The Croatian National Bank (HNB) warned on Friday citizens who intend to use the services of banks from other European Union member states that provide services in Croatia, including online services such as Ferratum, to carefully review the information and documentation regarding the offered products and services or consult experts, in order to fully understand all their rights and obligations, as HNB does not supervise these banks.
In a statement published by the central bank, it is noted that, prompted by inquiries from citizens regarding the operations of Ferratum Bank, or Ferratum Bank plc, in Croatia, HNB explains that this bank is authorized to provide banking services in its home country, i.e., Malta, based on the authorization from the competent authority of the Republic of Malta, but also directly in the territory of other EU member states, including Croatia.
HNB emphasizes that under the applicable regulations of Croatia and the EU, they do not grant operating licenses nor prudentially supervise the operations of credit institutions from other EU member states that directly provide services in Croatia, but the supervision of their operations is carried out by the competent authorities of the member states that issued them the operating license.
“A credit institution from another EU member state that is authorized to provide services in its home country can also provide them in Croatia, by establishing a branch or directly, from the day when HNB receives notification from the competent authority of the member state about it,” explains the central bank.
They add that this is stipulated by the Law on Credit Institutions, which transposed the European directive on this matter into Croatian law. This ensures the freedom to provide mutually recognized services in the EU, and a list of these banks is available on the HNB website.
They also emphasize that if it is a bank from the EU that provides its services online, providing services to Croatian citizens does not require prior notification to the Croatian central bank.
“When entering into contracts with such institutions, clients must take into account that HNB cannot ensure consumer protection monitoring at the level it does for clients of domestic credit institutions to which it has issued operating licenses and whose operations it supervises. For credit institutions from other EU member states, different business rules may apply according to the regulations of the home country in which they have operating licenses,” states the HNB statement.
“In light of the above, it is important for citizens who intend to use services or start doing business with any credit institutions from other EU member states that provide services in Croatia, including online, to thoroughly inform themselves beforehand to become acquainted with the principles of the open European market for financial services. We certainly suggest that, as with entering into any other contract, and before making a final decision, they carefully review all available information and specific documentation regarding the offered products and services. If necessary, they can also consult experts to fully understand all rights and obligations they would assume by contracting a specific product or service,” concludes the warning from the central bank.
