Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation, Loan

The Financial Supervisory Authority announced though that the majority of the instant loan firms may therefore be forced to cease their activities. So far, 23 companies have submitted an application for the licence.

According to the Financial Supervision Authority estimates, there are around 150 consumer credit providers. Their exact number is not known, as so far, they have no obligation to apply for an operating permit.

As to the instant loan market volume, the decrease in the number of companies probably will not bring major changes, because 90% of the market volume is provided by 30 and a half the volume by six companies, the FSA said.

All companies who want to operate in the instant lending sphere have to apply for a licence from FSA by March 1 next year. Processing the applications may take up to 8 months, meaning that companies who have not submitted their application by now, may have to close.