O analiză empirică a transparenţei comisioanelor în contractele de credit de consum
An empirical analysis of fee transparency in consumer credit contracts

Summary/Abstract: This study comprises a legal and economic analysis of the transparency of fees in consumer credit contracts, in the context of the evolution of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The study assesses the effectiveness of transparency instruments in consumer credit contracts, addressing issues such as information asymmetry, informed choice and the prevention of hidden costs. The analysis proposes a fee transparency index, designed on the basis of EU law and CJEU case law, with a specific focus on the Romanian banking sector. The research methodology consists of a dual empirical analysis, which explores how financial institutions adapt lending practices in order to streamline information disclosure or profit making and assesses consumer behavior in response to misunderstanding of contract terms. The study also examines the complexity and length of contract terms, using a readability score adapted for contracts in Romania. The econometric research, which applies the fee transparency index to a sample of consumer contracts of the most important banks in Romania, finds that different levels of transparency in how banks disclose credit conditions related to fees do not necessarily lead to mis selling and do not have an impact on overall profitability, thus providing new insights into standard setting and the sticky default effect: while banks tend to adhere to the minimum legal disclosure standard, the study highlighted a specific national fee with a high potential for ‘intrasparency’, which seems to be used for redistributive purposes to the detriment of consumers. The index and the related results allow for a better understanding of banks’ behavior in terms of transparency towards consumers, using statistical tools, and a better assessment of the transparency of consumer credit contracts, using digital screening tools.

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