The National Bank of Georgia, with the involvement of experts from the World Bank, has developed new transparency and disclosure requirements for financial institutions. These requirements are about the transparency of the prices on financial products offered in combination, helping consumers make informed decisions and encouraging competition in the market.

 

A draft amendments was developed to the Regulation on Protection of Consumers' Rights As Financial Institutions Provide Services, now being available for consultation with interested parties.

 

The requirements included in the amendments apply to commercial banks and branches of international banks operating in Georgia, microfinance institutions, non-bank depository institutions - credit unions and lending entities.

 

As the amendment has it, when offering financial products to consumers in combination, financial institutions must ensure that the price for each financial product included in the offer is transparently indicated and properly disclosed to consumers. That is, the financial institutions need to inform their customers about the sales prices assigned to the financial products in the combined offer, and those when the same financial products are sold individually.

 

The change is expected to give consumers the opportunity to compare financial products offered by financial institutions, helping them make informed decisions. Financial institutions are not required to quote a price for a financial product offered only in combination with other financial products, not available as a stand-alone financial product. In such cases, it is sufficient to indicate that the specific financial product is not available for individual sale.

 

The new requirements under the draft amendments will become mandatory from March 1, 2023.

 

Detailed information about the document can be obtained at the following link. Interested parties are invited to send proposals, comments and questions on the subject to the following address - policy@nbg.gov.ge  before November 14, 2022.