compliant applications received in late 2024);
• 465 applications in screening phase – documents are being reviewed;
• 35 applications were settled amicably by the parties, but this after the consumer having first approached ABDRC;
• 130 cases were closed;
• 10 applications were adjoined.

Classification of the 188 casefiles pending in the procedure with proposed solution/conciliation:

• 142 resolutions handed down – the parties came to terms;
• 39 cases in the processing phase;
• 2 reports – the parties failed to come to terms;
• 5 cases 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 cases:

• 201 were filed via the application (website);
• 74 were filed by email;
• 442 were mailed;
• 6 were brought to, and registered by consumers at, the office of ABDRC.

NBFIs:

• 193 compliant applications.

Classification of the 193 compliant applications:

• 1 casefile (it is formed in 2025 from one application received before the end of 2024);
• 25 applications in the screening phase;
• 22 applications were settled amicably between NBFIs and consumers, after the consumer having first approached ABDRC;
• 146 were closed – rejected by the NBFIs.

Means of filing compliant applications:

• 175 were filed via the application (website);
• 14 were filed by e-mail;
• 3 were mailed;
• 1 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 Register (deregistration from CR).

• 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 Register;
  • “First House” 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:

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 war being fought close to the borders of Romania are still felt). In this context, the conclusions drawn for the first three months of the year 2025 are as follows:

• During the first three months of 2025, Romanians filed 916 applications for negotiation with banks and NBFIs (e., 3% less than in the same period of 2024).
• The share of applications intended at banks (out of total) went up from 68% to 79%.
• While the total number of applications fell by three per cent, Q1 2025 saw a 27% increase in negotiable applications. This is due to a drop from 344 (in Q1 2024) down to 155 (in Q1 2025) in the number of applications for deregistration from the Credit Register (which cannot be negotiated via CSALB, but are settled directly by the parties or are closed).
• The number of negotiation cases (applications accepted by banks) reached 189/Q1 2025 v 241/Q1 2024.
• In 143 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: 57 such cases/Q1 2025 v 95 such cases at the end of Q1 2024 (in this case too, the statistical reduction is driven by the same decrease in the Credit Register write-off requests as most of the direct settlements in previous years concerning this matter).
• 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 kicked off production of the fifth season of the ABDRC Podcasts. The financial education podcasts hosted by the Centre will be attended by specialists in the areas under discussion, credit brokers, representatives of commercial banks, the Romanian Association of Banks (RAB) and the National Bank of Romania (NBR), and ABDRC conciliators. The debates will be moderated by financial analysts, financial education specialists and top business journalists.
• Season 5 podcasts will address topics inspired by the s 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, etc.
• 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.
• The informative productions of ABDRC are promoted both on ABDRC’s own channels (website, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok), and via our media partners (TV channels, radio stations, online media, local press and 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.
• 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.
• At the end of Q1 2025, the negotiation procedures involving consumers and banks, as facilitated by ABDRC, resulted into benefits of approx. EUR 0.54 million. Thus, the total amount of the benefits obtained (in the more than 9 years of operational activity of the Centre) is approximately EUR 14.9 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.