Savings and loan associations to be divided into 3 categories

Savings and loan associations will be divided into 3 categories, depending on the range of services they will be authorised to provide. This provision is part of the recently amended Law on Savings and Loan Associations that passed the first reading in Parliament on Friday, May 11. The A-type licence will be issued to the associations whose members are individuals only and target a narrow series of services, such as operating, investment or consumer credits. The licence is valid within the limits of a first-level administrative unit, which registered the association, and it does not allow setting up branches or subsidiaries. The B-type licence allows providing supplementary services, such as mortgage loans, consortium loans, etc. This licence is valid in the second-level administrative unit and gives the permission to found branches and subsidiaries. The third category of licences, the C-type one, is issued to associations whose members are both individuals and entities and allow providing a various range of services, being valid on the whole territory of the republic. The draft law also stipulates that a newly-formed association is eligible for an A or B-type licence. Another innovation of the draft law is the “Central Association”, a body aiming at contributing to the development of the savings and loan associations and to the improvement of the quality of the provided services. The central association can take out or grant loans to associations. At present there are nearly 550 associations with almost 100,000 members and clients. The assets owned by these associations amount to MDL 450 mln.