Austrian Financial Market Authority authorises first credit servicers under Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers Act

The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) has authorised the first credit servicers under the new Credit Servicers and Credit Purchasers Act, which sets out a licensing and supervisory framework for servicing non-performing loans sold by banks to credit purchasers. The regime is intended to support a transparent secondary market for problem loans while strengthening protections for affected borrowers. Under the Act, banks must report sales of non-performing loans to the FMA, and credit servicers collecting such loans on behalf of credit purchasers must be authorised by the FMA and already hold a commercial debt collection authorisation. For consumers, the sale of a non-performing loan must not disadvantage the borrower, with contractual terms such as interest rates and loan tenor remaining unchanged, and borrowers to be informed in a timely and transparent manner about the sale and who will manage the loan. Credit servicers are subject to conduct rules covering fair treatment, data protection and communications standards, and aggressive debt collection methods are prohibited; supervision sits with the FMA’s Banking Supervision Department.