Opinion of the European Central Bank of 28 October 2014 on specific settlement rules for consumer loan agreements (CON/2014/76)
Date: 2014-10-28
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Hungary, consumer credit, consumer protection, financial stability, national law, redemption

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 28 October 2014 

on specific settlement rules for consumer loan agreements 

(CON/2014/76) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  10  October  2014,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Magyar  Nemzeti 

Bank (MNB) for an urgent opinion on a draft decree laying down specific rules on the methodology to be 

used for the settlement of certain consumer loan agreements, stemming from a decision of the Supreme 

Court (hereinafter the ‘draft decree’).  

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the sixth indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC1, 

as the draft decree relates to rules applicable to financial institutions insofar as they materially influence 

the stability of financial institutions and markets. In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of 

the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

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Background and purpose of the draft decree 

1.1 

In 2014, the Hungarian Supreme Court delivered a uniform decision2 outlining the basic parameters 

of  certain  standard  terms  that  could  be  prescribed  by  Parliament  for  inclusion  in  consumer  loan 

contracts entered into by natural persons and denominated in forint or in foreign currency.  

1.2  The  Hungarian  Parliament  subsequently  adopted  Law  XXXVIII  of  2014  on  measures  to  address 
the  Supreme  Court’s  decision  on  consumer  loan  contracts3  and  Law  XL  of  2014  on  the  rules  of 
settlement related to such contracts4. The ECB delivered opinions CON/2014/59 and CON/2014/72 
on these laws5. Law XL of 2014 authorised the Governor of the MNB to adopt a decree prescribing 

relevant details related to the settlement of certain  consumer loan contracts. The draft decree has 

been prepared to this end by the MNB.  

1.3  The  provisions  of  the  draft  decree  include  detailed  rules  on  the  implementation  of  the  new 

obligations, the date on which such obligations should be performed and, in certain limited cases, 

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Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42). 
Uniform Decision 2/2014 of the Supreme Court of 16 June 2014.  
Published in Magyar Közlöny 98/2014 on 18 July 2014. 
Published in Magyar Közlöny 137/2014 on 6 October 2014. 
All ECB opinions are available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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the  dates  of  the  applicable  exchange  rates  to  be  used  for  the  recalculation  of  the  consumer  loan 

contracts, as well as the date by which any financial obligations should be performed in full. 

1.4  The draft decree applies to those consumer loan contracts which have not been affected by delayed 

payment, and to consumers who have not participated in any relief schemes offered to them. It does 

not cover consumer loan contracts declared void by a final and binding court order prior to the draft 

decree taking effect. 

1.5  The  draft  decree  offers  three  methods  for  the  calculation  of  the  amount  either  payable  to  each 

consumer or to be deducted from their overall liability under the consumer loan contract to which 

they are party. The financial institutions may exercise their discretion as to which of the calculation 

method detailed in the annexes to the draft decree  they use, so that they  may choose the method 

that is compatible with their internal accounting system. The explanatory memorandum attached to 

the  draft  decree  indicates  that  these  methods  are  mathematically  equivalent  to  each  other  in  the 

sense that each produces the same result from the same set of figures.  

2. 

Observations 

2.1  As  mentioned  in  the  explanatory  memorandum,  the  draft  decree  does  not  lay  down  rules  for  the 

implementation of Article 46(b), (c) and (f) to (h) of Law XL of 2014. The detailed rules relating to 

the following main issues will therefore be laid down in a separate MNB decree: (a) the methods 

available  to  determine  both  the  calculation  of  benefits  granted  by  financial  institutions  to 

consumers that are deductible from a consumer claim, and the formula to be used; (b) the detailed 

requirements for the content and format of the settlement of each claim; (c) in respect of financial 

institutions subject to dissolution or liquidation proceedings, the assessment method to be used to 

achieve  settlement  of  a  claim;  and  (d)  the  detailed  requirements  for  the  content  and  format  for 

publication of details of settlements of claims. The ECB expects to be consulted in a timely manner 

on future draft legislative provisions relating to these issues proposed by the Governor of the MNB, 

provided  that  they  fall  within  the  ECB’s  scope  of  competence  in  accordance  with  Decision 

98/415/EC. 

2.2  On  29  July  2014,  the  MNB  published  guidance  on  the  best  practice  to  be  followed  by  affected 

institutions as to the methodology to be used when recalculating a consumer’s payment obligations 

under  a  consumer  loan  contract.  As  this  guidance  was  not  legally  binding  on  the  affected 

institutions, the adoption of a decree on the subject matter provides for more legal certainty. 

2.3 

In Opinion CON/2014/72, the ECB welcomed that Law XL authorised the Governor of the MNB 

to  prescribe  detailed  rules  pursuant  to  the  new  legal  measures  introduced  by  Law  XXXVIII  of 

2014,  since  the  MNB  is  both  the  national  competent  authority  responsible  for  micro-prudential 

supervision and  the  macro-prudential supervisory  authority in Hungary.  It is the responsibility  of 

the MNB to establish the methods to be used for recalculation, write-off and repayment following a 

thorough assessment of the terms and conditions on which consumers entered into loan contracts, 

and the impact of the new legal measures on financial institutions, including an assessment of the 

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benchmarks with regard to the methods that could be used to determine the fairness of conditions 

set  by  credit  institutions.  This  would  ensure  that  the  suggested  methods  of  calculation  would 

meaningfully  contribute  to  the  effective  performance  of  the  settlement  obligation  to  which  the 

financial institutions are subject. 
In previous opinions6, the ECB has stressed that the measures taken following the decision of the 

2.4 

Supreme Court  will  place a significant strain on the banking sector. It has also commented, inter 

alia,  on  the  need  for  meaningful  dialogue  between  the  Hungarian  authorities  and  all  relevant 

stakeholders,  as  well  as  the  need  for  due  consideration  of  the  public  interest.  The  explanatory 

memorandum  attached  to  the  draft  decree  does  not  contain  any  information  about  whether  the 

MNB,  when  laying  down  the  calculation  methods,  has  carried  out  a  thorough  impact  assessment 

with  the  involvement  of  the  affected  financial  institutions.  The  ECB  recommends  that  such  an 

assessment  is  performed  before  the  adoption  of  the  draft  decree  in  order  to  contribute  to  the 

prevention and mitigation of systemic risks to financial stability. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 28 October 2014. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Mario DRAGHI 

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Opinions CON/2014/59 and CON/2014/72. 

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