Clients of several commercial banks have faced account freezes over the past month because they failed to respond to requests sent to them via SMS to update their documentation.
Because of this, they complained to "Vijesti", claiming that they were thus prevented from withdrawing their salaries and pensions and that banks had no right to do so.
Among them are those people who are sick and immobile and are unable to come to the bank, so their family members are instructed to obtain authorization from a notary to give someone the authority to make the update.
"My father, who is immobile, faced this situation and in order to hire a notary to come to his house, we had to pay 150 euros. It is inhumane for banks to pass on such costs to clients who are not guilty of such procedures. They do not even allow those who have a power of attorney to use that account to perform this procedure. There are banks that perform this update for immobile and sick clients online or their employee visits them. However, not all banks," said an interlocutor of "Vijesti" who did not want his name to be mentioned in the newspaper.
Regarding this situation, "Vijesti" contacted the Central Bank (CBCG), which did not provide a clear answer to the question of whether a commercial bank has the right to block a client's account because he is in such a health condition that he cannot come to the bank counter in person.
"A bank is obliged to act in its business in accordance with the laws that protect consumer rights, as well as other legal regulations to which it is subject. We believe that it cannot be a good practice in the area of protecting client rights, and that it cannot be justified for a bank to require clients, especially those who cannot come in person due to health or other objective reasons, to bear additional costs in order to complete administrative procedures, but rather that business in this area should be organized in a way that clients are not put in a situation where their fundamental rights are threatened. The Central Bank of Montenegro, within its jurisdiction, insists that banks continuously work on improving their business practices, both in this and other matters. Specifically, when it comes to the elderly or persons with disabilities, the bank has a responsibility to work on finding the best solutions to enable smooth data updates, without additional burdens and costs for clients," said the Director of the Directorate for Supervision in the Field of Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and Protection of the Rights of Clients of Credit Institutions and Users of Financial Services Gordana Kalezić.
She said that if clients believe that their rights have been violated, they have the right to contact the bank by submitting a written complaint, and the bank is obliged to consider it and respond to the client within 15 days of receiving the complaint.
"If the client does not receive a response within the specified period or is not satisfied with the response received, he or she may file a complaint with the Central Bank of Montenegro, providing documentation on the basis of which the allegations made in the complaint can be considered. If he or she is not satisfied with the services and policies of his or her bank, in accordance with Article 16 of the Law on the Comparability of Fees Related to Consumer Payment Accounts, Switching Consumer Payment Accounts and Payment Accounts with Basic Services, the client may choose another bank at any time," explained Kalezić.
She stated that banks have the right but also the obligation to regulate their actions and work processes, within the legal framework, through internal acts and procedures, and that legal norms often explicitly impose the obligation to adopt internal procedures, the main goal of which is to further develop norms, in order to clearly set the rules of conduct for employees and the obligations they are required to implement.
"Even though a bank is part of a group from EU countries, group rules are transferred to banks in Montenegro, which also implies more demanding procedures. When it comes to the actions of banks regarding the verification and updating of documentation and data on clients, the basic obligations stem from the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, which are presented through several articles specifically dedicated to the identification of clients, as a key segment in the prevention of fraud, however, this is not the only basis and reason. If the aforementioned actions of the bank were in accordance with this Law, the bank is obliged to take measures to verify and monitor data for all clients, both when opening an account and during the duration of the business relationship, which includes monitoring client business, checking their transactions, in order to ensure that they correspond to their usual financial activities. Adequate identification of clients is one of the key segments in the prevention of fraud and assessing the possible existence of a risk of money laundering or other illegal activities. In order to achieve this, the bank must have accurate and updated data on clients," Kalezić stated.
CBCG: Banks must not make the position of clients more difficult
Kalezić said that the law clearly states that a bank may not initiate cooperation with a client, nor continue an existing business relationship, if it cannot properly assess and manage potential risks.
"Therefore, banks are obliged to conduct regular checks and update their clients' documentation. The way they do this depends on their internal rules and procedures, which must be in line with legal regulations. It is also important to note that banks are also expected to be committed to protecting the rights of their clients in fulfilling their legal obligations, and to organize their work processes in a way that does not make the position of their clients more difficult," said Kalezić.
Bonus video:
