In Russia, they can limit the advertising of microloans in crowded places. This was stated by the head of the State Duma Committee on the financial market Anatoly Aksakov. According to him, lawmakers will discuss this issue in the near future.
“It will be necessary to analyze these threats, the issue of advertising, in any case, the annoying advertising and promotion, at least loans of microfinance organizations, must somehow be restrained, and perhaps suppressed. First of all, it concerns microfinance organizations, we need to look at banks, ”Aksakov told RIA Novosti.
The deputy commented on this issue after the deputy governor for economic development of the Kemerovo region, Konstantin Wenger, appealed to the State Duma with an initiative to impose a ban on advertising and the issuance of microloans in crowded places. Wenger told reporters that in Kuzbass, about 98 thousand rubles of issued consumer loans account for each resident.
"Do not make mistakes"
Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship Vladimir Gutenev, in an interview with RT, stressed that the state’s responsibilities include protecting citizens from risks that may not be obvious.
“Recently, the government has done quite a lot. Nevertheless, psychologically, the proposal is formed in such a way that a person does not see the risks in relatively small money taken at high interest rates, therefore, I believe that the state should help its citizens not to make mistakes, ”the deputy said.
Recall that from July 1, 2019, Russia also entered restrictions on the maximum debt of citizens on loans for up to one year. Now, the amount of accrued interest and penalties cannot exceed the debt itself by more than two times. In addition, the daily interest rate is limited to 1% (365% per annum). After the debt reaches its maximum size, the accrual of interest and other payments should be stopped.
However, Gutnev believes that the measures taken are not enough to fully protect citizens. In his opinion, it should also be legislatively prescribed a decrease in the maximum interest rate, a limit on the maximum multiplicity of amounts payable, including with accrued fines and pennies.
“It seems to me that a number of other measures are needed to protect our fellow citizens from the aggressive policies of microfinance organizations,” he concluded.
Fair advertising
From an economic point of view, microcredit itself is not in danger; it is only important to organize the work of microcredit organizations in such a way that when advertising a quick loan, as well as when issuing it, the law is not violated. This opinion is shared by economic expert Anton Shabanov.
“I think that it would be worthwhile to consider not the problem of advertising itself, but the problem of fair advertising and the problem of tracking it. Indeed, it is very difficult to track the entire information flow that envelops a modern person ... The fact that microfinance organizations are famous for their not quite honest approach to advertising their services is true, ”the expert explained in a conversation with RT.
The economist agrees that advertising in this area must be carefully monitored for compliance with all federal laws, because the rules in the financial sector are quite strict.
“If all this is done correctly, then I think that there will not be any additional problems,” the economist concluded.
One of the most notable in the field of microloans was the ban on the issue of money secured by housing introduced in July 2019. In addition, the requirements for business reputation and management qualifications, as well as owners of microcredit companies, were tightened. The next step should be to increase the minimum capital of quick loan organizations. At the moment it is 10 thousand rubles, and from 2020 it will gradually increase to 5 million rubles.