The National Bank of Ukraine has launched the Register of Bank Credit Intermediaries on its official website.

The NBU will gradually fill the register as it will be receiving information on credit intermediaries from banks.

Before sending the information to the NBU, each lending bank will check it itself as it will bear full responsibility for performance and professional competence of its credit intermediaries.

In June, the NBU for the first time set the requirements to bank credit intermediaries and their consumer lending mediation activities.

The requirements set by the NBU will oblige credit intermediaries to provide consumers of banking services with more information about banks, banking products, and lending terms, while also being liable to consumers for this.

In turn, the regulator has undertaken to maintain the Register of Bank Credit Intermediaries, which covers:

• automatic entering or removal of the information about the credit intermediary
• collection and record-keeping of general information about the credit intermediary

“The NBU’s register will allow consumers of banking services to obtain detailed information about bank credit intermediaries. This will lower the risk of illegal actions by fraudsters who pretend to be bank officers and will raise borrowers’ awareness of terms and cost of lending. This move will promote the development of consumer lending in Ukraine,” said NBU Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova.

A credit intermediary may start rendering intermediary services of consumer lending in favor of a lending bank only after:

• it is enlisted in the NBU’s register
• the bank receives a certificate with the Register number from the NBU
• the lending bank publishes information about the credit intermediary on its web page.

The requirements are stipulated in the Law of Ukraine No.1734-VIII On Consumer Lending and NBU Board Resolution No.50 On the Activities of Consumer Credit Intermediaries in the Banking Services Market dated 8 June 2017, which came into effect on 10 June 2017.

The law establishes a legal framework for the activity of consumer lending intermediaries. It also gives a mandate to the NBU to set requirements to bank credit intermediaries and their operation.