About 20 of 60 non-banking lenders are unlikely to be able to afford the license fee for next year, said director of Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) Baiba Vītoliņa in an interview to Latvijas Radio on Thursday, 19 November.
She said on 1 December non-banking lenders will have to pay the license fee for next year, and it will be four times larger than previously. «We believe this is wrong. It should be changed, but it is unlikely it could happen,» said Vītoliņa.
PTAC head also mentioned that according to the centre’s estimates that of the approximately 60 non-banking lenders about 20 companies will not be able to continue operations, because they do not earn enough from consumer lending services to afford the license fee.
As previously reported, only the non-banking companies that have a license will be able to issue consumer loans. The annual state fee for lending service providers is EUR 55 000.
