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Bad loans/ New law freezes debts and bans fines for microcredit companies
2026-10-03 16:15:00 / EKONOMI&SOCIALE
Companies that purchase bad loans from banks or microfinance institutions will no longer have the right to add costs beyond the original contract.
A new draft law of the Bank of Albania aims to stop once and for all the bitter experience that hundreds of thousands of Albanian citizens experienced with the predators MCA and FInal.
The new draft law on the activity of microcredit institutions and their prudential supervision introduces a strict rule: anyone who buys a bad loan cannot add any costs outside the original contract.
This change directly affects the microcredit market in Albania, which was engulfed by major scandals where thousands of citizens fell prey to extortion schemes.
How did the trap work until now?
Until now, the old law had a big loophole. When banks or microcredit institutions could not collect a loan, they sold the portfolio to private debt collection companies.
Having no restrictions in banking law, these companies treated clients according to the general rules of the Civil Code. In practice, they would find old debts and start counting new fines and commissions every month, claiming that these were "management expenses."
The pressure was often met with pressure to force the citizen to sign a new contract, where the interest was even higher, driving the initial debt to staggering figures that ended with salary freezes and property seizures.
What does the new article say that changes everything?
According to article 318 of the new draft law, this abuse path is finally closed. The new rules stipulate that companies that purchase and manage problem loans will no longer have any right to apply interest rates, penalties or fees higher than those that the citizen had initially signed with his bank, freezing the debt bill exactly where it left off.
Furthermore, these entities are completely stripped of the right to grant new loans or to carry out what were known as "contract renewal schemes", as their legal role now remains only the collection or settlement of the original debt.
At the same time, Article 313 also cuts ties with networks of bailiffs, prohibiting these companies from outsourcing their work to third parties, a measure that directly hits the hidden alliances with private bailiff offices that were regularly used to exert illegal pressure on citizens.
Complaints are resolved without paying court fees.
If a debt collection company continues to use the old schemes, citizens will no longer need to spend money and years in administrative courts. Article 342 provides for the creation of a new unit at the Bank of Albania, called Alternative Dispute Resolution.
If someone has a dispute about how their debt is being calculated, they can complain to this unit for free. Its decisions are quick, impartial and binding, becoming a strong shield for the consumer.
With this new regulation, the microcredit market undergoes a radical cleansing. Debt collection companies will no longer be "fine-bearers" who inflate accounts at will, but simply administrators of the value that the client has had a real obligation to from day one.
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