This is the second fine of this kind imposed on Banco Santander by the Dutch supervisory body, which accuses the Spanish bank of failing to obtain sufficient financial information on some clients, thus leaving debtors in a vulnerable position.
The Dutch Financial Supervisory Authority, AFM, has imposed on Banco Santander a fine of around 3.7 million euros for granting irresponsible loans.
The sanction, imposed on July 9 and made public on Wednesday, July 17, is based on A study of 10 files of the year 2021.
The authorities concluded that Banco Santander obtained very little information about the financial situation of clients in four out of ten cases, leaving debtors in a vulnerable situation“It granted irresponsible loans in half of the cases,” the AFM added.
Non-compliance with obligations by Banco Santander
“This is serious, because ‘Santander Consumer Finance’ structurally breached one of its most important obligations to its clients“said Jos Heuvelman, director of the watchdog organization.
“After all, too high a loan can leave consumers with very little money to pay their fixed expenses“, he added.
Credit providers are obliged to collect information on the income of its clients, as well as on certain fixed costs, to assess the risk level of the loan.
“When credit providers do not comply with the rules, not only are the interests of consumers harmed, but they are also may upset the level playing field in the credit market,” explains the AFM.
Second fine from the AFM to Banco Santander for violations
This is the second time that the regulatory body has taken a strong measure against Banco Santander for irresponsible lendingwhich means that the total fine is increasing. In 2019, the Spanish bank was fined around 1 million euros.
According to the AFM, Banco Santander is “taking measures to prevent the repetition of violations of this type in the future.” In the meantime, some affected customers have received compensation.
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