The Estonian Financial Supervision Authority and the Supreme Court held a joint meeting on legal issues in consumer lending, focusing on the volume of consumer credit claims reaching the courts and possible solutions. The courts handled more than 20,000 expedited payment order cases linked to consumer credit agreements in 2024, while the value of loans that borrowers struggle to repay reaches tens of millions of euros each year. Use of expedited payment order proceedings for consumer credit claims was restricted after judges found signs that some lenders were not following responsible lending principles and were abusing the expedited route, including by adding impermissible additional costs and issuing loans to people clearly unable to repay. With claims now moving through standard court proceedings that require more time and resources, court capacity has become strained; the Supreme Court emphasised that lenders and debt collection agencies must improve their practices and that supervision needs to be more effective to reduce the number of claims reaching court and speed up their resolution. Finantsinspektsioon outlined its supervisory approach and the need to balance thorough affordability assessments with keeping credit services available and convenient, while also noting lenders’ concerns about complex and burdensome requirements and reporting that it has submitted numerous crime reports to police about illegal lenders. Both institutions agreed that a proposed positive credit register, currently being debated in the Riigikogu, could ease problems by consolidating information needed for lending decisions, strengthening repayment capacity assessments and discouraging excessive lending, while not addressing cases where loans are issued too easily despite existing information on earlier debts. Finantsinspektsioon also briefed the court on the new European Union consumer credit directive, which is intended to clarify lenders’ and borrowers’ rights and obligations and improve how information is communicated to consumers.
Finantsinspektsioon 2026-03-20
Estonia's Financial Supervision Authority and Supreme Court back a positive credit register and call for better consumer lending and collections practices
The Estonian Financial Supervision Authority and the Supreme Court held a joint meeting on consumer lending, addressing the high volume of consumer credit claims, limits on expedited payment order proceedings, and lenders’ non-compliance with responsible lending principles. The Supreme Court called for better practices by lenders and debt collectors and more effective supervision, while Finantsinspektsioon outlined its supervisory approach, reported crimes by illegal lenders, and discussed the proposed positive credit register and new EU consumer credit directive as potential mitigants.