11/06/2025
Finantsinspektsioon fined Svea Finance AS (register code 11200943) a total of 200,000 euros for two misdemeanours, because multiple breaches of the rules were identified in its assessment of the credit capacity of consumers and because its internal rules did not meet the requirements.
Finantsinspektsioon found that between 01.12.2023 and 29.02.2024 the internal rules at Svea Finance AS for issuing consumer credit did not comply with the requirements of the Creditors and Credit Intermediaries Act. This meant that Svea Finance AS committed a misdemeanour under § 98 (2) of the Act, for which Finantsinspektsioon issued the creditor a fine of 50,000 euros. Svea Finance AS also signed credit contracts with consumers during the same period without assessing all the compulsory components of credit capacity. This meant that Svea Finance AS committed a misdemeanour under § 99 (2) of the Creditors and Credit Intermediaries Act, for which Finantsinspektsioon issued a fine of 150,000 euros. Svea Finance AS may dispute the decision as allowed by law.
It should be noted that assessments of the credit capacity of consumers by creditors must consider all the relevant circumstances that could affect the ability of the consumer to repay the credit under the terms agreed in the contract. These circumstances include the assets of the borrower, their regular income, their other liabilities, their earlier payment behaviour, the regular outgoings of their household, other information known to the creditor that could substantially impact the assessment of the credit capacity of the consumer, and the possible impact of an increase in the financial obligations under the consumer credit contract. The lender should also consider the terms of the consumer credit contract, including the amount of the financial liability being taken.