BCR has signed a collaboration protocol with AURSF

This is the first partnership in Romania between a trading bank and an association for consumer protection

Banca Comercială Română (BCR) has recently signed a collaboration protocol with the Association of Romanian Financial Services Users (AURSF) whose main purpose is to determine measures for the purpose of ensuring an appropriate degree of protection to consumers and a climate of transparency and trust in their relationship with the bank.

The partnership between BCR and AURSF will create the framework for the following:

the collaboration for the purpose of implementing/aligning the management of the claims according to the guidelines drawn up by the European Banking Authority and the best applicable practices on the European markets;
informing each other about the new changes in legislation issued at EU and national level on consumer protection and to collaborate for the purpose of establishing the impact and sustainable implementation strategies, such as to have a positive impact in what concerns the degree of satisfaction of financial services users.
improvement in the financial-banking knowledge of the consumers who are users of banking services.
organization of financial training campaigns and campaigns for encouraging responsible crediting;
identifying sustainable solutions for debtors in difficulty;
organizing joint activities, workshops and regular meetings aimed at informing and promoting topics related to the protection of consumers who are users of banking services.

"BCR is the first bank in Romania which signs a collaboration protocol with an institution whose purpose is the protection of consumers. We have understood that client dialogue is the most important aspect. We are willing to accept the cooperation and supervision of an association for consumer protection, as member of the civil society.AURSF is an association which we consider credible, impartial and reasonable regarding the symmetry between our business interest and consumer protection", Mr. Dan Dumitru Popescu, Managing Director, Customer Experience Directorate, BCR, has declared.

"We salute this new approach, which is all the more remarkable as it comes from the largest bank in Romania. It is a challenge for us and for the bank, but we are ready to dedicate all the energy and skills for the success of this unique project at national level. The voice of the consumers who use banking services will be better heard by BCR from now on and we hope that this aspect can be seen in the daily relationship between the bank and the client", Alin Iacob, Chairman of AURSF, has declared.

Banca Comercială Română (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is the most important financial group in Romania, including universal bank operations (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets), as well as companies in industries such as leasing, private pension, and mortgage banks. BCR is the no. 1 bank in Romania by the value of the assets (EUR 14.4 billion), the no. 1 bank by the number of customers and the no. 1 bank for the savings and loan segments. BCR is the most valuable financial brand in Romania by customer trust and by the number of people for whom BCR is the main institution for banking services.

BCR offers its entire range of financial products and services by means of 22 business centres and 23 mobile offices dedicated to companies and 509 retail units in most of the cities in the country with more than 10,000 inhabitants. BCR is the no. 1 bank in Romania on the card and banking transaction market, BCR customers benefiting from the largest national ATM network - more than 2,000 dispensers - and the largest national POS network - 13,500 credit card terminals, as well as from comprehensive Internet banking, Mobile Banking, phone-banking and e-commerce services.

Erste Group is one of the main financial service providers in the Eastern part of the European Union. Approximately 46,500 employees serve 16.2 million customers within 2,800 branches in 7 countries (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia). At the end of the first quarter of 2015, Erste Group had total assets amounting to 202,6 billion Euros and had a cost/revenue ratio of 56.1%. The joint capital index of 1^st rank (entirely implemented Basel 3) was 10.2%.

The Association of Romanian Financial Services Users (AURSF) was set up in the fall of the year 2013 for the purpose of protecting the legitimate rights and the interests of consumers who are users of financial products in Romania. AURSF has contributed actively, from its set-up, to the improvement of the laws regarding the consumers who are users of financial products. At the same time, AURSF became involved in the support of the interests of the debtors with credits in CHF, launching a vast negotiation action with the banks which have granted most credits in CHF, in which it represents the interests of almost 1,500 members. AURSF is a member of the European Federation of Financial Service Users and of the Consulting Group of Permanent Dialogue in the Field of the Protection of Consumers of Non-banking Financial Products attached to the Financial Surveillance Authority.

BCR – External Communication

Cezar Marin, e-mail: cezar.marin@bcr.ro

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