Proposition 51K2775

Projet de loi modifiant la loi du 24 mars 2003 instaurant un service bancaire de base.

General information ¶

Submitted by

PS | SP MR Open Vld Vooruit Purple Ⅰ

Submission date

Nov. 27, 2006

Official page

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Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

bank financial institution credit institution indebtedness socially disadvantaged class marginalisation

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld N-VA MR FN VB

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Discussion ¶

Feb. 8, 2007 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

Banking has been encouraged in recent years for reasons related to the fight against social exclusion and insecurity, but also to reduce the cost of payments.

Various measures were taken, including the Basic Banking Service Act, which came into force on 1 September 2003 and which, after long debates, proved to be a positive measure to combat banking exclusion.

Approximately two years after its entry into force, this law was evaluated, in accordance with the request of Parliament. As a result, 5.541 active bank accounts were counted as part of this basic service. To this law on the basic banking service, it should be added the entry into force, on 1 January 2007, of the law on banking insufficiency. This measure is very positive in combating banking exclusion. The arsenal of the fight against exclusion seems to me now complete.

This draft framework and strengthens the application of legal provisions by further clarifying the conditions for obtaining a basic banking service, in particular to persons who are within the framework of a collective debt settlement. In practice, it is not uncommon for these persons to still be denied this type of services, despite the existing legal provisions. There was a need for clarification at this point.

It is also proposed to adapt the Implementing Decree of 7 September 2003 by extending the concepts of related products compatible with a basic banking service to allow more people to have access to that basic banking service and thus reduce bank mergers again.

We welcome the implementation of this project, which was unanimously voted after a few technical corrections.

Thank you, Madame Lalieux, for this concise report.

Thank you for giving me the word. We do not want to abuse the speech. In addition, the competent Minister of Consumer Affairs, Mrs Van den Bossche, ...

It was prevented, for valid reasons.

absent for understandable and acceptable personal reasons.

Nevertheless, I have to talk about this bill, the next thing of the heart. For us, this is a completely unnecessary bill. It is a law that actually wants to emphasize what was already included in a previous law, but which is not always complied with. Those provisions were therefore repeated. However, if there are abuses, then I think it is necessary to ensure that they are controlled and punished, not that the rules are again explicitly poured into another law. It is as if there is a bill here that states that two plus two is four. It is obvious, and unnecessary to put that into a bill, but if it is in a bill, I can not say no from the opposition, not say that it is not right and therefore not against votes. That’s somewhat the feeling we have here: it’s superfluous, but we can’t vote against it. So we vote for.

I would like to make a small, technical comment.

What this bill amends to the existing law is, in my humble opinion, quite essential, precisely in order to exercise control. Very explicitly determines the authority of who can control. That was just – I agree on that point with the previous speaker – the problem. What is now supplemented in the law is very essential to make the law respect.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, let that now be just the point that we deeply regret: that those powers are given to officials, and no longer to the judicial apparatus, to whom they actually belong. Everything is entrusted to officials. By the way, the State Council also follows us fully on this point.

It is a regrettable evolution that we also notice in other draft laws. Thro ⁇ consumer law, these officials are given increasing legal and judicial control powers. This is an evolution that we regret.

Mr. Speaker, I regret, together with Mrs. Creyf, the poor functioning of the Court. That is right.

There is a lot of grief here today.