The Impact Of Abusive Clauses Litigations On Profitability Of Romanian Banks

The banking sector has a special significance in each country's economy, being a constant concern for the authorities, both at national and Community level. To reduce the substantial differences between national laws on consumer credit, the European Commission issued Directive 2008/48/EC on credit agreements for consumers, transposed into Romanian legislation by the now legendary, Emergency Ordinance nr.50/2010. But what followed after the adoption of this ordinance surpassed imagination: some banks refused to make the adjustments provided by the law and they were sued in an enormous proportion by their customers, the consequence was very natural: huge losses and negative advertising. Instead, the banks which have complied with the directive came out very well from the crisis: greater number of customers, increased market share and, ultimately, an unexpected profit for this time of crisis. This article treats ,,the war between banks and their own customers" and mainly its winners and losers.