Banking dispute resolution centre receives more than 18k requests 2016-2024

The Centre for Alternative Resolution of Banking Sector Disputes (CSALB) received 18,300 requests for resolution between 2016 and 2024, and the benefits obtained by consumers amounted to 14.3 million euros, said Alexandru Paunescu, the representative of the National Bank of Romania within the CSALB College, on Thursday."This year marks 10 years since CSALB was established, but the actual operational activity started almost 9 years ago - almost, because the first request we received in 2016 was on March 1. But after 9 years of activity, CSALB has received approximately 18,300 requests from consumers. We started with small steps, initially with a few hundred requests and many refusals to enter the alternative dispute resolution procedure from professionals, to thousands of requests per year and the transformation of many of these requests into settlement cases. Still, most requests concern financial institutions, banks, and credit institutions, and there are also quite a few requests regarding non-banking financial institutions (NFIs). Unfortunately, non-banking financial institutions have only entered one case. They formed a single case out of the approximately 920 requests we received from consumers," Alexandru Paunescu told a press conference.According to the data presented at the conference, last year CSALB received 3,568 requests from consumers. Of these, 2,644 requests were directed at banks, and 924 requests were directed at IFNs. Banks agreed to enter 1,077 negotiations with consumers, while IFNs turned only one request into a conciliation case. Legal entities sent 6 requests to banks in 2024. The weekly average was 69 requests, compared to 56 requests per week in 2023.In 2024, there was a decrease in the number of requests for the removal of records from the Credit Bureau, with 935 requests, including 377 regarding banks and 558 regarding IFNs, compared to 1,234 requests in 2023.In 2024, there were 989 negotiations concluded with a settlement between the parties out of the total conciliations. In 65 cases, the parties did not reach an agreement. The percentage of settlements from the total negotiations is 94% - the highest in CSALB's entire activity.The number of requests resolved directly by the parties, after being referred to CSALB, decreased in 2024 to 301 cases. These are requests rejected in CSALB negotiations by banks and/or IFNs but in which consumers were offered a direct resolution.While the number of negotiations at CSALB has increased, the number of direct resolutions has decreased over the past three years. Last year, 301 requests sent to CSALB were resolved without the intervention of a conciliator.At the end of 2024, 167 lawsuits were closed because the parties wanted and succeeded in finding an amicable solution within CSALB. Between 2021 and 2024, 669 cases in court were resolved with the help of CSALB conciliators, initiated by the banks and consumers involved in these lawsuits or upon the recommendation of the judges.The average value of the benefits in cases where the parties reached an agreement decreased in 2024 to just over 3,000 euros, down from nearly 5,000 euros in 2023. The total value of the benefits obtained from consumer-bank negotiations was 14.3 million euros between 2016 and 2024.